During the bi-annual walking tour of Carrboro, the staffs of the Carrboro Commons and Durham VOICE pose for a group portrait, along with tour guides Dave Otto, Tom Hartwell and Richard Ellington. (Photo by Alicia Stemper)
The Durham VOICE published online for the first time during the fall of 2009, with a goal to serve Northeast Central Durham by offering a positive glimpse into the community, which was known by the Durham Police Dept. as “the Bull’s Eye” because of its high crime rate.
Now, seven years later, at the end of the spring semester in 2016, the VOICE still stands as a microphone for voices in the community.
Since our reporters are students, the end of each semester means there’s a break in the news coverage. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. For now, let’s reminisce on a few of our favorite stories of the semester.
David Johnson, 28, concentrates on his form while preparing for combination punches with Bishop Arnold Harris. Bishop Harris helps David with words of encouragement. (Staff photo by Bruce dePyssler)
Thanks to NCCU staff writer Ebony Sain, we were taken to the School of Hard Knocks, a gym in East Durham.
The gym is free for ages 12 to 30 because its owner, Bishop Arnold Harris, says his mission is the same as his church’s mission — “to save lives.”
To read more, click here.
James Speed Jr. poses before Antioch Baptist Church’s annual Black History month celebration. Speed served as the President of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company for more than a decade and is recently retired. (Staff photo by Bradley Saacks)
Thanks to UNC-CH editor Bradley Saacks, we met the Durham pillar and trailblazer, James Speed, Jr.
At 62 years old, he said he would step down as president and CEO of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, the largest and oldest African-American insurance agency in the country. But that doesn’t mean he is stepping away from serving the community.
To read more, click here.
As Kimberley Pierce Cartwright looks over an issue of Spectacular Magazine, she’s delighted to named Woman of the Year in Education award. Cartwright serves as the news director of NCCU’s public radio station WNCU 90.7. (Staff photo by Melody Brown-Peyton)
We got to celebrate with our friends at North Carolina Central’s public radio station, WNCU 90.7, when their news director was named Spectacular Magazine’s Woman of the Year in Education award in 2016.
Congratulations again, Kimberley Pierce Cartwright!
To read more, click here.
Rodney Brower, a barber at Signature Kutz, cutting 6-year-old Elijah Warren’s hair. The two talk about sports and crack jokes throughout the haircut. “I put a little laugh in their life,” Brower said about his customers. “Showing the positive side of the atmosphere that we have in here.” (Staff photo by Ryan Wilusz)
We took a trip over to Signature Kutz and Samuel and Sons barber shops to talk about the history and community behind black-owned barbershops.
Barber Rodney Brower said he knows that a major part of his job is to be “a listener.” For that reason, he says, he knows he’ll always be employed.
To read more, click here.
VOICE Teen Editor-in-Chief Tasha Graham, a soon-to-graduate senior at Northern High School. (Staff photo by Jock Lauterer)
Of course, we would be remiss not to mention our Teen Editor-in-Chief, Tasha Graham, whose moving tribute to former NHS classmate, David Pounds, puts a face on gun violence in Durham.
Pounds was 15 years old when, standing on his front porch, he was shot by gunman firing from a passing vehicle. Graham vows that David Pounds’ name will not be forgotten.
To read more, click here.
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