housing

Student Housing During Hurricanes and COVID-19

Peter Groenendyk is the Director of Housing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and has experienced countless hurricanes. Groenendyk discusses the process of evacuating students during hurricanes and finding housing for students with nowhere to go. He says his experience relocating students during hurricanes prepared him to deal with student housing issues…

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It’s Time to Take A Stand

This poem is called it’s time to take a stand. And I want people to realize it’s to really think about it and get it deep in your thoughts and really listen to it. It’s time to take a stand. We’re taking a stand. I’m taking a stand. Racism is a social and institutional power…

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She Rocks Special: Discussing George Floyd, Police Brutality, and Racism

Today, we’ll be diving deep into the whole situation that’s been going on in America. So first up, let me introduce my GRITS sisters starting with: Hi, I’m Jonaiyah. I am Arabia. Hello, I’m Kam. Hi, I’m Naiya I’m Brealyn. And these are our GRITS sisters for tonight to give you guys the tea and…

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North River is Low, North River is Home

It’s been nearly two years since Hurricane Florence’s winds devastated homes in North River, a small coastal community in Carteret County, NC. But Yvonne Pittaway still isn’t home.  “Two rooms – if I can get two rooms repaired, I’m going back home.” Pittaway has been staying with her sister in Morehead City. There, as Pittaway…

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Back Street: A Neighborhood in a Bowl

“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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Hearing Stories Versus Knowing Stories

Beverly Johnson’s family bought land by the river in Trenton, NC early in the 20th century. Land ownership options then were limited for African Americans families. Inheriting land in a flood zone was not Johnson’s choice, but she does see many white families in Trenton these days choosing to buy waterfront property. Flood Zone is…

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Cheated Out of Their Homes

“I’m not against integration, but I think people are being cheated out of their homes.” Her mother’s home was condemned. Then her uncle’s. Ophelia Chambers’ family homestead has been in the same location off of Bridges Street in Morehead City, NC for at least 4 generations. In the wake of Hurricane Florence, her traditionally African…

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White Stocking Resident Still Out of Home: Hurricane then COVID-19

Jacqueline has been repairing her home from Hurricane Florence since September 2018. During those two years she has stayed with family, gone through the FEMA trailer program and then bought a travel trailer of her own – all while her home was still being repaired. Now, because of Covid-19, the nearly two-year repair process is…

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The House, It Couldn’t Breathe

It’s been nearly two years since Hurricane Florence flooded the Maple Hill neighborhood in Pender County, NC. But Arlisha Hill’s home is still far from repaired. Hill was ready to resume life as normal. She moved back into her partially repaired home this April – thinking construction would continue and she’d be living in a…

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First, There Was the Fire

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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