Charleston Chronicle Exclusives
Charleston Area Justice Ministry Tackles Transportation As Next Social Justice Issue
By Barney Blakeney November 5, members of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) met to conduct the organization’s Community Problems Assembly. The nearly 500 members in attendance voted to address transportation as the organization’s 2019 focus. Since its 2011 inception, CAJM annually has adopted a social justice issue to address. The organization has focused on…
Read MoreMusic and Emotion Mark MOJA Performance at Redux Art Center
The Charleston Rhizome Collective as part of the 2018 MOJA Arts Festival participated in an experience featuring performing artists OneBeat that brought together sounds and emotions symbolic of the collective’s Tiny Business Initiative at Redux Contemporary Art Center on King Street in Charleston. The OneBeat musicians are a collective of artists from around the world…
Read MoreCO Federal Credit Union Now Offers Digital Banking
By Barney Blakeney Community Owned Federal Credit Union, located at 117 Spring St. in downtown Charleston, November 1 launched into digital banking. CEO Perrin Middleton said the new digital banking now allows members 24/7 access to their accounts. A new phone app for Android users which soon will be available to Apple users as well is the…
Read MoreIncumbents Hold On To CCSD Board Seats
By Barney Blakeney Several races in the 2018 general election may have been more contentious, but few were as unpredictable as the races for seats on Charleston County Consolidated School Board. Voters elected four members to the board in races that featured three incumbent county school board members. Elected to the board were incumbents Cindy…
Read MoreHuge Voter Turnout Produced Huge Winners and Losers
By Barney Blakeney After a record voter turnout, voter machine breakdowns and perceived efforts to manipulate outcomes the November 6 general elections produced some surprising victories and losses. Gov. Henry McMaster was re-elected in a walk-away from Democrat James Smith and Katie Arrington pulled away from challenger Joe Cunningham early in the counting only to…
Read MoreWest Ashley’s Unincorporated Residents Must Engage Redevelopment Plans, Says Waring
By Barney Blakeney In recent months, Charleston officials have been conducting informational meetings with West Ashley residents as it continues to create a master plan for redevelopment in the area where more than half the city’s population and about half its Black citizens reside. Enclaves of predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city’s greatest land area…
Read MoreLocal Tuskegee Airmen Chapter Celebrates 20th Anniversary At The Citadel November 17
By Barney Blakeney The Hiram E. Mann Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a gala event November 17 at the Mark Clark Hall on The Citadel campus. Lt. Gen. Stayce D. Harris, Inspector General of the Air Force Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, DC will…
Read MoreRobert Brown Promises Vigilance, Focus and Experience To District 116 Constituents
By Barney Blakeney For the past 18 years, Rep. Robert Brown has served the constituents of S.C. House District 116. He wants to continue serving them after the November 6 general election. The Hollywood native first was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2001 after serving six years as a member of…
Read MoreNovember 7 College of Charleston Presentation To Discuss ‘Dem Bones’ Uncovered During Gailliard Auditorium Renovation
By Barney Blakeney When construction crews renovating the Gailliard Auditorium in 2013 uncovered the remains of 36 Africans and individuals of African descent buried during the 1700s – the earliest found in Charleston so far – an inquisition began that created a student-led grassroots effort aimed at awakening the consciousness of the community in recognizing…
Read MoreEconomic Vitality Requires More Than Low Unemployment Rates For Blacks
By Barney Blakeney The metropolitan Charleston area is experiencing a robust economy. For residents of Charleston County, that translates into the lowest unemployment rate – 2.3 percent in May – since 1998. But what does that mean for African American residents? I asked Trident Urban League Executive Director Otha Meadows his thoughts. According to Charleston…
Read More