Charleston Chronicle Exclusives
CCSD Board Votes – Appeasement, Delays Or Progress
By Barney Blakeney In Charleston County where most aspects of community life are singed by classism, racism and segregation, the subject of public education is among the most controversial. For some that seems never truer than now with proposed changes to Charleston County School District schools. From predominantly Black Constituent District 23 on the Sea…
Read MoreNorth Charleston Elections: Black Quality Of Life Should Improve, Says Rivers
By Barney Blakeney For some there hasn’t been enough time to consider all the ramifications of North Charleston’s November 5 municipal elections. Incumbent Mayor Keith Summey was re-elected. Perhaps the biggest surprise was Dist. 5 contender Jerome Heyward’s upset win over incumbent Todd Olds. The mayor’s seat and representation in all 10 council districts were…
Read MoreNorth Charleston Election Protests Denied – It Was A Miscarriage Of Justice, Says Singletary
By Barney Blakeney The National Action Network protested the North Charleston Nov. 5 municipal elections. The protest came because of voter suppression perpetrated in several of the races, said South Carolina NAN President James Johnson. The Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration November 11 denied the protest. Johnson said Sunday NAN launched the…
Read MoreLewis Needs Your Vote Nov. 19 To Retain Chas. Council Dist. 3 Seat
By Barney Blakeney Charleston Dist. 3 incumbent City Councilman James Lewis hopes to retain the seat he first was elected to in 1995 in the November 19 runoff election. Lewis currently is serving his sixth term in office. November 5 he received 48 percent of the vote in the race against three challengers. To win,…
Read MoreSchool Report Cards Reveal Stark Differences Among Predominantly Black, Predominantly White High Schools
By Barney Blakeney Last month, the S.C. Department of Education released its 2018-2019 School Report Cards. Charleston County School District Secondary Learning Community (high schools) mission statement: “The Secondary Learning Community (SLC) in Charleston County School District believes in the connection between a positive and supportive CULTURE/CLIMATE, COLLABORATION across schools and districts, and rigorous, data-analyzed CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION to ensure…
Read MoreHot Button Issues Spark Increased Voter Participation In Municipal Elections
By Barney Blakeney At 7:40 a.m., less than an hour after the polls opened for municipal elections in Charleston County, Isaac Cramer and the staff at the Board of Elections and Voter Registration still were counting absentee ballots. The numbers were higher than those four years ago in the 2015 municipal elections. By 3 p.m.…
Read MoreEarly Election Results Showed Precarious Positions For Candidates, But Anticipated Outcomes Became More Apparent Later
By Barney Blakeney In the early running the going got kind of iffy, but as the tallies for the November 5 municipal elections grew some anticipated outcomes became apparent. In Charleston incumbent Mayor John Tecklenburg ended the night in a runoff with Councilman Mike Seekings. In North Charleston, incumbent Mayor Keith Summey won re-election. About…
Read MoreMore Affordable Housing On The Way, Get Ready
By Barney Blakeney When it rains it pours. Affordable housing construction is beginning to pour onto the Lee and Meeting streets footprint of the site of the old Cooper River bridges on the peninsula. Earlier this year, construction began on the Grace Homes project. And since October 10, groundbreaking for construction of other affordable housing…
Read MoreCharleston Municipal Elections Will Be Pivotal
By Barney Blakeney For the African American community, the November 5 Charleston mayoral election may seem more impactful. Though the mayoral race may seem more prominent, the impact of the council races will be pivotal. Representatives for two of the council’s four majority Black council districts will be elected – Dist. 3 on the peninsula…
Read MoreJason Sakran As Charleston Dist. 3 Councilman Says He’ll Take Positive Action In Addition To Taking Positions
By Barney Blakeney Since deciding to seek election as the Charleston City Council Dist. 3 representative, Jason Sakran has knocked on some 1,200 doors and talked with hundreds of constituents. He wants to listen to them; he wants to hear their concerns. That’s what’s going to guide him if they give him the opportunity to…
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