Beverley O’Connor speaks to political commentator Mary C. Curtis about the unrest in Charlotte following the fatal police shooting of a black man.
In Charlotte, Overnight Protests Follow a Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting
CHARLOTTE, NC — Tensions are running high in Charlotte following Tuesday’s officer-involved shooting and overnight protests. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis talks more about how the Queen City is reacting, and what community and city leaders can do to avoid more violence.
Sep212016
Trump’s ‘Charm Offensive’ Continues, as Daughter-In-Law Opens North Carolina Offices
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lara Trump, the candidate’s daughter-in-law, is just a “Carolina girl,” from Wilmington, she wants you to know, with “good Southern values.” And Donald Trump, “the man I know him to be,” is “a very humble, soft-spoken, funny guy,” with a weakness for McDonald’s.
That was the message of the wife of Eric Trump at a Wednesday appearance opening the first North Carolina offices for the GOP presidential candidate in the important swing state.
Sep152016
College Sports in North Carolina Are Now Feeling the Fallout From HB2
CHARLOTTE, NC — The fallout from HB2 has now reached into North Carolina’s love of college sports after the NCAA announced they will pull seven postseason events from the state. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on the the decision, HB2, and how it is shaping the race for Governor.
Sep142016
Did Hillary Clinton Ace Her ‘Job Interview’ in North Carolina?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s obvious why North Carolina is tantalizing for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and why the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates each made an appearance in the battleground state this week. Trump was in Greenville on Tuesday (and will be in Asheville on Monday), and on Thursday afternoon, Clinton attended a rally at Johnson C. Smith University, a historically black university in Charlotte, for what its president Dr. Ronald L. Carter called a “high level job interview.”
Sep082016
The Latest Twist in the Race for the White House
CHARLOTTE, NC — Donald Trump, after trailing rival Hillary Clinton only a month ago, once again holds the lead in a major national poll. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on the current state of the election and what the road looks like going forward for both candidates.
Sep082016
Voting Restrictions Won’t ‘Make America Great Again’
Donald Trump plans to take his black voter “outreach” to a predominantly African-American audience with a visit to Detroit this weekend, perhaps to quell criticism that his recent speeches about African-Americans have been delivered primarily to whites. That was certainly true during his August stop in Charlotte, N.C., where he began tailoring his message to black voters, who have been roundly rejecting him at the polls.
“If African-Americans give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote,” he said, “the result will be amazing.” The Republican presidential candidate cast Democrats and their nominee Hillary Clinton as the true bigots, who “have taken African-American votes totally for granted.”
But Trump’s inclusive Charlotte takeaway — one that seemed geared to the diverse, more progressive “New South” city — has been undermined by a series of clumsy and insulting overtures, and by his and his party’s support for tactics that could remind many black voters of the old South.
Sep032016
The Unique Issues in Campaign 2016
CHARLOTTE, NC — Campaign 2016 is heating up for what could be the most unconventional debate series the country has ever seen. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in on the wide range of issues that have been the focal points of both the Clinton and Trump campaigns
Aug312016
African-Americans Hear Trump Loud and Clear
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s so refreshing to know that Donald Trump cares about me. I was in that Charlotte crowd when he made one of his first outreach efforts to African-Americans. Because the supportive Trump fans gathered in the portioned-off section of the convention center included few actual African-Americans, he could very well have been talking just to me when he said Democrats and Hillary Clinton have totally taken African-American votes for granted. “What do you have to lose by trying something new?” he asked.
That appearance set the tone and backdrop for the Republican presidential nominee’s practice of talking about African-Americans to predominantly white audiences. Though I was joined by members of a local black church that has endorsed Trump, and we were all carefully watched by a diverse group of unsmiling security personnel whose glances I tried to avoid so I would not meet the same fate as an Indian-American Trump supporter tossed out of a rally when he was profiled as a potential troublemaker.
Aug292016
To Celebrate Women’s Equality Day, Keep Fighting for Voting Rights
No matter what anyone thinks about the politics or policies of Hillary Clinton, no one can deny that the progress the country has made—in the form of more women elected to high office and more women behind the electoral scene—is rooted in the expansion of access to the vote.
But Women’s Equality Day is a good time to remind ourselves that the right to vote has always been contested in this country. This is just as true in 2016 as it was a century ago.
Aug262016
