Black history Coverage

'Helping others:' Funeral for owner of Raleigh's oldest pharmacy after more than 60 years of serving downtown

Many are expected to gather on Wednesday for the funeral of Dr. John Mitchell Johnson - the owner of Raleigh's oldest pharmacy, and North Carolina's oldest Black-owned pharmacy.

Nonprofit to transform historic building into jubilee center

The Franklin-Vance Warren Opportunity nonprofit in Henderson is transforming into a "jubilee center" to honor its history as the Jubilee Hospital.

Renovations in the works at historic Henderson building with hopes to pay homage to its role in Black history

The Franklin-Vance Warren Opportunity nonprofit in Henderson is transforming into a "jubilee center" to honor its history as the Jubilee Hospital.

Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter

Old Shiloh: Lost 1800s community for Black families once thrived where Biltmore Estate now stands

Thousands of people tour the grounds of the picturesque Biltmore Estate each year -- never realizing they're walking in the footsteps of a lost community, where Black men and women freed from slavery built their first homes in freedom: Old Shiloh.

Gerald Owens, WRAL anchor/reporter

Photos, documents tell untold story of enslaved people who built NC Capitol

A new online project by state historians traces the names and stories of some of the enslaved workers who built North Carolina's historic Capitol from 1833 to 1840.

Who built North Carolina's state capitol? New project tells stories of enslaved workers

A new online project by state historians traces the names and stories of some of the enslaved workers who built North Carolina's historic Capitol from 1833 to 1840.

Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief

Tunnels, jails and canals: Remnants of the Underground Railroad still exist in Halifax County

In this quiet rural community, you can touch tangible remnants of this painful and often-forgotten past.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Carolina Theater in Durham transformed how Black patrons experienced entertainment during segregation

A civil rights movement in Durham shocked the nation when Black movie patrons refused to accept no for an answer at white ticket booths.

'Quiet determination:' First student to challenge Raleigh's segregated schools faced lynching threats as a child

Joe Holt, Jr. was a central figure in the effort to first integrate the Raleigh school system after Brown vs. the Board of Education ruled black students should be able to attend white schools. This is the story of his struggle and of the outcome of his work.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Forced into the balcony: How Black movie-goers peaceful demonstrations shook segregation in Durham theaters

A civil rights movement in Durham shocked the nation when Black movie patrons refused to accept "no" for an answer at white ticket booths.

Lora Lavigne, WRAL anchor/reporter

'The Space Race' premieres on Monday

"The Space Race" looks at the first Black pilots, engineers and scientists to become astronauts.

Method community offered home, opportunity to Black people in Raleigh after Civil War

Established in 1872 by Black men and women freed from slavery, Method was one of 13 Freedmen's Villages built around Raleigh.

Origins of Black History Month: How it began, who started it and why it's in February

Why do we celebrate Black History Month in February? How and when did Black History Month begin, and who started it?

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Raleigh park hides century-old remains of segregated high school

At first glance, Method Community Park looks like any other playground - with slides and swings and shade trees. You may not realize you're standing in the footprint of a century-old school campus that served the Black community during the segregation era in Raleigh.

Julian Grace, WRAL anchor/reporter & Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

UNC student group to screen WRAL doc 'Ghosts in the Stadium' for Black History Month

The Carolina Association of Black Journalists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hosting a public screening of the WRAL documentary "Ghosts in the Stadium" in honor of Black History Month.

WRAL Staff

Universoul Circus

Black culture meets global culture through circus arts with the UniverSoul circus, visitng Raleigh beginning Valentine's Day and running though March 10 at Walnut Creek in Raleigh.

Black History Month: Why do we celebrate in February?

Why do we celebrate Black History Month in February? How and when did Black History Month begin, and who started it?

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

10 books to help your family celebrate Black History Month

All of these books have won or been nominated for the Coretta Scott King Award.

Sarah Stanley, St Timothy's School in Raleigh

Soul City: How a Utopia for Black capitalism was destroyed

At a glance, Soul City may seem like a ghost town - with an abandoned healthcare clinic, broken windows, cracked asphalt and walls curtained with creeping ivy. But in the 1970s, Soul City was built on the dream of equality and opportunity for Black families in North Carolina.

Lost American history: Oldest surviving school building for Black children discovered in Virginia

Long thought to be lost, the Bray School is the oldest existing building dedicated to educating Black children in America. It began operation in 1760, with a mission to teach reading and religious values to the mostly enslaved children in Williamsburg, Virginia. Researchers discovered the building still stood in 2020 -- almost 250 years after it closed -- and are now tracing how it planted the seeds of Black scholarship in the United States.

Secrets of rural NC: This old country road will take you to a lost stop on the Underground Railroad

Driving along the back roads of Alamance County, you'll find the crumbling remnants of a colonial settlement -- older than the United States itself, and a main stop on the Underground Railroad.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Soul City: Ghost town of multi-racial Utopia in NC could be revived

At a glance, Soul City may seem like a ghost town - with an abandoned healthcare clinic, broken windows, cracked asphalt and walls curtained with creeping ivy. But in the 1970s, Soul City was built on the dream of equality and opportunity for Black families in North Carolina.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer & Ken Smith, WRAL anchor/reporter

Triangle-based artist wins Coretta Scott King Award for children's book about history of slavery

Dare Coulter won the prestigious award for her illustrations in Kwame Alexander's "An American Story." The 30-year-old is one of the youngest artists to receive this distinction.

WRAL staff

'Built on their graves:' Fans tailgated on top of 500 unmarked graves at Clemson football stadium

For many years, football fans at Clemson University parked their vehicles and tailgated right in the middle of a burial ground - many never even realizing there were hundreds of people buried right beneath their feet.

Chris Lea, WRAL Sports Anchor & Cristin Severance, WRAL Investigative Documentary Producer & Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

Panthers stadium built overtop lost Black community, site of horrific lynching

Tens of thousands of people visit Bank of America stadium to watch the Carolina Panthers play football each year - never realizing they are walking on top of lost remnants of a once-thriving Black neighborhood established in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Chris Lea, WRAL Sports Anchor & Cristin Severance, WRAL Investigative Documentary Producer