Sonya Patrick News Today

This week, events around Wilmington will stand in remembrance of the 1898 Wilmington massacre and coupe d'état, and recognizing the triumphs of community as this year marks the 125th anniversary.Tonight, a tearful Thalian Hall paid tribute to a Wilmington trailblazer, Mary Alice Jervay Thatch.The program titled, "The Black Press Rising From the Ashes of 1898" recognized Thatch for her roles as publisher and editor of the Wilmington Journal, and the pardoning of the Wilmington Ten...

Numerous events are scheduled in the coming weeks to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Wilmington Massacre of Nov. 10, 1898.

Decades of growth, mixed with an assignment policy that exacerbates the problem, have created a district where a quarter of schools are overcrowded.

Juneteenth doesnt officially happen until June 19, but in Wilmington, the celebration starts this week.

Nearly 125 years later, the wounds of the 1898 Wilmington coup still run deep in the city, with many residents saying Wilmington never made amends for the violence.

Its one of many events scheduled around the 123rd anniversary of the overthrow of local government.

Activists in Wilmington have been pushing for a civilian review board for years. Are they going to get one this year?

Sonya Patrick, leader of the Wilmington arm of the Black Lives Matter movement, said her group had been advocating for those two changes in particular for years. The protests, she said, including the rallies held by BLM/ILM at the 1898 memorial on North Third Street, helped provide the momentum necessary for those changes to occur. The history of Long Leaf Park — it was formerly named after Hugh MacRae, one of the organizers of the Wilmington coup and massacre of 1898, in which dozens of Bla...

 The murder of George Floyd last Memorial Day reinvigorated the public outcry for increased accountability of police. (Port City Daily photo/file) WILMINGTON –– A year from the death of George Floyd, the development of a citizens review board to oversee police actions and check for potential misconduct is making slow progress. Community members have demanded the city form a police oversight committee for years, since 2013 when Brandon Smith was killed in a controversial police-involv...

"This is a movement," she added. At Thursdays protest, about 30 people sat on bricks in a circle around each other at the 1898 Memorial, most wearing masks, telling stories and showing support for each other. "Lets stop this madness in the world. I feel like people are listening," said Kenyah Hewitt. Some discussions surrounded Browns case and others like it. One man said it seems in cases like Browns, Black men and women dont automatically get their personal story told about who they were as a...