Commentary


North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, in 2021. The state Supreme Court order last week blocked a long-gestating court order forcing the state legislature to pay out for years of underfunding public schools. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson, File)
The Tragedy of North Carolina’s Leandro Case

Last week, a newly-elected Republican majority on the state Supreme Court blocked millions of dollars for underfunded schools. They haven’t just undermined the courts. They’ve undermined all of us.

In this file photo, HB2 protestors gather across the street from the North Carolina state legislative building in 2016 because of the mega-controversial HB2. The bill cost the state billions in economic activity and made it the center of controversy. This year's state legislative session has the potential to be as controversial.  (Photo By Al Drago/CQ Roll Call)
This Is Going to Be a Very Bad Year at the North Carolina State Legislature

North Carolina’s GOP lawmakers are not moving in mysterious ways this time. At the first opportunity, they will pounce on reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.

Harini Krishnan, left, of California, and Ananya Karchru, right, of Connecticut, wait for results at an election-night gathering for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley at a hotel in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
4 Things We Think About the North Carolina Election

It was a good night to be a Republican. But there are bright spots for the left-leaning North Carolinian.

North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at a Senate Education Committee hearing on Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Robinson and other far-right Republican leaders have been at the forefront of conservative culture war politics at the local school board level. (AP Photo/Bryan Anderson)
The Far Right’s Culture War Is Hitting Home in North Carolina School Board Races

There are candidates who want to to something about real school issues like school bus shortages and school funding. You just have to sort through the fringe far right candidates to find them.

October 2022 is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Shutterstock)
The Racism Behind America’s Battle with Breast Cancer

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a wake-up call about the startling racial disparities for people diagnosed with breast cancer.

Students at McLean High School in McLean, Va., walk out of classes Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.  Student activists held school walkouts across Virginia on Tuesday to protest Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's proposed changes to the state's guidance on district policies for transgender students that would roll back some accommodations.  (AP Photo/Matthew Barakat)
The Conservative Attack on School Curriculum Is Here, North Carolina. We Must All Be Prepared.

As right-wing groups pour money into local school board races, a Charlotte historian breaks down the conservative movement to limit the teaching of U.S. history, censor books on sex and sexuality, and oppress LGBTQ students.

A North Carolina labor organizer talks about the value of Black, working-class voters in the 2022 election. (Shutterstock)
Republicans Don’t Want Black, Working-Class Voters To Turn Out

A worker from Charlotte on how crucial it is for working-class North Carolinians to vote this year.