Black History Month Coverage

Tar Heel Traveler: Larry Hoskins

Larry Hoskins loves to make paintings that look like photographs, and he sat down to talk with our Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason.

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

'Cyber Bears' robotics team holds workshop celebrating Black History Month

A Black History Month celebration in Raleigh showed off the diversity in robotics on Sunday.

Raleigh's college park and Idlewild neighborhoods honored this weekend

Local and national leaders came together to honor the history and the spirit of two of Raleigh's oldest Black neighborhoods.

Harnett County middle school teacher creates 500-piece Black History Month display

A 7th grade science teacher in Harnett County is extending Black History Month lessons beyond the classroom.

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

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.

Ain't Too Proud cast members tour historic Carolina Theater

The life and times of this iconic MOTOWN group are chronicled in the hit Broadway show, AIN'T TO PROUD, now on stage at DPAC.

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

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

Target called out for selling Black history item that misidentified civil rights leaders

Target is finding itself in the crosshairs of a Black History Month misstep after selling an activity book that misidentifies some civil rights leaders.

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