Enlarge Peter Gorman with Study Group Co-chairs Anna Spangler Nelson and Richard "Stick" Williams.

Posted: September 1st, 2010 Greg Lacour

A group of 13 philanthropists, businesspeople, government officials and citizens are joining up under the banner of Foundation For The Carolinas to try to relieve one of Charlotte’s knottiest problems-–how to close the achievement gap and curb dropout rates in public schools.

It’s an increasingly difficult task, especially with the economy taking a toll on tax revenue and public funding for school systems like Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s. So like some other school systems throughout the country, CMS is turning to the business and philanthropic communities for help.

The new CMS Investment Study Group’s 13 members will meet with administrative and staffing help from FFTC beginning September 8. The group will examine other communities’ experiences with philanthropic involvement in public education. By the end of 2010, they hope to produce a set of recommendations on how best to apply philanthropic gifts to help lessen the performance gap between affluent and poor, and minority and non-minority, CMS students.

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Posted: August 26th, 2010 Tonya Jameson

The Women’s equality movement could use a cause celebré. It needs another Hillary Clinton to rally pantsuit-wearing professional women. It needs another Sarah Palin to rally folksy stay-at-home-moms.  
              
I came to this realization while covering the Women’s Equality Day: Celebrating Women: Past, Present and Future event hosted by The Mecklenburg County Women’s Advisory Board at the Levine Museum of the New South on Monday. The event drew more than 75 women of all ages eager to celebrate and reflect on the advances women have made. They also discussed the hurdles women still face.
           
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve certainly made huge strides,” said Sally McMillan, history professor at Davidson College.
           
We know the strides--women hold public offices, they’re CEOs of major companies and they’re a majority of our college graduates. We also know the challenges--they’re victims of domestic violence, they don’t receive equal pay and many can’t afford childcare.
           
The problem is the hurdles aren’t polarizing enough. McMillan admits it's tough getting her students at Davidson to be interested in women’s history and women’s struggle for equality. The problem is that the struggle for women’s equality is simply history for today’s younger generation. They can’t relate to the struggles of their foremothers. It easy to see a Clinton, a Palin or even an Oprah and feel disconnected from the fight that opened the door for them.
           
Affordable daycare, stiffer domestic violence penalties and equal pay seem more like part of the everyday life than a cause for protest. The Women’s Equality event at the Levine was an important reminder that these issues shouldn’t be accepted as part the daily routine. They are reasons for today's women to fight and protest so their daughters can benefit from the gains they've made.

Posted: August 21st, 2010 Greg Lacour

At 83, after decades of community involvement and activism, Thereasea Clark Elder can’t put as much energy into her work as she used to.

Luckily, other folks have stepped in – like Clair Lane, whose organization, Our Foundation For Children, has taken over an event in the Rockwell Park/Hemphill Heights neighborhood in north Charlotte that Elder used to spearhead.

It's a back-to-school celebration and fair, held at the neighborhood’s main park – which is, not coincidentally, named after Elder. When Elder and other community activists created the event in the early '90s, they envisioned it as a fun way to get people in the neighborhood and their kids to know each other, as well as a chance to collect school supplies for needy families. It was a small gathering, with about 50 families coming out every year.

Then, about five years ago, “Clair came in with OFC, and we just went in with them,” Elder said. “We’re getting old,” she laughed, “and we didn’t have anyone to take over. They’re much more equipped to do it than we were.”

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Posted: June 21st, 2010 Tonya Jameson

Discussing race, ethnicity and equity is one of a community’s most difficult conversations. Emotions and tempers often flare. Or we’re too worried about offending each other to talk candidly. So, we choose not to talk or we place nice and nothing gets done (as in Crossroads' "The Beat Goes On" scenario).

Patrick Graham, president of the Urban Leaugue of the Central Carolinas, hopes State of Ethnic Charlotte, a new community-wide initiative hopes to spur objective discussions and, most importantly, solicit solutions. At its second meeting, set for June 29, community members will meet at the Urban League to discuss how to address the inequities that we're facing.

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