Month: March 2016

Two women, one cause, and one special night

By Carl Kenney

March 30, 2016

  With prom season approaching, many young girls are planning and obsessing over one of the most memorable nights of their lives. However, the reality is that this very night isn’t always a possibility for some girls, as the expenses for prom can be a strain on the finances of their families. “Prom is an […]

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Lion King at DPAC -An unforgettable experience

By Carl Kenney

March 25, 2016

Are you a Lion King fan? A majority of kids probably know the story of the lion king. It’s a tale of courage, coming of age, responsibility and “Hakuna Matata”, or living stress free. The film was first released in 1994 and more than 20 years later its showing here in Durham at the world […]

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NCCU Durham VOICE reporters win big at competition

By Carl Kenney

Six N.C. Central University mass communication students attended the Southern Regional Press Institute in Savannah, Georgia, in February and walked away with awards for their work with the Durham VOICE from fall 2015. Evan Owens won best overall feature writing for his stories “’DONS Basketball League’ teaches more than just roundball,” “A DPS grad gives […]

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Watering SEEDs with rainwater

By Carl Kenney

SEEDS is at it again with giving back to the community. This time SEEDS (South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces, Inc.) chose a unique route with rainwater. Previous garden manager Bekah Resnick came up with a plan to recycle rainwater about five years ago. The current barrels sit in the front of the lot next […]

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UNC professor writes the story of the Wilmington Ten

By Carl Kenney

Last month, UNC professor Kenneth Janken presented his book, “Wilmington Ten,” to a group at the main branch of the Durham Public Library. The topic brought up strong emotions among some attendees. The Wilmington Ten is a case of nine men and one woman who were wrongfully convicted in 1972 of arson and conspiracy, and […]

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StartUP Durham brings opportunities

By Carl Kenney

  The Courtney Jordan Group is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide opportunities to people with great ideas, through its program, StartUP Durham. “Providing viable solutions for our society’s issues here in Durham is that the wealth disparity in Durham is so great and being able to give services or opportunities to people […]

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Neighborhood Improvement Services brings the city together

By Carl Kenney

  The City of Durham Department of Neighborhood Improvement Services, located at 101 City Hall Plaza, has five divisions to help keep the city regulated. The five divisions consist of code enforcement, community engagement, Impact team, human relations, and administration. Assistant Director of Neighborhood Improvement Services, Vonzennia Gore, says she thinks of NIS “as being […]

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Church celebrates black trailblazers

By Carl Kenney

March 2, 2016

Antioch Baptist Church hosted its fifth annual African-American History Celebration to honor five African-American leaders and educate the community of their works. The event was held on Feb. 28 and is meant to teach youth about the significance of black leaders, according to Antioch pastor Rev. Michael D. Page. “We have this event because we […]

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Culinary arts students learn skills that set them apart

By Carl Kenney

  Freshly cooked steaks fill the industrial sized kitchen at Northern High School with the robust aroma of meat as students scramble to prepare the evening’s menu. This is all in a days work for the students in Andrew Somers’s culinary arts class that began in 2001. The program began with around ten students and now […]

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Retired James Speed Jr. won’t retire from working in his community

By Carl Kenney

When James Speed Jr. was growing up in Oxford, there were only a few people in his neighborhood who wore neckties to work every day. As Speed recalls it, only teachers, preachers and morticians wore a necktie to work — a status symbol that Speed and his friends wanted to achieve. “And then there was […]

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Research Triangle Charter Academy students bring history to life

By Carl Kenney

Seven-year-old William Bones is anxiously looking down the long line of students as he inches closer to the man he’s dying to talk to. William is walking patiently with his class as they go through an exhibit, looking from one speaker to another. All of his classmates are listening intently, as the speakers talk about […]

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Four retirees plan to open non-profit school

By Carl Kenney

March 1, 2016

Four retirees will open an independent, non-profit school for low-income families in East Durham this Fall. Deborah Watkins, Deloris Harris, Carolyn Ramsey-Williams, and Emma Carrington are starting Gift of Knowledge Academy to give “at-risk” children the opportunity to reach their full potential by providing them with a solid foundation in literacy and math. The four […]

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Durham Food Bank helps to eliminate hunger

By Carl Kenney

The Durham branch of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization that feeds their community by partnering with 173 agencies in the Durham service area providing meals, shelter, clothing, and creating programs to educate youth. “Durham Rescue Mission is one of the food bank biggest partners,” said Jennifer Caslin, […]

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Durham Crisis Response Center helping local women

By Carl Kenney

The Durham Crisis Response Center has been helping women who have fallen victim to the horrible statistic that one in three of them will be victim to physical violence by an intimate partner. Some women, like Leisa Marie, were part of the statistic that one in five women have been victims of severe physical violence. […]

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