Beacon Media NC

Kimberly Jones: Rural public schools don’t want a handout. They want access to opportunity Former teacher of the year Kimberly Jones, once a rural area public school student, says state lawmakers should offer the same opportunities to rural students that are offered to those from wealthier

"Public schools in rural communities are more than educational institutions. They are community centers and large employers. They are gathering places on Friday nights and sources of pride year-round. When a rural school struggles, the entire community feels it."

Read more at buff.ly/Kvyzj95

"North Carolina ranks last in the country when it comes to “funding effort,” the measure of how much a state or district invests in K-12 public schools relative to its overall economic capacity."

Kimberly Jones comments that, "...rural schools are not struggling because of a lack of passion or talent. The reason they are struggling is a lack of resources."

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Billy Ball: How Jesse Jackson was vilified — and ultimately redeemed The white South made a villain of a native son, but the region never had a better champion for it on the big stage than the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"Someday, Southern white homes [...] must hear the wisdom in many of the things Jackson said. The system isn't strictly anti-Black or anti-Brown. It is anti-working class, anti-poor. And no one group will make it better without the others, without the "patchwork quilt" Jackson spoke of."
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"In his marathon 1984 address at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Jackson promised that "the linchpin of progressive politics in our nation will not come from the North," but from the South."

Billy Ball writes: "In the years that followed his presidential campaigns, Jackson became a joke in white homes like mine, especially in his native South. This, even though he picked up 13 primaries and caucuses in the 1988 Democratic primary race — and came in a close second in North Carolina."

Billy Ball: How Jesse Jackson was vilified — and ultimately redeemed The white South made a villain of a native son, but the region never had a better champion for it on the big stage than the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Mocked in the South but revered on the national stage, Rev. Jesse Jackson challenged the South and the Democratic Party to face hard truths about race, poverty, and power. His message still resonates more than 40 years later.

Opinion: Why we are asking ‘Do You Even Live Here?’ Two mayors from Western North Carolina are launching a new podcast, in partnership with Beacon Media, to answer a big question about the future of North Carolina.

Preston Blakely and George Dalton write: "Our new show will shed light on what binds communities together, and it will challenge both of us and our listeners to think about what North Carolina is and can be. How will we do that? Storytelling."
Read full column at buff.ly/kXCA2Dn

#weliveherepod #nc

North Carolina student’s life upended after being detained by ICE Allison Bustillo Chinchilla came to America as a child from Honduras and grew up to be a certified nursing assistant. Under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, she’s spent the past five ...

So starts the story from @rdrhoney.bsky.social and from our media partner @cardinalandpine.bsky.social about a college student from Cleveland County whose life was upended by ICE — who were looking for someone else. Read more: cardinalpine.com/2025/08/01/n...

North Carolina student’s life upended after being detained by ICE Allison Bustillo Chinchilla came to America as a child from Honduras and grew up to be a certified nursing assistant. Under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, she’s spent the past five ...

"Allison Bustillo Chinchilla came to America as a child from Honduras and grew up to be a certified nursing assistant. Under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, she’s spent the past five months in ICE detention." /1

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Melissa Castillo: Let’s stop breaking our promise to migrant workers The deportations happening in North Carolina are the continuation of a long line of broken promises to our migrant workforce.

Decades of bipartisan promises to undocumented immigrants are unraveling — and the message reaching migrant farmworker families is devastating: “Don’t get noticed. Don’t fill out the forms. Don’t get help,” writes Beacon Voice Melissa Castillo.

#ImmigrationPolicy #ICE #NCPol #NCNews

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Rose Hoban: Considering Artificial Intelligence for local news reporting The Editor-in-Chief at the local newsroom N.C. Health News considers the ethical use of AI in a local newsroom — and finds AI won’t soon replace humans in many respects.

When it comes to AI in local journalism, Rose Hoban from N.C. Health News believes the human eye and mind still matter most.

“To be frank, the articles we write are so localized, AI generators would be hard pressed to find enough information to generate a story that would stand up to scrutiny.”

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Preston Blakely: My grandmothers couldn’t vote freely. I’m now the Mayor. Mayor Preston Blakely of Fletcher, N.C., reflects on his legacy and the struggle for Civil Rights that he inherited from his family.

Fletcher, N.C. Mayor Preston Blakely shares how his family's local civil rights legacy has shaped his path and purpose.

“The struggle for rights is a legacy I now have the power to influence.”

beaconmedianc.substack.com/p/preston-bl...

Crystal Barnes: N.C. does not need massive, expensive Duke Energy pipelines The writer raises concerns about a proposed pipeline planned for central North Carolina, particularly high costs passed onto ratepayers.

Duke Energy’s plans to build new pipelines and gas plants are concerning to many.

Crystal Barnes of Forsyth County also connects the dots between those plans and the utility bills, which also pose a serious strain on her family's budget.

open.substack.com/pub/beaconme...

Kimberly Jones: Public education is a sacred obligation In a column based on a speech given as the outgoing N.C. Teacher of the Year, educator Kimberly Jones reflects on the importance of public schools.

“You cannot ask schools to solve every societal ill while refusing to fund the systems that make solutions possible.”

Read 2023 State Teacher of the Year Kimberly Jones' outgoing message to lawmakers, leaders, parents, and all North Carolinians:

open.substack.com/pub/beaconme...

Rev. Della Owens: Lawmakers should kill the ‘Big Deadly Bill’ Rev. Della Owens, who organizes with the N.C.-based faith movement Repairers of the Breach, argues the budget bill being considered in the U.S. Congress will have deadly consequences for NC

The U.S. House budget reconciliation bill will slash Medicaid assistance for thousands of North Carolinians, writes Rev. Della Owens.

“As a preacher, I must stand up, speak up, and advocate for those who this immoral budget will most impact.”

#NCPol #NCNews #BeaconVoices

Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: The real reason we’re being told to hate Pride Small town pride events showcase the best of us. Why do some want to stoke hate?

Rural America is home to about three million people in the LGBTQ+ community.

"Queerness is as old as humankind—so why are some people acting so surprised it's here?”

@gwenfulton.bsky.social reflects on Pride celebrations in this column from June 2024.

Debbie DeWeese: Don’t cut our healthcare to give tax breaks to the rich A bill making its way through the U.S. Senate would be devastating for the millions of people on Medicaid in North Carolina.

About a quarter of North Carolinians use Medicaid to pay for their healthcare, including Debbie DeWeese.

Now, cuts to Medicaid have DeWeese worried that she will lose her life-saving health coverage.

Read more: bit.ly/45D9vO8

#NCPol #NCNews

Preston Blakely: Political assassinations in Minnesota call for a reminder of our shared humanity A small town North Carolina mayor reflects on the recent violence and how we can change the tide of growing violence and intimidation against our leaders.

“Democracy is supposed to give us space to disagree. Democracy fails when disagreement turns dangerous, deadly, or personal.”

Mayor @prestonb-nc.bsky.social shares his concerns about the growing threat of violence for our local political leaders in his first column for Beacon Media.

#NCPol

Melissa Castillo: Let’s stop breaking our promise to migrant workers The deportations happening in North Carolina are the continuation of a long line of broken promises to our migrant workforce.

“Don’t get noticed. Don’t fill out the forms. Don’t get help.”

That’s the message farmworker families are hearing in North Carolina and across the U.S. Melissa Castillo writes about how decades of bipartisan promises are being shattered.

#ImmigrationPolicy #ICE #NCPol #NCNews

Scott Peoples: A Shameful Week for the 82nd Airborne Division President Donald Trump is politicizing our military, U.S. Army veteran Scott Peoples writes.

“The U.S. Army deserved a real celebration of its history, not a disorganized attempt to service the fragile ego of a wannabe king trying to look tough.”

Army veteran Scott Peoples says we’re watching something dangerous unfold in Trump's recent military parade.

#NCPol #NCNews

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Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: Congress is pushing to drastically cut food aid. Why? Devastating cuts are on the table for communities across the country and the more than 1.4 million North Carolinians who rely on food stamps.

Thirteen percent of North Carolinians rely on the SNAP food assistance program to eat. Now, Congress is pushing the largest SNAP cuts in its history.

@gwenfulton.bsky.social shares about her own time at a food bank and the disconnect between lawmakers and the rest of us.

"Resistance can’t just be about Trump. It’s about how Black men are treated." — Martin Henson on writing, faith and justice Beacon Voice Martin Henson on his process writing his recent Beacon Media NC columns

Learn more about Martin and his writing process from our recent interview:

Martin Henson: Student loan confusion, delays are stalling dreams | Beacon Media The Department of Education is in disarray after massive budget cuts and a promise from President Trump to dismantle the federal agency. January’s temporary pause on federal student aid was a harbinge...

Student loan delays and cuts are derailing dreams like those of Martin’s cousin, a working mother pursuing her degree.

Henson urges communities to step in with practical support as the federal government fails to meet its promises.

Martin Henson: It’s time to address ‘church hurt’ The church can play an important role in American society again but both the church and those who might attend have a responsibility in addressing harms.

Many have left the church due to “church hurt.” Martin urges faith leaders to take responsibility for past harms and create spaces for healing.