Stay up to date with WRAL’s Black history news and reporting coverage
On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, a pivotal moment in American history that signaled the end of slavery. Discover other important events that happened on this day.
Raleigh's Liberation Station, a Black-owned children's bookstore, is set to make a return in Montague Plaza on Juneteenth 2026.
A Wilson car repair shop faced backlash after a viral video showed an employee making dismissive comments about Juneteenth, leading a customer to immediately leave the shop.
Full of modern day coffee shops, trendy restaurants and boutiques, it may be hard to imagine a time when downtown Raleigh was instead full of sprawling fields, plantation houses - and hundreds of enslaved individuals.
Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer
On Juneteenth, Raleigh pays tribute to the often-overlooked U.S. Colored Troops who played a pivotal role in the Union's victory during the Civil War and the subsequent abolition of slavery.
Coming from Indiana nearly five years ago, WRAL anchor/reporter Julian Grace said he's always found a deep connection to Raleigh. During this Black History Month, he decided to learn more about his connections to one of Raleigh's oldest Black neighborhoods.
Drive through Raleigh and you'll likely notice a growing number of public artworks that celebrate the city's Black history.
Gloria Feimster's grandmother, Emma Blalock, was interviewed in 1937 for the WPA Slave Narratives. There's just one problem -- what was recorded almost 90 years ago is full of inaccuracies.
During this Black History Month, we feature legendary gospel singer, songwriter, record producer Luther Barnes of Rocky Mount, considered one of the nation's leading men in gospel music--and an inspiration to many.
During Black History Month, WRAL Heath Reporter Grace Hayba looks at how activism and health advocacy are not a new combination - but one the Black community has been practicing for decades.
Since the state expanded Medicaid in December 2023, over 600,000 residents, many from Black and brown communities, have gained access to essential health services. However, challenges persist in reducing systemic barriers to whole-person health.
Millie Dunn Veasey's name is associated with several accolades: World War II veteran, civil rights activist, the first female president of the Raleigh chapter of the NAACP.
Millie Dunn Veasey, a WWII veteran and civil rights icon, became a trailblazer as part of the 6888th Battalion. A Netflix film unveils the profound impact and challenges faced by Veasey and her fellow servicemembers, drawing her family into an inspiring story of resilience they never fully knew.
Our Tar Heel Traveler highlights Sarah Keys, a black military veteran who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Roanoke Rapids long before Rosa Parks did.
Feb. 1, 2025, marked 65 years since four Black college students sat at an all-white lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro.
The town of Plymouth, North Carolina, now has a marker to bring awareness of the 1864 massacre in that town in which Black soldiers and civilians were killed in the Civil War.
James L. Solomon Jr., one of three African American students to desegregate South Carolina University back in 1963, died Friday at the age of 94.
WIS
The city historic commission and the planning commission both recommended against a plan for a hotel near the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge.
Shaun Gallagher, WRAL reporter
Many are expected to gather on Wednesday for the funeral of Dr. John Mitchell Johnson - the owner of Raleigh's oldest pharmacy, and North Carolina's oldest Black-owned pharmacy.
The Franklin-Vance Warren Opportunity nonprofit in Henderson is transforming into a "jubilee center" to honor its history as the Jubilee Hospital.
Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter
Thousands of people tour the grounds of the picturesque Biltmore Estate each year -- never realizing they're walking in the footsteps of a lost community, where Black men and women freed from slavery built their first homes in freedom: Old Shiloh.
Gerald Owens, WRAL anchor/reporter
A new online project by state historians traces the names and stories of some of the enslaved workers who built North Carolina's historic Capitol from 1833 to 1840.
Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief
