NEWS
BIPOC NEWS HAPPENING IN ORANGE COUNTY
Council Approves Truth Plaque for Toney and Nellie Strayhorn Homeplace
The Carrboro Town Council has approved a Truth Plaque to be installed at the Toney and Nellie Strayhorn Homeplace located at 109 Jones Ferry Road. The plaque will read: “Enslaved in Orange County, Toney and Nellie Strayhorn were one of the first Black families to...
Faithfull Farms
Howard Allen’s passion for agriculture started when he was a young child on his family’s homestead in Jamaica before moving to New York and then North Carolina. Faithfull Farms was born in 2013 when Howard began farming for market on his church’s land in Orange...
Brown Gallery at Stone Center on UNC Campus
The Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery and Museum exhibit space in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History is the primary venue for the exhibit of artwork and other collections, supplemented by additional exhibit space in the entry/foyer area of the...
Community Tribute to John Blackfeather Jeffries
A community tribute to John Blackfeather Jeffries (1939-2023) will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:45 pm at the Jerry M. Passmore Center, 103 Meadowlands Drive, Hillsborough. Free parking is available. Hosting the event is the non-profit...
Remarkable Moments in Black History: A Conversation with the Authors of “Black Boy, Black Boy”
Remarkable Moments in Black History: A Conversation with the Authors of “Black Boy, Black Boy” Tuesday, Feb. 28 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm FREE! In-Person at Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill or Virtual Attending NC teachers will receive a FREE signed copy of the book! From inventor...
Phyllis Portie-Ascott Appointed to Vacant Orange County Commissioner Role
Phyllis Portie-Ascott was unanimously appointed by the six elected Orange County Board of commissioners during the board’s first meeting of February. The Durham real estate broker and first vice chair of the Orange County Democratic Party was selected from a group of...
Weaver Street Market Round-Up for the Jackson Center
The Marian Cheek Jackson Center is being featured for Weaver Street Market’s February Round-Up! The Jackson Center is a hub of creative action dedicated to preserving the future of historically Black neighborhoods in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC. Located in the heart...
Chapel Hill Black Film Festival
The Chapel Hill Black Film Festival takes place on February 10th and 11th, 2023, at The Varsity Theatre, 123 E Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Friday, February 10th: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Saturday, February 11th: 1:00 pm - 10:00 pm The Chapel Hill Black Film festival...
Black History Month 2023
Events Throughout Orange County Orange County: Visit orangecountync.gov/3009/Library to learn about the “Read Black Books” challenge and reading lists of Black authors. Participants are entered into a raffle to receive a book of choice by a Black author or centering...
February is Black History Month
Tar Heels Help Preserve the History of Local Black Communities Carolina students are helping the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History curate oral histories from members of Black communities in southern Orange County. By Korie Dean, University...
A Local’s Perspective on the Chinese New Year by Lili Engelhardt
The Spring Festival, which we call Chinese New Year, is the most celebrated festival in China and is also celebrated widely throughout Asia. It is the lunar new year and begins on the first day of spring, as indicated by the lunar calendar. It celebrates the coming of...
Local Artists of Color: Exhibit Runs February 3rd – March 31st, 2023
The Frame & Print Shop in Chapel Hill is honored to present an exhibition showcasing five talented local artists of color. ARTSPEAKS takes us on a journey in which we will feel the Artistic Vibes of five local artists of color. Through their art the artists...
Representative Renee Price
Renée Price was sworn in as North Carolina House District 50 representative for Orange and Caswell counties. The oath was administered by Anita Earls North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice. Price served on the Board of Orange County Commissioners since 2012,...
Representative Valerie Foushee Was Added to the Rolls of the House
On January 3, 2023, U.S. Representative Valerie Foushee, a Chapel Hill native, was sworn in as a Member of the United States House of Representatives. The Honorable Valerie Foushee was elected to serve as Representative of North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District....
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2023
The Town of Carrboro's MILK Day event will take place Saturday, January 14th, 2023, from 1 to 3 pm at Carrboro Century Center, 100 N Greensboro Street. Check back soon for details. With the theme, Finding Our Way Forward, UNC-Chapel Hill's Martin Luther King...
What is the Chinese New Year 2023 Animal? — Rabbit
Chinese New Year 2023 is a Year of the Rabbit, more specifically, Water Rabbit, starting from January 22nd, 2023, and lasting until February 9th, 2024. Recent/upcoming years of the Rabbit are 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, and 2035. If you were born in one...
Book Discussion in Honor of Black History Month
On Tuesday, Feb. 7th from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, the Orange County Office of Equity & Inclusion and the Orange County Library are hosting a book discussion of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me. A light lunch will be served and the event is free and open to...
Pauli Murray Awards
The Orange County Human Relations Commission announces that the 33rd Annual Pauli Murray Awards will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2023, from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Whitted Building at 300 West Tryon St, Hillsborough, NC 27278. The Rev. Dr. Anna Pauline "Pauli"...
52 Years Later, UNC Installs Memorial to James Cates
Exactly 52 years to the day after James Lewis Cates, Jr. died on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, the university is dedicating a memorial to honor his life and acknowledge his death. Then just 22 years-old, Cates — a Black man — was killed in 1970 in an act of racial...
Black-owned Businesses in U.S. Cities
According to the Federal Reserve, in 2019, the median net worth of white families was $188,200—7.8 times that of their Black peers, at $24,100. That wealth gap translates to many other disparities, including in business ownership, which is heavily influenced by...
A Musical Visionary Takes the Stage in Chapel Hill
Meklit is an Ethio-American vocalist, songwriter and composer, known for her electric stage presence and innovative, deeply personal Ethio-jazz songs. Don't miss this Africa Fest 2022 headlining performance, presented in partnership with Carolina's African Studies...
Orange County’s First Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer
In June 2022, Orange County leadership named Dr. Shameka Fairbanks as the county’s first Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer. Fairbanks previously served as Health Equity Manager for the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission. “Dr. Fairbanks is a...
Anita Jones-McNair is Carrboro’s First Race & Equity Officer
The Town of Carrboro is located in Orange County, North Carolina. According to 2019 US Census estimates, the town’s population is at 21,190. 29% of the population self-identified as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Carrboro is a member of the Government...
37th Annual Occaneechi Saponi Nation Pow-Wow
November is Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity for us to be mindful of our county’s rich history, diverse cultures and the important contributions of our nation's first people. North Carolina has the largest American Indian population east of the...