Featured Story

Featured Story

From Breweries to Michelin Stars: Charlotte’s Global Culinary Rise

February 25, 2026
By Loán C. Lake With the filming of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 23 and local restaurants recognized by the James Beard Awards and the Michelin Guide, the Queen City is no longer a culinary underdog. Once known primarily for breweries and casual dining, Charlotte is now carving out a reputation as a serious food city, one where Southern tradition meets global influence, and chefs earn national accolades without abandoning their roots.…
Artists

Rolling Art, Radical Access and the Power of Community Care

February 25, 2026
By Meeka Clark Michelle “Ms. Bunny” Gregory is a Charlotte native whose roots run deep along the Beatties Ford Road corridor, a historically Black community that helped shape her identity as an artist, mentor, environmentalist, and cultural steward. She was a fashion design major at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and she’s a graduate of West Charlotte High School, Gregory’s creative foundation was built early — the spirit, pride and resilience of her Charlotte upbringing still echo through the halls of her alma mater, where her mural continues to shine as a reflection of what the community nurtures and sends forward.…
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La Becky Roe’s Faith-Fueled Mission for Autism Inclusion

February 25, 2026
By Brenda Porter-Rockwell Advocating for individuals living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was not a path La Becky Roe — now the Founder and Executive Director of Charlotte-based Let’s Talk About It…The Autism Center, Inc.  —  set out to do. It was, she believes, a calling by God placed on her life long before she understood what the work would require.…
Featured Story

Dom-Tia Luxury Beauty Spa: A Divine Touch with Care

February 25, 2026
By Kurtavia Burton A pleasant, transformative experience is unfolding at Dom-Tia Luxury Beauty Spa in Huntersville, North Carolina. The owner, Tonya Caldwell, is a licensed esthetician and makeup artist whose journey has been a testament of service and resilience. Originally from Winston-Salem, Caldwell said she’s always felt that skincare and makeup were like breathing.…
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Astronaut Bernard A. Harris Reached for the Stars and Made History By Charles K. Harris

January 13, 2026
When astronauts Neil Armstong and Buzz Aldrin journeyed into space and became the first astronauts to walk on the moon in 1969, they inspired the young Bernard A. Harris Jr. to literally “reach for the stars.” “At 13, I watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon and inspire the whole world with the notion that the human race could travel to another heavenly body,” Harris said.…
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Maestro Kwamé Ryan’s Symphony of Belonging

January 13, 2026
By John Burton Jr. By the time seven-year-old Kwamé Ryan looked up from his seat at Ontario Place in Canada that summer evening in 1977, his fate was sealed. The Houston Grand Opera’s production of “Porgy and Bess” was unfolding before him — that quintessentially Black American opera about the fictional Catfish Row in South Carolina, love and loss, and Black resilience.…
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Moving Forward, but Still Behind: The Silent Crisis  

January 13, 2026
By Shavonda Bean Have you noticed more people openly discussing mental health, chatting about suspected diagnoses or recent therapy sessions? More children approach their parents about evaluations or starting therapy, and parents are responding. This gradual shift of acceptance and openness is monumental in normalizing mental health.…
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From Hip-Hop to Jazz: NC Musicians Influence Music Worldwide

January 13, 2026
By Alicia Benjamin These legendary Black men from North Carolina have greatly influenced music worldwide. Representing over 100 years of life, these musicians have elevated the artform of music, not only during their lifetimes, but for generations in the future. Thelonious Monk / Jazz (1917 – 1982) Credited as one of the innovators of modern jazz, Thelonious Monk played with jazz giants Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and many others beginning in the 1940s.…