Slim to none were their chances. After all, educating young black minds in the rural South in the early 20th century was hardly a priority—certainly not for the lily-white state establishments that dominated the educational landscape in places like North Carolina. Though black pupils crowded into makeshift segregated schoolhouses eager to learn, their resources and […]
Damien Jackson
Posted inNews
Of the soil
One thing they did know was land. Though it wasn’t the rich African soil their families were violently uprooted from a generation earlier, it was land they had worked. Despite being largely uneducated in a hostile country that had recently codified their unequal status through Jim Crow laws, these turn-of-the-century farmers were committed to creating […]
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False images of gangstas and chicken
There was nothing apprehensive about the teenage New Yorkers as they swaggered into the Ramsey Gymnasium in Siler City to the blaring backdrop of hip-hop music. Though it was a foreign environment–the first time in the South for most–it didn’t seem to matter. They appeared as loose as the hanging T-shirts that draped their adolescent […]
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Squeezing the Bubble
For the most part, 18-year-old James O’Rourke believes in the system. The senior at East Chapel Hill High leaves little doubt as to his future political aspirations. “I love Washington,” says O’Rourke, sitting on a wire metal bench outside of his school. The sparks in his eyes are conspicuous. “It’s something about the energy there,” […]
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Suicide Safety Net
Imagine the thoughts of a suicidal teenager: If I don’t get some help soon, I’m going to kill myself. I know that I’m supposed to be strong, but I have lost my will to live. Plus, no one wants me here anyway. I just need a way out of all of this pain. … Maybe […]
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What Happened in Cell 15?
The pain is too much to bear. Barely conscious, the handcuffed inmate moans and whimpers loud enough for inmates in the surrounding cells to hear. His naked 5-foot-9-inch frame is doubled over on a lumpy vomit-stained mattress, his head hanging off the edge. Dried blood streaks from opposite corners of his swollen, cracked lips. It’s […]
Posted inGuides
Question Knowledge (and Authority)
“I need to have a life,” laments Daniella Cook, relaxing on a large sofa in the living room of a house near downtown Durham. It’s a Saturday afternoon in November and the 25-year-old Cook has just led a discussion group of 12 activists, educators and parents on effective ways to challenge punitive educational policies in […]
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Telltale Signs?
politicsFast forward to the Nov. 6 mayoral contest in Raleigh. Challenger Charles Meeker is making an impressive showing in northern Raleigh where incumbent mayor Paul Coble and like-minded conservatives have traditionally dominated the vote. Similar to the October primary, a substantial number of northern Raleigh voters are rejecting the incumbent’s development-at-all-cost policies in favor of […]
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On the Fence
Traveling down Oakwood Avenue toward St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh– just as you cross over the 300 block of Linden Avenue–the majestic porch-wrapped homes of the Oakwood section give way to a large cemetery on the left, and a row of smaller houses on the right. A sizable number of these houses are abandoned, their […]
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Accommodation
“I have good days and bad days,” says 14-year-old Crystal Richardson, in a soft high-pitched voice, one sounding at least two years younger than her tall frame suggests. She stands in a cramped-but-cozy living room toying with a trio of pet parakeets that repeatedly bounce from her shoulders to an outstretched index finger. The top […]