Amid Mass Layoffs, Foreign Aid Workers Call on Triangle Officials to Condemn USAID Funding Freeze

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Good morning, readers.

Trump’s foreign aid cuts are hitting the Triangle hard.

Hundreds of workers have lost their jobs in recent weeks as USAID funding freezes ripple through global health organizations headquartered locally. RTI International alone announced 150 layoffs last Thursday, with 80 in North Carolina. 

As the numbers grow, foreign aid workers are calling on Durham’s city council to follow Chapel Hill and Carrboro in passing a resolution opposing the funding cuts.

“I’m deeply concerned about the impacts of dismantling USAID on our community,” Rachel Cooper, who until January helped strengthen healthcare systems in Africa, told the council at a work session last Thursday. Cooper has gone from “gainfully employed with good American jobs” to scrambling for her next paycheck, she said.

Brianna Clarke-Schwelm, the executive director of the North Carolina Global Health Alliance, reported a sharp increase in local job losses in the span of just a few days.

“When I spoke at the Carrboro meeting on Tuesday, I said about 300 people had already lost their jobs,” Clarke-Schwelm told the Durham council last week. “Since Tuesday, I now have to say about 500 people here in the Triangle have already lost their jobs.”

Mayor Leonardo Williams introduced a draft resolution that condemns the funding freeze and calls for its immediate reversal. The council will vote on the resolution March 17. Read more about it here. 

Have a good Monday.

 —Lena

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Durham

ICYMI: In response to a presidential executive order, numerous National Park Service websites referencing LGBTQ+ history have been censored in recent weeks, including a now-deleted page dedicated to Durham’s own Pauli Murray, INDY’s Sarah Edwards reports.

Wake

A small army of volunteers, with the help of AI, has identified 15,000 Wake County deeds with racially restrictive covenants preventing the sale of those properties to non-white people, NC Newsline reports.

Orange

Seven USAID-funded research programs at UNC have been terminated amid federal funding freezes, The Daily Tar Heel reports.

North Carolina

INDY’s Chase Pellegrini de Paur called up a linguist for a professional opinion on those Southern accents in The White Lotus and whether there really are two vowel sounds specific to Durham.

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