Month: September 2015

Youth Commission advocates for Durham teens

By Carl Kenney

September 30, 2015

Most teenagers don’t care about what members of the city council do or say, however there are 32 youth that do care. The Durham Youth Commission (DYC) is a city-funded council composed of 30 high school aged teens. This commission gives teens the opportunity to have a formal role in the city’s planning. The Durham […]

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Dancing is life

By Carl Kenney

September 29, 2015

  Pretty much everybody has heard of Beyonce, but do you know about the only male dancers that are associated with her, Les Twins? As a young African-American dancer. I look up to these two people for many reasons, but primarily because of how they grew up dancing. Their family is a dancing musical family […]

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The metamorphosis of the N­-Word

By Carl Kenney

September 22, 2015

When did it become OK to say the “N-­Word”? Recently, I’ve asked myself this question a lot, and started wondering about the origin of the word, the meaning of it and just how much it has changed in popular culture lately. Personally, as a young African­-American woman, I try never to use the word. Yet, […]

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What’s new at the Holton Center

By Carl Kenney

September 18, 2015

At the Holton Career and Resource Center, Katony Stanfield, 17, prepares to shave a reclined client in the school’s barbershop. Upstairs in the cosmetology classroom, students Irene Diaz, 18, and Rebecca Aguilar, 17, sit behind computer screens searching the Internet for hair images for the grand opening flyer. Down the hall, a group of students […]

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Three partnering programs do their part in beating hunger

By Carl Kenney

Many families around Durham don’t have a lot of money to spend on food. In fact, the latest reports show that 1-in-4 children and 1-in-5 residents worry about where their next meal may be coming from. The Farmer Food Share program, Porch, and the Food Shuttle work in tandem to help families get fresh, nutritious […]

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Los Primos Supermarket still stands tall

By Carl Kenney

      Since taking over Los Primos 13 years ago, owner Miguel Collado has battled through adverse conditions and managed to maintain one of the only supermarkets in Northeast Central Durham.   “When we first came here, this was a very downgraded store with very little services to people,” Collado said. “When we took […]

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Reinvesting in the Community

By Carl Kenney

An overcast sky hangs overhead a derelict wooden structure which sits in near solitude, hidden behind its well-kept contemporary counterparts. Its shattered windows strangely whistle as wind blows through the cracks and bullet holes littering it. The Wachovia banking drive-through location on Driver St. has been closed since 1998, sitting abandoned behind a well-maintained plaza […]

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“DONS Basketball League” teaches more than just roundball

By Carl Kenney

A summer basketball league calls to mind the squeaking of sneakers, the sound of the whistle blow, and the swish of the ball going through the net. But for participants in Campaign 4 Change’s summer league, it meant much more. DONS Basketball League (DBL) provides a 12-week summer basketball league during June, July, and August, […]

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The hidden heart of Durham

By Carl Kenney

  When many people think of Durham one of two things comes to mind: Research Triangle Park or Duke University. However, beneath the hoops and hospitals lies one of the richest and most diverse dance communities in the southeast. It’s a normal Thursday morning in the Hillside High School dance studio; students congregate on the […]

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At the Saltbox: quality food for everyone

By Carl Kenney

September 17, 2015

Only blocks away from the epicenter of what Southern Living calls one of the South’s Tastiest Towns, the Saltbox Seafood Joint at 608 N. Mangum St. sits nestled comfortably in Durham’s Old Five Points neighborhood. “I live in Chapel Hill,” said businessman and Saltbox patron, Tom Vickers. “But I always try to time my trips […]

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Critics claim Alston widening creates division, not access

By Carl Kenney

  Community members say the Alston Avenue widening project will create more division than access to the neighborhood even after the compromise to save Los Primos Supermarket. The widening project, which will stretch from N.C. Highway 147 (the Durham Freeway) to Holloway Street, has been part of the conversation in North East Central Durham since […]

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Digital divide splits diverse groups

By Carl Kenney

Though the digital divide adversely affects the Northeast Central Durham community, who exactly it is dividing is diverse: the impoverished from the wealthier, students from schoolwork, and even parents from children. When asked about the digital divide in Durham, the CommUNITY tutors at the West End Community Foundation pondered for a moment. The classroom they sat […]

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SEEDS Harvest Dinner to bring a night of food, fundraising, and community

By Carl Kenney

In an effort to raise money and bring the community together, SEEDS will be hosting its 12th Annual Harvest Dinner at the Pavilion at Durham Central Park on Thursday, Sept. 24. SEEDS (South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces) is central Durham’s nonprofit community educational garden. Since 1994, the garden has been working to promote sustainable […]

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Last year’s teen editor becomes first to attend UNC

By Carl Kenney

Brooklyn Cooper is now the first Teen Editor-in-Chief of the Durham VOICE to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. Danny Nett, the VOICE’s social media editor, sat down with Cooper to discuss how she likes Carolina so far and how her time on the VOICE and Northern High School’s newspaper, the Northern Round Table, influenced her decision to pursue […]

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Joe's Hot Dogs: something gained, something lost

By Carl Kenney

  For those searching for their one-pound hot dogs after the June 19 closing of Joe’s Diner, you won’t have to look far. Joe Bushfan, owner of the Angier Avenue location, will still continue serving hot dogs in a trailer behind the former diner, which now serves as an expansion to Bushfan’s next-door commissary and […]

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Khris Francis: Down but not out

By Carl Kenney

Khris Francis knew something was wrong when he planted his foot to make a cut. The then sophomore running back for the North Carolina football team had just caught the ball on a kickoff return in the second quarter against Pittsburgh, a game the Tar Heels would eventually win 40-35, and darted outside to find […]

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VOICE wins national honor, launches new year

By Carl Kenney

  At the Durham VOICE, we have a motto: “little i, big WE.” As a long-time journalist, I’ve won my fair share of awards and accolades. But honestly, those old plaques and trophies pale compared to the latest honor bestowed on the Durham VOICE. Earlier this fall, the Durham VOICE won second place in the […]

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