I've worked at The Daily Tar Heel as a staff writer on the Arts and Culture Desk and as a Communications Intern form the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! This semester, I joined the Bridge at UNC, an online publication that uplifts women of color creatives.
Check out my stories below!
The Well at UNC
NC Poet Laureate’s Stone Lecture will touch on the theme of America’s first slaves
If artists are here, as writer James Baldwin once said, to disturb the peace, then Jaki Shelton Green knows why she is North Carolina’s poet laureate.
“The poet, in my case, is necessarily an agitator, historian and social activist,” said Green, the first African American and the third woman to be appointed to this role. Among her duties are traveling across North Carolina to engage writers and readers of all ages and writing commemorative poems for historical or culturally important occasions. She is also an ambassador for North Carolina literature and literacy, using the office as a platform to highlight the work of the state’s writers.
From a father’s journey to a national conference
A television broadcaster whose son has autism and a Carolina autism researcher have teamed up to create the first UNC Autism Fathers Conference. Set for Sept. 14, the conference is designed for fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder, but other parents are welcome to attend.
The conference is a collaboration between television broadcaster Dwayne Ballen and Dr. Joe Piven, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and the director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. Both men wanted this conference to address the challenges a father faces raising a child with autism spectrum disorder and to let these fathers know they are not alone.
Archaeologists open ‘virtual museum’ of ancient NC history online
The public got its first peek at decades of work by Carolina archaeologists when the new interactive website, Ancient North Carolinians: A Virtual Museum of North Carolina Archaeology, launched Nov. 15.
Using lesson plans, travel guides and a gallery of 3D artifact images, AncientNC raises awareness of the 15,000-year history of North Carolina’s indigenous populations and provides educational resources for the state’s teachers and students.
“This website is just one more way that we’re bringing the fruits of all the research done here over the many decades out to the general public so that they can get a better perspective on who we are and how we got here,” said Vin Steponaitis, the professor of archaeology and anthropology who has led the Ancient NC project for the past three years.
The Daily Tar Heel
Meet the most wholesome quilting group in North Carolina
Grab a cup of tea and settle in to quilt with the 200 members of the Durham Orange Quilter’s Guild. For 40 years, this guild has serviced the community through quilts: big, small, artsy and traditional. On March 8 they’ll end their 40th Anniversary celebration during a 2nd Friday ArtWalk pop-up sale in Downtown Chapel Hill.
What began as a group of six women in the late 1970s has turned into a multi-generational organization of quilters who’ve donated quilts to veterans, hospitals and charity. Patti Postage has served as president of the guild for three years, but she’s been quilting for almost 50.
“I did it with my grandmother and my aunts and cousins,” Postage said. “… I enjoyed the social time with all the family.”
Turn your poems into a manuscript with the North Carolina Poetry Society
The North Carolina Poetry Society is hosting a manuscript preparation workshop to give aspiring poets tips on how to publish their work on March 16. The workshop is a precursor to Lena Shull Book Awards, which the society has hosted since 2014. The winner gets their poetry manuscript published, as well as $250.
For just two hours at the Chapel Hill Library,Tori Reynolds, coordinator of the contest, said attendees can learn everything they need to know about creating a manuscript.
“So this manuscript workshop is for anyone who wants to come,” Reynolds said. “It’s free and open to the public. Everybody who is trying to do that mountainous task — climb that mountain of putting a full-length manuscript together.”
Support your local drag queens at "Drag Queens Are Coming"
Featuring fresh, fun, fierce and local drag queens, the second season of the “Drag Queens Are Coming!” show at Cat’s Cradle is on Friday, March 22 at 10 p.m.
After a hiatus, hostess Naomi Dix is back, and she said she plans for this show to be a cohesive and polished artistic experience.
“We are here to create a continuous safe space for everyone and anyone within Carrboro and Chapel Hill,” Dix said.
With the rise in popularity of the TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Dix said that now drag has never been more culturally dynamic. Drag as an art form and a cultural experience has made its way into the consciousness of mainstream media.
New theater company seeks to make theater accessible to students of color
From opening nights to the final curtain calls, UNC undergraduate theater is full of lively singing, dramatic acting and hardworking students, but some students say it appears to be lacking one thing: diversity.
A new group has started on campus called the Black Arts Theatre Company, a subgroup of the Black Student Movement. The group seeks to tackle this overarching issue of diversity in student theater, as well as to make a space where all students feel supported and comfortable in theater.
At UNC, non-professional theater companies are the main way students get theatrical experience. These groups include Company Carolina, LAB! Theatre and Pauper Players, where auditions are open to every student.
April concerts close to home and around the Triangle
Treat yourself to tunes of the town this spring, when a variety of musical genres will be played in music venues across the Triangle area. From Southern folk to sludge metal, enjoy special and unique sounds that are only a hop, skip and a jump away.
"Poetry on the Porch" will host two poets to discuss poetry in the South
Poetry painted on the Southern landscape is what organizers say are in store for any who attend the “Poetry on the Porch” event on April 18 at 5:30 p.m, hosted by the Center for the Study of the American South and Southern Cultures magazine.
On the lawn of the “Love House,” home to the Center for the Study of the American South, poets Tiana Clark and Emilia Phillips will bring their messages and emotions to Chapel Hill through their poetry on topics surrounding the Southern living experience.
Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Southern Cultures’ poetry editor, said these poets will be a powerhouse together. Both poets discuss pain and violence associated with the South in their poetry.
New theater company seeks to make theater accessible to students of color
From opening nights to the final curtain calls, UNC undergraduate theater is full of lively singing, dramatic acting and hardworking students, but some students say it appears to be lacking one thing: diversity.
A new group has started on campus called the Black Arts Theatre Company, a subgroup of the Black Student Movement. The group seeks to tackle this overarching issue of diversity in student theater, as well as to make a space where all students feel supported and comfortable in theater.
At UNC, non-professional theater companies are the main way students get theatrical experience. These groups include Company Carolina, LAB! Theatre and Pauper Players, where auditions are open to every student.
Head to the Pit on Tuesday to watch 'the Unsung Rise'
UNC artists and speakers will explore the connections between the Unsung Founders Memorial in McCorkle Place, the murder of James Cates in 1970 and Maya Little’s upcoming Honor Court appeal with a dedication in the Pit.
The dedication will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. leading up to Little’s Honor Court appeal. This will be the second time Little has appeared in front of the Honor Court. Little decided to appeal the charges she received in October at her first appearance, which resulted in her receiving a letter of warning and 18 hours of community service.
The dedication is titled “After the Fall, the Unsung Rise” and will include speakers and artistic performances.
This exhibit connects past and present with photos of the 1960s civil rights movement
“I Am a Man,” the title for the Center for the Study of the American South’s next photography exhibit, is named after the phrase popularized by the famous sanitation strike in Memphis, Tenn. in 1968.
The exhibit shows the events leading up to Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. “I Am a Man” references the strike’s motto in the famous protest leading up to King’s assassination.
CSAS collected photographs from all over the South that showcases the Civil Rights Movement, specifically in the 1960s. With over 7,000 photographs collected originally for the “I Am a Man” exhibit, CSAS narrowed it down to a little over 100 pictures, said Bill Ferris, the lead researcher of the exhibit. The photos range from the Greensboro sit-ins to KKK rallies disrupted by Native Americans.
How UNC students are fighting for women in hip-hop
For the past 50 years, the genre of hip-hop has alluded to social justice issues and political critiques. However, modern hip-hop artists are faced with moral and ethical dilemmas, especially regarding women. This leads some to ask: Where is feminism in hip-hop today?
Hip-hop and feminism are two increasingly relevant topics, from the popularity of hip-hop artists all over Billboard charts to the impact of the #MeToo movement and the annual Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
At UNC, young hip-hop artists are discussing the new opportunities and limitations involved in making music in a society that is more aware of feminist movements and issues. Lines are beginning to be drawn and crossed when discussing hip-hop and feminism.
MLK’s jail cellmate and a Harriet Tubman actress remember the past through stories
Martin Luther King Jr.’s former jail cellmate and an actress who has portrayed Harriet Tubman more than 300 times are teaming up to tell the story of the “Long Road to Freedom” on Thursday at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center.
Chuck Fager, 76, was a young white man from up North when he joined the voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama alongside King in February of 1965. Fager marched with King on the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery where protesters were met with police retaliation. As a result, many protesters were arrested, including Fager, who ended up in a jail cell overnight with King.
PlayMakers' 'Songs of Light and Wonder' concert hopes to bring the community together
With the semester coming to close, it’s finally time for some holiday cheer — particularly in the form of song. At the “Songs of Light and Wonder” concert at PlayMakers Repertory Company, eight composers and musicians will come together to create what music director Laurelyn Dossett calls a “collaborative concert” of holiday music.
All of the musical acts come from different musical backgrounds and use very different instruments. From folk and the fiddle to gospel and guitar, Dossett said she wants this concert to uplift people’s spirits.
Student artists find balance between album releases and schoolwork
A locally produced album titled “Alover” by UNC student Cassidy Goff releases Thursday night at a free party at Local 506 Music Bar.
The album Alover is a double entendre of “a lover” and “Alo Ver,” which is Goff’s musician name.
“I really want Alo Ver to be this image of love and caring for nature and each other,” Goff said.
Goff said her music is experimental, ethereal and intellectual. Goff said her inspiration for lyrics is her passion for social and environmental issues.
Carolina Curls promotes healthy discussion on natural hair throughout the UNC Community
Carolina Curls, a six-year-old organization, aims to empower people with naturally curly hair and create an inclusive environment on campus by redefining beauty standards.
Carolina Curls treasurer and junior Kennedy Parkins joined her first year at UNC after attending some of the group’s events.
“We try to uphold this purpose to create a space on campus where woman and men of color can openly talk about their hair — natural hair care,” Parkins said. “One of our purposes is to break the mold of what the ideal beauty standards are.”
Local artist brings together songwriters across the state for N.C. Pride Showcase
Local singer-songwriter Ari Pappalardo will bring together local artists from all over the state at the N.C. Pride Songwriter Showcase at 2nd Wind Cafe on Oct. 18.
Pappalardo is passionate about connecting with as many people as possible through music. He’s bringing that passion to North Carolina with the creation of the N.C. Pride Songwriter Showcase, which allows songwriters to perform their original music and tell their stories. The goal of the showcase is to uplift local musicians through a shared appreciation of North Carolina.