By Carl Kenney
October 31, 2014
I am Gwendolynn Payne, and I am 16-years-old and a junior at Hillside High School. I enjoy history and science classes over any other classes I have. I gained an interest in archaeology during my freshman year while taking a World History class. We had to do an end of the year project on a […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 24, 2014
The annual Phoenix Fest took place Saturday, Oct. 4, on Fayetteville Street just outside of the Phoenix Square Shopping Center. The festival is a yearly event that allows people to network and socialize. “This goes on every year,” said Michelle Jackson, a vendor at the festival. “I own a business in the complex; I try […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 23, 2014
Durham’s seventh annual Project Homeless Connect linked people experiencing homelessness, or those experiencing lower incomes to “the care they need to move forward.” The event brought out hundreds of guests and volunteers to Durham Bulls Athletic Park Friday, Oct. 10, all determined to end homelessness in the rapidly growing city. Organizers want to make it possible for […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 20, 2014
As a Civil Rights activist and former member of the Black Panther party, Howard Fuller’s current passion for education reform may strike the average reader as a strange hobby. At Hayti Heritage Center in Durham on Sunday, Oct. 12 Fuller discussed his autobiography No Struggle No Progress: A Warrior’s Life from Black Power to Education […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Three months after the official merger of youth organizations Partners for Youth (PFY) and YO:Durham into Partners for Youth Opportunity (PYO), Executive Director Julie Wells is proud to call it a success. “We are part of the one percent of nonprofits who have successfully merged,” says Wells, “so we have a story to tell about […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Music emanated from Samuel and Sons Barbershop across the street from the Angier Baptist Church parking lot in the morning on Oct. 11, where community members gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the Angier-Driver Streetscape Project. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the completion of the $4.8 million construction project that began in April 2013. The project was completed […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Over $1.5 million dollars of new funding in 2016 could help non-profits like Habitat for Humanity expand their work in Northeast Central Durham, according to a memorandum presented to the Durham City Council from the director of the Durham Department of Community Development. The Durham Department of Community Development presented descriptions and guidelines for small […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
In the next 42 days, many East Durham residents will complete 26 miles of walking in partnership with a program run by the East Durham Children’s Initiative called the East Durham Trail Blazers. The group will walk a 1-mile loop around the Holton Career and Resource Center twice a week for the next six weeks. […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
When Brenda Brodie founded SEEDS – South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces – in 1994, she was hoping to bring the community together through a mutual love of food. “I had always had in my mind that I wanted to do some community gardening because I felt that it crossed all barriers,” Brodie said. “It […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
At first glance, the Durham Farmers’ Market looks just like any other farmers’ market. But beyond the rosy red tomatoes, creamy goat cheese and green peppers lies something more. The Durham Farmers’ Market, located at 501 Foster St., accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP), more commonly known as EBT or food stamps. Less […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Stephanie Toomer, mother of five and recipient of the first East Durham Children’s Initiative Scholarship, says her children are the reasons she is continuing her education. Her youngest, 4-year-old Faizah Toomer, has special needs. According to her mother, that is all the reason she needs as this year she completes the pre-requisites to apply to […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
The Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) offers a bus fare discount to N.C. Central University students. Route 5 is free for NCCU students with a student ID. Otherwise, the bus fare is $1. Many students travel on DATA buses to get to their jobs off campus, and to take care of important business. “There’s no […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Durham’s Transition to Kindergarten Initiative, through Durham’s Partnership for Children, wants to make sure every child’s transition into kindergarten is as smooth as possible. “The transition into this really formal school system can be really hard because 50 percent of the kids who go to kindergarten haven’t ever been to school at all,” said Wren […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Holton Career and Resource Center is giving high school students the opportunity to earn coursework in a chosen career area, making it possible for them to graduate with a high school diploma and certification. The Career Center offers training in cosmetology, barbering, robotics and automation, early childhood development, and public safety. The core coursework is […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
When I first moved to Durham I was young and lived on Liberty Street. It was interesting. Growing up I noticed drug dealers, streetwalkers and gang bangers and I realized that was not the life for me. As the years go by I began to notice how food brings people together and it changes lives. […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
October 1, 2014
Civitans from Raleigh and Durham joined together at Shoeboxed on Broadway Street this past Sunday to raise money for the Special Olympics in their first annual Cornhole tournament: the Corn-ament. Civitan is an International service organization with hundreds of thousands of groups located in 40 nations. But this group, is located in Raleigh and had […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Do you ever wish there was a place to store all of your precious memories? The Durham History Hub museum might have a solution. “The Story Room is a place where people’s personal memories and experiences become a part of history,” says Executive Director of the Durham History Hub Katie Spencer. “Most stories don’t make […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Marya McNeish sits inside SEEDS’ main lobby, decorating signs for the upcoming Garden Hat Party, just one of the many events hosted by the organization. It’s a rainy Wednesday morning, which has forced McNeish indoors, away from her normal outdoor volunteering duties. McNeish is one of the many volunteers who help out during the work […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Durham teens learn life skills through agricultural education, four days per week. It’s a sunny, breezy Friday in late September, and high school students Andresha McPaul and Lawrence Fields are harvesting peppers. They maneuver their way around the lush, green garden with ease. Sixteen-year-old McPaul has been working with the DIG program—which stands for Durham Inner-city […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Members of Boy Scout Troop 411 recounted their experiences being in the Scouts this week, sharing stories of triumph and personal development. Jami Parker, Eagle Scout advancement coordinator and former Troop 411 parent, recounted how the troop, as a member of the Mawat District of Scouts, is a very active one. She explained that in […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
After a three-year drought, the Bull City Slam Team returned to Durham from Greenville, South Carolina in June with the regional championship in hand. They beat 31 teams to win the 22nd Annual Southern Fried Poetry Slam, a spoken word competition that attracts the best poetry teams from across the South. In nine years […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
La di da di, Durham likes to party, and on Saturday, Sept. 27 the 10th annual Latino Festival came to Rock Quarry Park – just to see you smile and enjoy yourself. Cynthia Booth, a public affairs coordinator from Durham Parks and Recreation, said, “I like to see people come together to enjoy music, dance, […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
When Joe Bushfan decided to leave his glamorous job as a celebrity bodyguard in order to sell hot dogs in one of Durham’s roughest areas, his family thought he was crazy. “My wife thought I was crazy, my kids thought I was crazy … my dad thought I was crazy too,” Bushfan said. “I went […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Dwight Whitaker II had been involved in a gang since he was 10 years old and found himself in jail for a crime he said he didn’t commit. Then, on June 16, 2010, he said he found God, which would be the turning point for his life. The connection with his religion led him to […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
East Durham Children’s Initiative (EDCI) is an organization that provides programs for children who are struggling or failing in school. “Our mission is to make sure that we have kids who are prepared for college or career, academically, socially and personally as well,” said David Reese, the organization’s President and CEO. EDCI serves approximately […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
When I had Mr. James Hensley for my 7th grade art teacher, I started to really think outside of the box. The assignments that he gave were so imaginative and expressive that I had no choice but to think of something different. From morphing into animals to hotels in space, Hensley’s assignments always got his […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Durham Life Insurance Company Honors “Black Wall Street” “Black Wall Street” was once the heartbeat of Durham. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance is the largest black-owned insurance company in the U.S. Bordered by Parrish Street, the area was dominated by influential businesses such as N.C. Mutual Life, the nation’s oldest black-owned insurance company. “On […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Greg Hill hopes to help revitalize Durham, and shared his message with the crowd gathered Sept. 24 at the Hayti Heritage Center for “The Rebranding of Durham.” The event drew speakers and performers to share their success stories. Hill said he saw the need to give Durham a facelift […]
Read moreBy Carl Kenney
Arthur Moore, a retired construction worker and Durham native, left his heart at the Shepard Memorial Library in the early 1970s. “Although what is now called N.C Central came into existence in 1910, no formal library existed for a number of years,” said Moore who is 76 years old. “Students were forced to purchase all […]
Read more