Slavery Coverage

First days of freedom: Thousands freed from slavery in Raleigh built the first Freedmen's Villages

Full of modern day coffee shops, trendy restaurants and boutiques, it may be hard to imagine a time when downtown Raleigh was instead full of sprawling fields, plantation houses - and hundreds of enslaved individuals.

Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer

William Peace University considering name change after removing statue of founder from campus

William Peace University, a private school in downtown Raleigh, announced on Tuesday that they would be removing a statue of its founder on campus.

NC historians hoping to restore old school for students to learn racial justice, equity

Charlotte historians are hoping to save a building that was once home to slaves who lived and worked in the area.

NC historians hope to turn former slave housing into school

Historians in the Charlotte area hope to save a building that was once home to slaves who lived and worked there.

Smithfield planning to restore rare Freedman's School

This is one of few such schools left standing in America. It's in Smithfield and was built to educate newly-freed Black Americans after the Civil War. Smithfield plans to restore it and use it as an educational tool once again.

Unlocking stories of slavery, Wake County Register of Deeds and Shaw research history of enslaved people locally

This past year has been a time for many to reflect and learn about the systemic racial barriers created by slavery in our country.

Lora Lavigne, WRAL reporter

Fact check: Fox News host says 'Founding Fathers were against slavery'

Fox News host and former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused others of "getting the facts wrong" about the Founding Fathers and slavery -- all while getting some facts wrong herself.

Bill McCarthy, PolitiFact reporter

1619 Project at heart of 2021 controversies

An educational program that challenges the way students think and learn about slavery in the U.S. continues to create controversy, both nationally and in North Carolina.

Keely Arthur, WRAL reporter

Reframing US history around slavery continues to cause stir

The 1619 Project isn't widely taught in North Carolina schools, but the reporting project that examines U.S. history through the lens of slavery is the focus of lawmakers who want to prohibit its instruction and has caused controversy at UNC-Chapel Hill over the hiring of the prize-winning journalist who oversaw the project.

Tillis seeks to cut funds to schools that teach 1619 Project

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis on Monday helped throw another log on the raging fire of how to teach the nation's racial history.

Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

Prize-winning journalist considers suing UNC-Chapel Hill over lack of tenure

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones might sue the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over a delay by the Board of Trustees to make her new position at the school a tenured one.

Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, & Julian Grace, WRAL anchor/reporter

UNC-Chapel Hill alumni take out newspaper ad to press for tenure for journalist

After days of protest and pressure, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees will consider tenure for a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who is scheduled to start working at the university in July. When any decision will be made is uncertain, however.

Editorial: Nikole Hannah-Jones -- Take the UNC job

Thursday, May 27, 2021 -- Don't let the ideologues win. Take the job to be the next Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNC. Don't let the legislative leadership and their minions show they've wrested control of a nation-leading system of higher education that's taken a century to build. Take the job. Teach your students to identify facts, understand complicated nuance and to have the skills to be independent thinkers.

Historians, artists, athletes, activists: Nikole Hannah-Jones controversy at UNC part of 'rising tide of suppression'

More than 200 people signed onto an open letter released Tuesday in support of Nikole Hannah-Jones, calling the recent controversy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill part of a "rising tide of suppression" and a "threat to academic freedom."

Hannah-Jones' tenure situation 'outrageous,' 'heartbreaking,' Georgia professor says

Faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday demanded that the school's Board of Trustees "immediately" consider tenure for a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who is scheduled to start working at the university in July.

Pulitzer Prize-winner denied tenure at UNC after leading controversial slavery project

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The New York Times Magazine, was denied a tenured position at the University of North Carolina after the university's board of trustees took the highly unusual step of failing to approve the journalism department's recommendation.

Katie Robertson, New York Times

Lack of tenure for award-winning journalist prompts protests at UNC-Chapel Hill

UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members want an explanation for the school's decision to back away from offering a journalist tenure after her work on a project documenting slavery in America.

Shared history connects Fayetteville woman with Columbus Co. farmer

A man and a woman recently discovered a link in their family history. His ancestors were slave owners, and her ancestors were their slaves.

North Carolina families united by shared slave history connect

A man and woman recently discovered a link in their family history. His ancestors were slave owners, and her ancestors were those enslaved.

Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter

Shared history connects Fayetteville woman with farmer

A man and woman recently discovered a link in their family history. His ancestors were slave owners, and her ancestors were their slaves.

Fence around Fayetteville Market House to remain until next month, city says

A fence around Fayetteville's Market House will remain up until at least next month.

The Fayetteville Observer

Washington museum tells the story of enslaved people, those who helped them gain their freedom

WRAL's Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason showcases a museum housed within a caboose on the waterfront in Washington, NC. The museum tells the history of enslaved people seeking freedom and of the underground network of people who helped them.

NC parents upset over assignment with pro-slavery perspective

Fourth graders at Waxhaw Elementary were told to write tweets in the perspective of people who lived during the Civil War. Some students wrote statements like "slavery for life" and "slavery forever."

Parents outraged by pro-slavery Civil War assignment at NC elementary school

Fourth graders at Waxhaw Elementary were told to write tweets in the perspective of people who lived during the Civil War. On the writings: Statements like "slavery for life" and "slavery forever."

NBC Newsource

NC parents outraged at pro-slavery Civil War assignment

Parents of elementary school students in Union County, North Carolina, are expressing outrage after a pro-slavery Civil War assignment was given to fourth graders.(WCNC)