Penda D. Hair is an American lawyer. She is the Legal Director of Forward Justice, a law, policy, and strategy center dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South. A frequent television and radio commentator, she speaks regularly on issues of race and democracy. Previously, she was a founding co-director of the civil rights group Advancement Project .
121-550: Moral Mondays are protests that originated in North Carolina , United States and emerged elsewhere in the United States. Led by religious progressives, the leaders of the protesters sought to restore "morality" in the public sphere. Protests began in response to several actions by the government of North Carolina which was elected into office in 2013 and are characterized by civil disobedience —specifically entering
242-538: A charter to start a new colony on the North American continent; this would generally establish North Carolina's borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father, Charles I . By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. This charter rewarded the Lords Proprietors , eight Englishmen to whom King Charles II granted joint ownership of a tract of land in
363-505: A Republican governor, Pat McCrory , and Republicans were voted into majority in both state houses by the citizens of North Carolina, giving them control of both the legislative and executive branch for the first time since 1870. After taking office, McCrory signed into law a number of bills promoting conservative governance, and the legislature has passed or considered a number of other laws that have generated controversy. The bills signed into law by McCrory and proposed legislation have been
484-421: A decade of white supremacy , many people forgot North Carolina had ever had thriving middle-class black Americans. Black citizens had no political voice in the state until after the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed to enforce their constitutional rights. It was not until 1992 that another African American was elected as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina. After
605-551: A fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from unions or marriages between free whites and enslaved or free Africans or African-Americans. If
726-650: A major regional and national banking center. Towards Raleigh, North Carolina State , Duke University , and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , have helped the Research Triangle area attract an educated workforce and develop more jobs. In 1988, North Carolina gained its first professional sports franchise, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The hornets team name stems from
847-696: A narrow victory for a Republican-dominated government, with 19 African-Americans holding positions in the North Carolina State Legislature . In attempt to put the reforms into effect, the new Republican Governor William W. Holden declared martial law on any county allegedly not complying with law and order using the passage of the Shoffner Act . A Republican Party coalition of black freedmen, northern carpetbaggers and local scalawags controlled state government for three years. The white conservative Democrats regained control of
968-667: A new, innovative racial justice organization that works to eradicate structural inequities by providing legal, communications and organizing support for community-based grassroots groups, to build and strengthen their capacity. At Advancement Project, Hair managed a team of voting rights attorneys and helped oversee the organization's voter protection work. She also worked alongside attorney and advocate, Judith Browne Dianis , her fellow co-director at Advancement Project. Under Hair's direction, Advancement Project spearheaded litigation challenging voting restrictions, discriminatory electoral provisions and other civil rights violations across
1089-484: A number of restrictions on abortion access to a bill described as combating Sharia law. It passed the house less than a day later but was abandoned after protests, and McCrory said he would not sign it without modifications. An amended version of the restrictions were later added to a motorcycle safety bill. This bill was passed by the state Senate, and became a subject of the protests. In July 2013 McCrory signed into law legislation that requires abortion providers to meet
1210-538: A revised version of the bill, which also included provisions that end same-day voter registration, reduce early voting, and end a program that allowed high school students to register to vote before their 18th birthdays. The bill also changed regulations for registration, requiring voters to appear in person or mail in a form 25 days before the election. When asked how preventing students from registering before their 18th birthdays would prevent voter fraud, McCrory said "I don't know enough, I'm sorry, I haven't seen that part of
1331-473: A round of redistricting that was conducted in 2011 and used in the 2012 election. The redistricting process was upheld by a three-member panel of state judges in early July 2013, and is expected to be appealed. 51% of North Carolina voters chose a Democrat for their US house representative, but Republicans won 9 of the 13 seats up for election. The state House passed legislation that would require voters to present government-issued photo identification, provided by
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#17327973988441452-515: A second time and later walked to Raleigh. A total of 924 people were arrested during the 2013 protests in the legislature building. In August, the Wake County District Attorney offered them a deferred prosecution deal under which they would pay $ 180 in court costs and perform 25 hours of community service in exchange for having their charges dismissed. Fewer than two dozen accepted the deal. Trials for those who refused
1573-535: A slower pace and remained small. By the late 17th century, Carolina was essentially two colonies, one centered in the Albemarle region in the north and the other located in the south around Charleston. In 1705 South Carolinian John Lawson purchased land on the Pamlico River and laid out Bath, North Carolina's first town. After returning to England, he published the book A New Voyage to Carolina, which became
1694-443: A strong Whig presence, especially in the western part of the state. After Nat Turner 's slave uprising in 1831, North Carolina and other southern states reduced the rights of free blacks. In 1835, the legislature withdrew their right to vote. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129 mi (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad", from Fayetteville in
1815-433: A tax decrease, 10 to 15 percent seeing no change, and 30 to 35 percent having a tax increase. McCrory signed into law a bill that repealed the state's Racial Justice Act of 2009, which allowed inmates facing the death penalty to challenge their sentences on the basis of racial discrimination. His predecessor, Bev Perdue , had previously vetoed similar legislation. In early July 2013 the state House unexpectedly attached
1936-560: A three-tier progressive income tax with a flat tax. The changes reduced state revenue by $ 2 billion over 5 years, despite McCrory's previous insistence that any reform had to be revenue-neutral. After earlier predictions of a revenue shortfall because of tax reform, North Carolina instead had a $ 400 Million revenue surplus for Fiscal Year 2014–2015, because personal income growth was more robust, and lower tax refunds were paid out due to more accurate payroll withholding. The tax law changes through 2014 resulted in 55 to 60 percent of taxpayers having
2057-583: A total of four African-American congressmen through these years of the late 19th century. Political tensions ran so high a small group of white Democrats in 1898 planned to take over the Wilmington government if their candidates were not elected. In the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 , white Democrats led around 2,000 of their supporters that attacked the black newspaper and neighborhood, killed an estimated 60 to 300 people, and ran off
2178-582: A travelogue and a marketing piece to encourage new colonists to Carolina. Lawson encouraged Baron Christoph Von Graffenried, the leader of a group of Swiss and German Protestants, to immigrate to Carolina. Von Graffenried purchased land between the Neuse and the Trent Rivers and established the town of New Bern . After an attack on New Bern in which hundreds were killed or injured, Lawson was caught then executed by Tuscarora Indians . A large revolt happened in
2299-403: A wide range of mostly North Carolina citizens, with many Christian movements represented. The movement encompasses a broad coalition, including left wing advocates for immigrant rights, LGBT rights, criminal justice, worker's rights, environmental issues and others. Redistricting and proposed voting rights changes have been a focus of the ongoing protests. North Carolina Republicans benefited from
2420-472: A winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca . His expedition built Fort San Juan and left a contingent of 30 Spaniards there, while Pardo traveled further. His forces built and garrisoned five other forts. He returned by a different route to Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina , then a center of Spanish Florida . In the spring of 1568, natives killed all but one of the Spaniards and burned
2541-714: Is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and 9th-most populous of the United States . Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast . At the 2020 census ,
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#17327973988442662-648: Is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River". In the Battle of Cowan's Ford , Cornwallis met resistance along the banks of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, in an attempt to engage General Morgan's forces during a tactical withdrawal. Morgan had moved to the northern part of the state to combine with General Greene's newly recruited forces. Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at
2783-689: Is the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River . Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate . North Carolina was inhabited for at least 10,000 years by succeeding prehistoric Indigenous cultures. The Hardaway Site saw major periods of occupation dating to 10,000 years BCE. Before 200 AD, people were building earthwork platform mounds for ceremonial and religious purposes. Succeeding peoples, including those of
2904-506: Is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park . The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the Hardaway Site . North Carolina was inhabited by Carolina Algonquian , Iroquoian , and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to
3025-789: Is today Northern Ireland, were the largest non-English immigrant group before the Revolution; English indentured servants were overwhelmingly the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the American Revolutionary War , the English and Gaelic speaking Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain. British loyalists dubbed
3146-833: The American Revolutionary War , when British General Cornwallis described Charlotte as a "hornet's nest of rebellion". The Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) became based in Charlotte as well, with their first season being in 1995. The Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL) moved to Raleigh in 1997, with their colors being the same as the NC State Wolfpack , who are also located in Raleigh. Penda Hair Hair received her B.A. degree from
3267-845: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior Continental Army were crippling. Following this " Pyrrhic victory ", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis' eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia , later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence. On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became
3388-633: The Carolina Algonquian -speaking tribes of the coastal areas, such as the Chowanoc , Roanoke , Pamlico , Machapunga , and Coree , who were the first encountered by the English; the Iroquoian -speaking Meherrin , Cherokee , and Tuscarora of the interior; and Southeastern Siouan -speaking tribes, such as the Cheraw , Waxhaw , Saponi , Waccamaw , Cape Fear Indians , and Catawba of
3509-469: The Lords Proprietors , the group of noblemen who had helped restore him to the throne in 1660. These grants were predicated on an agreement that the Lords would use their influence to bring in colonists and establish ports of trade. This new Province of Carolina was named in honor and memory of his father, Charles I (Latin: Carolus ). Lacking a viable coastal port city due to geography, towns grew at
3630-736: The Mecklenburg County area to be 'a hornet's nest' of radicals, birthing the name of the future Charlotte NBA team. On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British Crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress . The date of this event is memorialized on the state flag and state seal . Throughout
3751-694: The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund before founding Advancement Project. She is also the author of the Rockefeller Foundation ’s report on community lawyering, Louder Than Words: Lawyers, Communities, and the Struggle for Justice (2001). Hair co-founded Advancement Project in 1999 with several peers, many formerly of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. They created the nonprofit to serve as
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3872-633: The South Appalachian Mississippian culture , established by 1000 AD in the Piedmont and mountain region, continued to build this style of mounds. In contrast to some of the larger centers of the classic Mississippian culture in the area that became known as the western Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee, most of the larger towns had only one central platform mound. Smaller settlements had none, but were close to more prominent towns. This area became known as
3993-618: The Spanish Armada . The fate of the " Lost Colony " of Roanoke Island remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. Two native Chieftains, Manteo and Wanchese , of which the former helped the colonists and the latter was distrustful, had involvement in the colony and even accompanied Raleigh to England on a previous voyage in 1585. Manteo was also the first Indigenous North American to be baptized by English settlers. Upon White's return in 1590, neither native nor Englishman were to be found. Popular theory holds that
4114-673: The Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on whether to overturn the decision, effectively leaving the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court's decision in place. The Moral Mondays movement claims that environmental laws relating to air, water, and soil quality have been weakened by the Republican legislature, as evidenced by the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill ; along with this, budgets for environmental agencies have been cut. The boards and commissions tasked with regulation of
4235-787: The Thirteen Colonies . The Halifax Resolves resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the American Revolution . On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution . In the run-up to the American Civil War , North Carolina reluctantly declared its secession from
4356-669: The U.S. military and was relieved of its constitutional government and representation within the United States Congress in what is now referred to as the Reconstruction era . To earn back its rights, the state had to make concessions to Washington, one of which was ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment . Congressional Republicans during Reconstruction, commonly referred to as " radical Republicans ", constantly pushed for new constitutions for each of
4477-569: The Union cause during the conflict. Approximately 15,000 North Carolinians (both black and white) from across the state enlisted in the Union Army . Numerous slaves also escaped to Union lines, where they became essentially free. Following the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865, North Carolina, along with other former Confederate States (except Tennessee), was put under direct control by
4598-602: The Union on May 20, 1861, becoming the tenth of eleven states to join the Confederate States of America . Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, 1868. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully piloted the world's first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina's Outer Banks . North Carolina often uses
4719-628: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously voted to overturn most of the restrictive provisions of the law." Judge Diana Gribbon Motz's opinion for the panel noted, "The new provisions target African Americans with almost surgical precision" and "impose cures for problems that did not exist." Thus, she wrote, "the asserted justifications cannot and do not conceal the State's true motivation." On August 31,
4840-584: The University of Tennessee and her J.D. degree from Harvard Law School , where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review . After law school, she clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Wilfred Feinberg . She then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun . From 1982 to 1999, Hair served as staff lawyer and, later, the director of the Washington, D.C. office of
4961-540: The fall line . Railroads were built to connect the new industrializing cities. The state was the site of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight , by the Wright brothers , near Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left the state to go North for better opportunities, in the Great Migration . Their departure changed
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5082-479: The 1970s, North Carolina has seen steady increases in population growth. This growth has largely occurred in metropolitan areas located within the Piedmont Crescent , in places such as Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham and Raleigh. The Charlotte metropolitan area has experienced large growth mainly due to its finance, banking, and tech industries. By the 1990s, Charlotte had become
5203-502: The American Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Some were inspired by their efforts and the language of the Revolution to arrange for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose markedly in the first couple of decades after the Revolution. Many free people of color migrated to the frontier, along with their European-American neighbors, where
5324-696: The Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad was vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington were moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia . In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which one-third of the state's total population were African-American slaves. The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister state, South Carolina , becoming
5445-405: The Civil War. The phrase "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox", later became used through much of the early 20th century. After secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. Some of the yeoman farmers chiefly in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region remained neutral during the Civil War, with others covertly supporting
5566-511: The Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville , which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman 's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865. In April 1865, after losing the Battle of Morrisville , Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place , in what is today Durham . North Carolina's port city of Wilmington ,
5687-719: The Crown (they were called "Tories" or Loyalists). The American victory at King's Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories. The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina ,
5808-659: The Democratic candidate, state attorney general Roy Cooper . His defeat was viewed as at least partially a victory for Moral Mondays, which "galvanized opposition and drew news media attention with numerous acts of civil disobedience." However, the Republican-dominated legislature retaliated with a law severely limiting the powers of the governor, which Gov. McCrory signed into law before leaving office. North Carolina North Carolina ( / ˌ k ær ə ˈ l aɪ n ə / KARR -ə- LY -nə )
5929-760: The Mississippi River. Starting in 1540, the Native polities of the Mississippian culture fell apart and reformed as new groups, such as the Catawba , due to a series of destabilizing events known as the " Mississippian shatter zone ". Introduction of colonial trading arrangements and hostile native groups from the north such as the Westo Indians hastened changes in an already tenuous regional hierarchy. As described by anthropologist Robbie Ethridge ,
6050-407: The Mississippian shatter zone was a time of great instability in what is now the American South, caused by the instability of Mississippian chiefdoms, high mortality from new Eurasian diseases, conversion to an agricultural society and the accompanying population increase, and the emergence of Native "militaristic slaving societies". Historically documented tribes in the North Carolina region include
6171-415: The Moral Monday protests moved to Charlotte when 2,000 people gathered in Marshall Park for one of the city's largest protests. Organizers announced plans to return to Marshall Park and a dozen other sites across North Carolina. On February 8, 2014, Moral Mondays participated in a cumulative protest called HK on J (Historic Thousands on Jones Street), its largest protest to date. The protest gathered in
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#17327973988446292-474: The Native Americans, who had no immunity to the new disease (it had become endemic over centuries in Europe). According to the historian Russell Thornton, "The 1738 epidemic was said to have killed one-half of the Cherokee , with other tribes of the area suffering equally." After the Spanish in the 16th century, the first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were English colonists who migrated south from Virginia . Virginia had grown rapidly and land
6413-453: The Piedmont. In the late 16th century, the first Spanish explorers traveling inland recorded meeting Mississippian culture people at Joara , a regional chiefdom near what later developed as Morganton . Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567, Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition to claim the area for the Spanish colony and to establish another route to reach silver mines in Mexico. Pardo made
6534-422: The Revolutionary War, fierce guerrilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. North Carolina had around 7,800 Patriots join the Continental Army under General George Washington ; and an additional 10,000 served in local militia units under such leaders as General Nathanael Greene . There
6655-425: The South since the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965. During 2014, weekly protests took place in Raleigh starting in April. In May, a group staged a sit-in at the office of House Speaker Thom Tillis . Adam O'Neal, Republican mayor of Belhaven, North Carolina , began a 14-day 273-mile walk to Washington, D.C. , after Vidant Health closed his town's hospital in July. O'Neal ended up walking to Washington
6776-438: The Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan 's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from the latter's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign
6897-434: The Southern states that emphasized equal rights for African-Americans. In 1868, a constitutional convention restored the state government of North Carolina. Though the Fifteenth Amendment was also adopted that same year, it remained in most cases ineffective for almost a century, not to mention paramilitary groups and their lynching with impunity. The elections in April 1868 following the constitutional convention led to
7018-405: The arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (Charleston). Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and was one of
7139-413: The average public school teacher in the US. The 2013 budget for state teachers did not include raises to base salary. Additionally, the budget phased out tenure for public school teachers by 2018, eliminated future salary increases for teachers who earn master's degrees, and cut $ 120 million from the budget for teacher assistants . Cuts to education have been one of the issues raised in the protests. Since
7260-422: The bill." In August 2013 McCrory signed into law the revised bill, which was the subject of renewed protests. North Carolina attorneys Adam Stein and Irv Joyner, along with, and pro bono counsel Kirkland & Ellis and racial justice nonprofit Advancement Project filed a complaint in federal district court on behalf of the North Carolina NAACP and 93-year-old Rosanell Eaton, a North Carolina woman impacted by
7381-452: The charges taken off their records. In January 2014, the Moral Mondays movement spread to Georgia with the formation of the group Moral Monday Georgia. Leaders of the group announced plans to protest Governor Nathan Deal's decision to reject federal funds for Medicaid expansion. The second rally held at the Georgia state Capitol building, again focusing on Medicaid expansion, resulted in 10 arrests for civil disobedience. January 2014 also saw
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#17327973988447502-503: The city was named after Sir Walter Raleigh , sponsor of Roanoke , the "lost colony" on Roanoke Island . The population of the colony more than quadrupled from 52,000 in 1740 to 270,000 in 1780 from high immigration from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania , plus immigrants from abroad. North Carolina did not have any printer or print shops until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg Virginia to act as their official printer. Before this time
7623-528: The coastal settlements, but by 1718 piracy in the Carolinas was on the decline. Growth was strong in the middle of the 18th century, as the economy attracted Scots-Irish , Quaker , English and German immigrants. A majority of the North Carolina colonists generally supported the American Revolution , although there were some Loyalists . Loyalists in North Carolina were fewer in number than in some other colonies such as Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and New York. During colonial times, Edenton served as
7744-400: The colonists either traveled away with or assimilated into local native culture. Virginia Dare , the first English person to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; the surrounding Dare County is named for her. As early as 1650, settlers from the Virginia colony had moved into the Albemarle Sound region. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted
7865-446: The deal began on October 4, 2013, with former Wake County district court judges Joy Hamilton and William Lawton appointed by the state to preside over them. Protestors were charged with second-degree trespassing , failure to disperse on command, and posting or displaying signs or placards in violation of legislative building rules. Despite the similarity in the cases, outcomes have significantly varied in different trials. Saladin Muhammad,
7986-434: The demographic characteristics of many areas. North Carolina was hard hit by the Great Depression , but the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt for cotton and tobacco significantly helped the farmers. After World War II , the state's economy grew rapidly, highlighted by the growth of such cities as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham in the Piedmont region. Research Triangle Park , established in 1959, serves as
8107-464: The east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem ). On October 25, 1836, construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh . In 1840, the state capitol building in Raleigh was completed, and still stands today. In 1849, the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro , High Point , and Charlotte . During
8228-483: The environment were all replaced by new members that have links to McCrory and the Republicans currently in power in the General Assembly. A bill to allow hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking) in North Carolina was passed rapidly with little or no public input. McCrory signed legislation that made North Carolina the 8th state to cut unemployment benefits since the start of the Great Recession . In addition to cutting maximum weekly unemployment benefits by 35%,
8349-424: The farthest into Union lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga , the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in
8470-437: The first to be tried, was convicted on all counts. In trials on October 11, 2013, all charges were dismissed. William Barber and others were convicted only of trespassing and violating building rules. The failure to disperse charge was dismissed due to lack of evidence that there was a threat of violence associated with the demonstrations. In other trials, the violation of building rules charges were deemed unconstitutional due to
8591-458: The formation of the "Truthful Tuesday" movement in South Carolina. The Moral Mondays movement also spread to Florida, Alabama, Missouri, and Indiana. Rev. Barber has also gone on to do training across the country in how other organizers can learn lessons from North Carolina's Moral Monday movement, including advising in the civil protests surrounding a police shooting death in Ferguson, Mo. In 2016, Governor McCrory lost his bid for re-election to
8712-513: The generally non-slave-holding yeoman farmers of North Carolina. While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated compared to some other Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population out of 992,622 people in total, were enslaved African Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of the state. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in
8833-458: The governor of North Carolina, who promised safe-haven and a pardon, Blackbeard was killed in an ambush by troops from Virginia. In 1996, Intersal, Inc., a private maritime research firm, discovered the remains of a vessel likely to be the Queen Anne's Revenge , which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places . North Carolina became one of the Thirteen Colonies and with
8954-501: The homelands of the historic Cherokee people, who are believed to have migrated over time from the Great Lakes area. In the 500–700 years preceding European contact, the Mississippian culture built elaborate cities and maintained far-flung regional trading networks. Its largest city was Cahokia , which had numerous mounds for different purposes, a highly stratified society, and was located in present-day southwestern Illinois near
9075-622: The largest research park in the United States. Formed near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, the Research Triangle metro is a major area of universities and advanced scientific and technical research. The Greensboro sit-ins in 1960 played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement to bring full equality to American blacks. By the late 1960s, spurred in part by the increasingly leftward tilt of national Democrats, conservative whites began to vote for Republican national candidates and gradually for more Republicans locally. Since
9196-500: The largest single surrender of Confederate soldiers at Bennett Place , when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, totalling 89,270 soldiers. Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia ,
9317-642: The last or penultimate state to officially join the Confederacy. The title of "last to join the Confederacy" has been disputed; although Tennessee's informal secession on May 7, 1861, preceded North Carolina's official secession on May 20, the Tennessee legislature did not formally vote to secede until June 8, 1861. Around 125,000 troops from North Carolina served in the Confederate Army, and about 15,000 North Carolina troops (both black and white) served in Union Army regiments , including those who left
9438-424: The law, abortion rights advocates were pleased with the regulation, saying the regulations would not require any clinics to close. The day after McCrory signed the bill, he took a plate of chocolate chip cookies to protesters. They were returned to him with a note saying, "Gov. McCrory, we'll take women's health care over cookies!" As of 2012, the average state teacher in North Carolina earned about $ 9,500 less than
9559-608: The laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were kept in a largely disorganized manner, prompting the hiring of Davis. Davis settled in New Bern, married, and in 1755 was appointed by Benjamin Franklin as North Carolina's first postmaster. In October of that year the North Carolina Assembly awarded Davis a contract to carry mail between Wilmington, North Carolina and Suffolk, Virginia . He
9680-408: The legislation reduced the maximum number of weeks of assistance to between 12 and 20, down from 26. This prevented 170,000 North Carolinians from benefiting from federal emergency extended benefits, which required a minimum of 26 weeks of state support. This allowed the state's unemployment fund, which became bankrupt over the course of the recession, to become solvent three years sooner. This move
9801-666: The legislature finished for 2013, an estimated 10,000 protesters gathered for Mountain Moral Monday at the Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville . The NAACP and others intended to visit all 13 North Carolina congressional districts. Rev. William Barber, the president of the NAACP's state chapter, said more people needed to register and vote to show their disapproval of state policies. On August 19, 2013
9922-535: The lost revenue with an increased sales tax. McCrory distanced himself from this proposal, which was criticized by Art Pope , his deputy budget director, as being regressive . According to legislative analysts, the reform passed will result in some families, retirees and small business owners seeing a tax hike. All taxpayers have had to pay some additional sales taxes due to expansions of the tax to some services and higher sales tax on electricity. The largest income tax breaks has gone to higher-income earners as it replaced
10043-429: The morning around 9:30 at Shaw University and the march began at 10:30. Protesters marched from Shaw University down Wilmington Street then Davie Street and then Fayetteville Street congregating along Fayetteville Street for protest. It is reported that 80,000 people attended the rally, with Raleigh, NC policing saying they granted a permit for up to 30,000 people. Either way, this made it the largest Civil Rights protest in
10164-516: The mothers were free, their children were born free. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain , planters imported more slaves, and the state's legal delineations between free and slave status tightened, effectively hardening the latter into a racial caste. Conditions for both slaves and workers worsened as
10285-710: The movement built momentum, more than 900 demonstrators were arrested as part of the Moral Monday movement, and police have estimated weekly attendance at over 2,500. Cited reasons for the protests include legislation recently passed or proposed on changes to Medicaid, changes to voting regulations, school vouchers , tax reform, and abortion. McCrory has criticized the protests as unlawful and a drain on state resources, and has declined to meet with them, later saying "outsiders are coming in and they're going to try to do to us what they did to Scott Walker in Wisconsin ." The vast majority of attendees are North Carolina residents. Once
10406-560: The nation. Hair fought against the disenfranchisement of African-American voters during the 2000 presidential election in Florida , investigating black voters who had found difficulty voting due to being wrongly listed as ineligible to vote. She has also campaigned for the restoration of voting rights of people with felony convictions in Virginia. In the 2008 and 2012 elections, Hair spearheaded campaigns challenging voter ID restrictions and other discriminatory electoral provisions. While she
10527-402: The new law. Advancement Project co-director Penda Hair called the law, "a targeted attack on voting," charging that the voting changes predominately affect African-American voters, who disproportionately use same-day registration and, during the 2012 election, used early voting at a rate of 70 percent. Although a federal judge initially upheld the law, on July 29, 2016, a three-judge panel of
10648-400: The notorious Crop-Lien system developed and was financially difficult on landless whites and blacks, due to high amounts of usury. Also due to the push for commodity agriculture, the free range was ended. Prior to this time people fenced in their crops and had their livestock feeding on the free range areas. After the ending of the free range people now fenced their animals and had their crops in
10769-569: The open. Democrats were elected to the legislature and governor's office, but the Populists attracted voters displeased with them. In 1896 a biracial, Populist-Republican Fusionist coalition gained the governor's office and passed laws that would extend the voting franchise to blacks and poor whites. The Democrats regained control of the legislature in 1896 and passed laws to impose Jim Crow and racial segregation of public facilities. Voters of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district elected
10890-553: The passage of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act , protests against the act have been ongoing throughout the state of North Carolina. On the day of the first Moral Monday protest, Rev. Barber drafted a statement for the NC NAACP called "Why We Are Here Today," in which he outlined what was the catalyst for the Moral Monday protests. Rev. Barber wrote: "(W)e have no other choice but to assemble in
11011-469: The people's house where these bills are being presented, argued, and voted upon, in hopes that God will move in the hearts of our legislators, as he moved in the heart of Pharaoh to let His people go. Some ask the question, why don't they be quiet? Well, I must remind you, that it has been our collective silence that has quietly opened the city gates to these undemocratic violators of our rights." During that first protest on April 29, 2013, 17 were arrested. As
11132-437: The ranks of the former eclipsed the latter and expansion of farming operations into former Indigenous territories lowered prices. Unable to establish deep water ports such as at Charles Town and Norfolk, the economy's growth and prosperity was thus based on cheap labor and slave plantation systems, devoted primarily to the production of tobacco, then later cotton and textiles. In 1738–1739 , smallpox caused high fatalities among
11253-546: The reconstruction era, North Carolina had become a one-party state, dominated by the Democratic Party . The state mainly continued with an economy based on tobacco, cotton textiles and commodity agriculture. Large towns and cities remained in few numbers. However, a major industrial base emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the counties of the Piedmont Triad , based on cotton mills established at
11374-462: The ruling, Hair has served as counsel in cases challenging photo ID requirements in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin , as well as litigation challenging a recently passed voting measure in North Carolina . Under Hair's leadership, Advancement Project produced many reports on voter suppression, including What’s Wrong with This Picture?: New Photo ID Proposals Part of National Push to Turn Back
11495-457: The same standards as surgical centers, allows health-care providers to decline to perform abortions, and prohibits public health insurance policies from paying for abortions. Abortion-rights groups criticized McCrory, who had said during his campaign that he would not sign new abortion restrictions. After the McCrory administration issued in 2014 the new regulations for abortion clinics required by
11616-487: The six forts in the interior, including Fort San Juan. Although the Spanish never returned to the interior, this effort marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A 16th-century journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera, and archaeological findings since 1986 at Joara, have confirmed the settlement. In 1584, Elizabeth I granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh , for whom
11737-761: The slogan "First in Flight" on state license plates to commemorate this achievement, alongside a newer alternative design bearing the slogan "First in Freedom" in reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration and Halifax Resolves. North Carolina is defined by a wide range of elevations and landscapes. From west to east, North Carolina's elevation descends from the Appalachian Mountains to the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain . North Carolina's Mount Mitchell at 6,684 ft (2,037 m)
11858-415: The social system was looser. By 1810, nearly three percent of the free population consisted of free people of color, who numbered slightly more than 10,000. The western areas of North Carolina were mainly white families of European descent, especially Scotch-Irish , who operated small subsistence farms. In the early national period, the state became a center of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy , with
11979-439: The state capital beginning in 1722, followed by New Bern becoming the capital in 1766. Construction of Tryon Palace , which served as the residence and offices of the provincial governor William Tryon , began in 1767 and was completed in 1771. In 1788, Raleigh was chosen as the site of the new capital, as its central location protected it from coastal attacks. Officially established in 1792 as both county seat and state capital,
12100-408: The state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then part of the territory of Virginia ). It was the second American territory that the English attempted to colonize. Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, but both failed. The colony established in 1587 saw 118 colonists 'disappear' when John White was unable to return from a supply run during battles with
12221-608: The state free of charge, in order to vote and would repeal same-day voter registration and limit early voting. Legislators also passed "Equalize Voter Rights", a bill that would revoke the tax credit given to parents if their dependent college student registers to vote at their college/university address. This bill would also require voters to register their vehicles at the same address as their voter registration. The editorial board of The New York Times called this "a blatant effort to reduce Democratic voting strength in college towns like Chapel Hill and Durham." McCrory said he would sign
12342-604: The state from the 18th until the 20th century. Eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from rural England and Gaelic speakers from the Scottish Highlands . The Piedmont upcountry and western mountain region of North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish , English, and German Protestants, the so-called " cohee ". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish, people of Scottish descent who migrated to and then emigrated from what
12463-459: The state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its most populous city . The Charlotte metropolitan area , with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 22nd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Research Triangle , with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023,
12584-527: The state in 1711, known as Cary's Rebellion . In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony, and in 1729 it became a royal colony, with the exception of the Earl Granville holdings. In June 1718, Queen Anne's Revenge , the flagship of pirate Blackbeard , ran aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in present-day Carteret County . After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In November 1718, after appealing to
12705-477: The state legislature building to be peacefully arrested. The movement protests many wide-ranging issues under the blanket claim of unfair treatment, discrimination, and adverse effects of government legislation on the citizens of North Carolina. The protests in North Carolina launched a grassroots social justice movement that, in 2014, spread to Georgia and South Carolina, and then to other U.S. states such as Illinois and New Mexico . In 2012, North Carolina elected
12826-580: The state legislature in 1870, in part by Ku Klux Klan violence and terrorism at the polls, to suppress black voting. Republicans were elected to the governorship until 1876, when the Red Shirts , a paramilitary organization that arose in 1874 and was allied with the Democratic Party , helped suppress black voting. More than 150 black Americans were murdered in electoral violence in 1876. Post–Civil War-debt cycles pushed people to switch from subsistence agriculture to commodity agriculture. Among this time
12947-501: The state to join Union regiments elsewhere. Over 30,000 North Carolina troops died from combat or disease during the war. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond . The state government was reluctant to support the demands of the national government in Richmond , and the state was the scene of only small battles. In 1865, Durham County saw
13068-473: The state. They were also mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern, where a variety of jobs were available. Most were descendants from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the 18th century. The majority were the descendants of unions in the working classes between white women, indentured servants or free, and African men, indentured, slave or free. After
13189-462: The state. All of these men either had remained loyal to the Crown or aided Charles's restoration to the English throne after Cromwell . In 1712, owing to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony split into North Carolina and South Carolina . North Carolina became a crown colony in 1729. Most of the English colonists had arrived as indentured servants , hiring themselves out as laborers for
13310-572: The target of ongoing "Moral Mondays" civil disobedience protests, organized in part by local [[Modern liberalism in the United States] religious leaders including William Barber , head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP . Members of the protest movement meet Monday to protest an action by the North Carolina legislature and then enter the legislature building. Once they enter, a number are peacefully arrested each Monday. The protestors are
13431-454: The territory of South Carolina was originally known as the Province of North Carolina . The northern and southern parts of the original province separated in 1712, with North Carolina becoming a royal colony in 1729. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture , the colony lacked large cities or towns. Pirates menaced
13552-482: The twelfth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . After 1800, cotton and tobacco became important export crops. The eastern half of the state, especially the Coastal Plain region, developed a slave society based on a plantation system and slave labor. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina. They placed their interests above those of
13673-423: The vagueness of the rule regarding signs. Barber and others have announced their intention to appeal. As lower court judges in North Carolina are not required to provide the reasons for their rulings, the reasons for the differences between cases are often unknown. On July 11, 2014 fourteen protestors pleaded guilty to second-degree trespassing, a class three misdemeanor, and received community service but could have
13794-555: The war took place at King's Mountain along the North Carolina–South Carolina border; on October 7, 1780, a force of 1,000 Patriots from western North Carolina (including what is today the state of Tennessee ) and southwest Virginia overwhelmed a force of some 1,000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson . Most of the soldiers fighting for the British side in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to
13915-498: The white Republican mayor and aldermen. They installed their own people and elected Alfred M. Waddell as mayor, in the only successful coup d'état in United States history . In 1899, the state legislature passed a new constitution, with requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests for voter registration which disenfranchised most black Americans in the state. Exclusion from voting had wide effects: it meant black Americans could not serve on juries or in any local office. After
14036-436: Was active in voter protection before her time with Advancement Project, Hair has been vigilant in the most recent wave of voter suppression tactics, many which emerged in 2011 and have spread further since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Shelby . The ruling removed preclearance of new, potentially problematic voting laws for several states that had historically used voter suppression tactics on communities of color. Since
14157-655: Was also active in North Carolina politics as a member of the Assembly and later as the Sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the North-Carolina Gazette , North Carolina's first newspaper, printed in his printing house in New Bern. Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the Atlantic coastal plain and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of
14278-692: Was criticized for weakening the safety net when the state had the nation's 5th highest unemployment, and for passing up federal support. In March 2013, McCrory signed a bill that opted the state out of the expanded Medicaid program of the Affordable Care Act of 2009, which would have provided health care coverage to 500,000 North Carolinians, citing concerns about the sustainability of the program. He has also proposed managing Medicaid accounts, by enrolling patients in managed care programs run by private companies. Legislators considered legislation that would remove or lower income taxes, making up for
14399-628: Was less available. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655. By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina , known as the Albemarle Settlements , was undergoing full-scale English settlement. During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave provincial land grants to
14520-568: Was some military action, especially in 1780–81. Many Carolinian frontiersmen had moved west over the mountains, into the Washington District (later known as Tennessee ), but in 1789, following the Revolution, the state was persuaded to relinquish its claim to the western lands. It ceded them to the national government so the Northwest Territory could be organized and managed nationally. A major American victory in
14641-674: Was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, in February 1865, after the Union won the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher , its major defense downriver. The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt from North Carolina, in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced
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