Willie Johnson has been driving 30 minutes from his hometown in New Bern, NC to the more rural area of Trenton, NC for nine years. His congregation is there – in a church located within ‘the bowl’ of Back Street. Many of his parishioners have weathered all of North Carolina’s storms. And geographically, African American…
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“I can only imagine what my parents had to go through for that land.” Gwendolyn Brown grew up in Back Street, a long-time African American community in Trenton, NC. When you enter the neighborhood, you pull off of ‘Backstreet Road’, go down a gravel hill, and enter what Brown calls ‘a bowl.’ She is familiar…
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Helen Barrett from Episode 3 shares a poem she wrote about sharing a birthday with Hurricane Florence. Two years since her house flooded with three feet of water, Barrett is still not in her home. Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding in Coastal Carolina communities. Support the show (https://shoresides.org/support/) Want to…
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Helen Barrett drove school buses in New Bern, NC for 25 years. In early adulthood, she saw the fire of 1922 change the landscape of her city – pushing African Americans from downtown. Now she’s seeing the same zoning patterns in the wake of Hurricane Florence. Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding…
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Fanny Irving has lived in Trenton all of her life. She lives in the home that from 1971 – 1975 she built with her late husband. First Floyd, and now Florence, have taken that home from her. Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding in Coastal Carolina communities. Support the show (https://shoresides.org/support/) …
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Eric Brown is from Back Street, a once thriving African American community named for being the opposite to downtown. Back Street has nearly been wiped out from repeated hurricane flooding. Brown built a second home to run from the water, but what will become of his family’s homestead? Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting…
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