Charleston Chronicle Exclusives
Affordable Housing On The Way As More Blacks Continue On The Way Out
By Barney Blakeney Last week Charleston Housing Authority officials broke ground for the construction of 62 units of affordable housing at the site of the former Cooper River bridge’s landfall at Meeting and Lee streets. The groundbreaking comes more than a decade after S.C. Department of Transportation gave the land to the City of Charleston…
Read MoreA Small Step To A Park, A Giant Leap Toward The Future Of Scanlonville
By Barney Blakeney For the East Coper Civic Club, receiving the deed for a disputed parcel of land in the midst of the Remley’s Point/Scanlonville community was a hard fought success in a lot of ways. The Scanlonville community was established in 1868 after freedman Robert Scanlon bought the 614-acre Remley Plantation on the Cooper…
Read MoreRural Roads Can Be Fatal!
By Barney Blakeney The tragic death of a mother and grandmother who June 22 plowed into an oncoming car carrying First Congressional District candidate Katie Arrington was among the scores of fatalities that occur on local rural roads. The almost weekly incident reports come often, but not too often to numb the senses laid bare…
Read MoreCredit Union & Church Partnership Promises Mutual Benefits
By Barney Blakeney Nationally the African Methodist Episcopal Church has entered a partnership with some 19 Black owned banking institutions around the country to begin an innovative economic collaboration. In Charleston where Community Owned Federal Credit Union is the premier such entity, that process is in its infancy. C.O. Federal Credit Union President and…
Read MoreBenedict College Fundraiser Features Education Heavyweights
By Patrice Smith The inaugural Benedict College Fundraiser is set for August 17 and 18 here in Charleston. Net proceeds from the two day event will fund scholarships in education and criminal justice. “The scholarships are geared towards local students who would major in these two fields and then come back and serve the area,”…
Read MoreMiddleton Becomes Illumination Project Leader At Dark Time For Charleston
By Barney Blakeney Three years after its inception, Rev. Kylon Middleton has taken over the helm of the Charleston Police Illumination Project. He succeeds the project’s initial leader Margaret Seidler. Middleton, the pastor of Mt. Zion AME Church in Charleston, has been involved with the project sponsored by the Charleston Police Fund since its inception.…
Read MoreJA Moore Gears Up For November Election With Passionate Plea: “Walk With Me”
By Damion Smalls Set to challenge Republican Samuel Rivers, Jr. for the SC House District 15 seat in November, JA Moore has hit the ground running to get his message across. The incumbent Rivers has held the position since 2012, serving over 35,000 residents in a district that includes areas in both Berkeley and Charleston…
Read MorePacking ‘Heat’ And Hot Tempers Contribute To Charleston’s Increased Homicides
By Barney Blakeney As Charleston police investigated the city’s eighth homicide so far in 2018, for the first time in recent years Charleston rivals North Charleston in the number of homicides committed. There have been 10 homicides in North Charleston this year. There were 35 homicides in North Charleston in 2017 compared to six in…
Read MoreRemembering Willie Davis – Longtime Dorchester Councilman Passes After Illness
By Barney Blakeney A man alone – since 1991 Dorchester County Councilman Willie Davis filled the role as the council’s only African American and Democrat. It was a role he filled quietly and competently. Last week he died surrounded by family. He was 68. Davis, a St. George native, was a quiet storm and a…
Read MoreDespite Change Charleston YMCA Remains Committed To Its Historic Mission
By Barney Blakeney Downtown Charleston’s changed so much in the past two or three decades it’s hardly recognizable to many over age 40. One iconic institution that hasn’t changed much is the Cannon Street YMCA. But it too is about to change. The YMCA at 61 Cannon St. is the oldest continuously operating YMCA in…
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