The Charlotte Post

07/01/2025

Charlotte has big plans for the West Boulevard Corridor. Some residents are cautious.

The West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition will host a corridor-wide meeting Jan. 7 with representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Charlotte Area Transit Systems and Charlotte Douglas International Airport – all of which have development plans in and around West Boulevard and Historic West End. The meeting is 6 p.m. at Progressive Baptist Church on Clanton Road.

Jan. 7 meeting with corridor neighbors at Progressive Baptist Church

05/01/2025

Opinion: NIL refers to the rights of college athletes to control and profit from their name, image, and likeness. For decades, these rights were restricted by the NCAA, which prevented athletes from monetizing their personal brands.

However, recent policy changes now allow athletes to earn money from endorsements, appearances, and other opportunities—all while playing college sports.

Change is good for athletes, but focus on sustainability

04/01/2025

Camillya Masunda is the owner of Ebony Wine & Spirits (ebonywineandspirits.com), which markets itself as the only minority-owned company of its kind in North Carolina.

“Representation is so important within the wine industry because seeing is believing. A vision or a dream can not be established or realized if something doesn’t trigger a memory or thought that may have been seen,” Masunda said on her website.

In 2023, Masunda launched Spirit Diaspora Vodka, a peach-flavored beverage sold at ABC stores.

“It's actually based on the celebration of minorities and their history of celebrating home, so is the tribute to putting culture on the shelves and will have that conversation about what is the diaspora?” Masunda said.

Camillya Masunda honors African roots with Charlotte company

04/01/2025

Civil rights activist Bishop William Barber II is suing a national theater company for discriminating against his disability.

Barber, co-chair of the National Poor People’s campaign, filed a federal lawsuit last month against AMC Theaters after he was removed from its movie house in Greenville, North Carolina, for using a specialized chair necessary to accommodate a spinal condition.

Barber, who has ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that causes inflammation in the spine’s joints and ligaments, met with AMC CEO Adam Aron in January 2024 to discuss theater management’s actions, which resulted in a call to local law enforcement to remove Barber.

Bishop William Barber sues AMC Theaters after confrontation in Greenville

04/01/2025

The Carolina Panthers defense is nearing all-time NFL marks in defensive futility. If the Panthers, who have yielded more than 200 yards rushing five consecutive weeks, surrender more than 170 to the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s season finale, they will become the fourth team in league history to allow at least 3,000 yards.

Injuries and inconsistency put Carolina on pace for NFL worsts

03/01/2025

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01/01/2025

Applications for the CATS Public Transit Advisory Committee can be submitted until Jan. 3. The committee will consist of 15 Mecklenburg County residents to review transit policies, field complaints and suggestions from residents, and make recommendations about Charlotte Area Transit Systems’ growing services and operations to the Metropolitan Transit Commission.

The Metropolitan Transit Commission is the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System and has responsibility for reviewing and recommending all long-range public transportation plans.

Submit application for CATS review panel until Jan. 3

01/01/2025

Gov. Roy Cooper commuted 15 death sentences to life without parole on his last day in office, an unprecedented act of clemency in North Carolina.

The commutations, which will result in life sentences, are triple the number granted since creation of the state’s death penalty law in 1976. Those five all were declared shortly before execution of sentence and no previous governor commuted more than two.

Clemency results in life sentences for defendants

31/12/2024

Join us in February for Legends & Legacy, a Black History Month salute to Charlotteans who've impacted our community through deed and influence. We'll gather at Allegra Westbrooks Branch Library Thursdays from 6-7:30 p.m. Register here: https://www.thecharlottepost.com/index.php?src=forms&ref=Event%20Registration

27/12/2024

As Gov. Roy Cooper prepares to depart the Executive Mansion, criminal justice advocates are urging him to make use of his broadest set of powers: the ability to grant clemency for state crimes.

While the requests vary from calls for the commutation of all death sentences in the state to individual pardons of North Carolinians found to have been wrongfully convicted, a broad spectrum of attorneys and activists are pushing the outgoing governor to do more while he has the ability to do so.

In an October letter, researchers from the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation urged Cooper to “review as many clemency petitions” as possible, with a particular focus on individuals who offended while under the age of 25 and who are currently older than 55 as these populations are more likely to be rehabilitated and less likely to reoffend.

“We hope that you will take our recommendations under strong consideration and use your clemency powers to their fullest extent during your remaining time in office,” the researchers wrote. “Data and evidence show that you can embrace public safety while leading with justice and mercy. These values are not mutually exclusive; rather, they are intrinsically linked.”

NC chief executive lobbied to review petitions before leaving office

27/12/2024

Michael Regan, who championed environmental justice as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave the agency Dec. 31, three weeks before the end of President Joe Biden’s term.

In a letter last week to agency employees, Regan said he was proud of the EPA’s work to confront climate change, restrict air and water pollution and spend tens of billions of dollars under the administration’s landmark climate law to spur clean energy development.

Those efforts slashed harmful greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants that endanger communities, “delivering significant economic and public health benefits in areas long overburdened by pollution,” he said. The agency also created thousands of jobs and lowered costs for families, he said.

NC native who championed environmental justice coming home

27/12/2024

A $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will expand North Carolina A&T State University’s research and teaching capacity in the biomedical life sciences.

The grant will also help the nation’s largest historically Black college reach Research 1, or R1, classification, the highest level of research activity according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Nation’s largest HBCU will add equipment and facilities upgrades

26/12/2024

Charlotte’s annual Kwanzaa celebration is around the corner.

Kwanzaa Charlotte will host daily in-person programming with historical, cultural and educational programs with artistic expressions of drumming, dance and spoken word. Daily celebrations will be held 7-8:30 p.m., Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

The opening celebration on Dec. 26 and closing on Jan. 1 will be held at Greenville Memorial AME Zion Church, 6116 Montieth Drive. All other daily celebrations from Dec. 27-30 will be held at Movement School, 2701 Freedom Drive.

All events are free and open to the public.

An African Marketplace will precede and close celebrations from 6-7 p.m. and 8:30-9:30 p.m. Dec. 26-31.

Week of observance includes historical and cultural programming

26/12/2024

Celebrating a rare Carolina Panthers win Sunday, coach Dave Canales paused on-field to speak with undrafted rookie Jacoby Windmon, who led the team in tackles and was called for a rare penalty during an eventful first NFL start.

With three inside linebackers on injured reserve, Windmon, who started the week on the practice squad, earned a promotion and the start. He played a key role as Chuba Hubbard scored on a 21-yard run in overtime, propelling the Panthers to a 36-30 overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. The Cardinals (7-8) were eliminated from the playoffs.

Quarterback Bryce Young rebounded from a four-turnover performance last week and directed the Panthers (4-11) to 30 points or more for just the second time in 28 appearances.

Linebacker leads team with 8 tackles, and first hip-drop penalty

26/12/2024

Nearly a quarter century before a movie on the first and only Army unit to deploy Black women overseas during World War II, a Charlottean shared her experiences.

In 2000, The Post published the recollections of veterans who served with the 6888th Central Postal Directory, a mail delivery service stationed in England and France. The unit is the focus of Netflix’s “The Six Triple Eight,” and was filmed in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and England.

“Every single person, Black, white, anywhere in between, male, female — anybody can see themselves in those characters,” Nicole Avant, producer of “The Six Triple Eight” said at the Tribeca Film Festival, “because all stories, to me, are human stories. Everything to me is about humanity.”

North Carolina women served with the 6888th during World War II

23/12/2024

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21/12/2024

The West Charlotte Lions “manned the throne.”

For the first time since 1995, the Lions (13-2) are state champions after beating Fayetteville Seventy-First (15-1) 14-7 to claim the NCHSAA 3A state title.

“It’s just a beautiful thing,” Lions’ coach Sam Greiner said. “We knew coming into this game we were not going to leave without a win. We knew the end result. We didn’t think it was going to be a 14-7 game. It just shows [Seventy-First’s] tenacity. That is a great football team that we played against. Just the passion they play with, they refused to lose. They were a little banged up, but they kept fighting.”

Lions defeat Seventy-First to claim first championship in 29 years