View This Email In Your Browser

During the Civil War, North Carolina contributed more soldiers to the Confederate cause than any other state. It was also the next-to-last state to secede, and home to pro-Union movements that persisted throughout the war.

Those facts are both part of the complex history the state is taking on in building the $87 million N.C. History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconstruction in Fayetteville. The museum, set to open in 2027, aims to help educators teach a nuanced, factual story.

The museum’s backers are clear on: That story is about more than a war. It’s a long, dark period in the state’s and nation’s history, not a Lost Cause. The center’s job is to “right the historical understanding” of events between 1838 and 1898, according to Michael McElreath, the center’s education initiatives director.

And as Jimmy Ryals reports, that’s not always easy in today’s political climate.

Fayetteville Museum Aims to Right the Record on Civil War History

The N.C. History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction will use local stories to tell “the truth with all its blemishes”—even if it upsets some people.

“All of the really, really complex interplays between that history and memory deserve more space than we typically have time to give them,” McElreath saidThat’s the hardest thing about teaching this.”

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

Beefing with Berger

Sheriff Sam Page has never seen the Rockingham County line as a limit to his influence or ambition. 

From his hometown of Eden in the largely rural county north of Greensboro, he has cultivated a national profile as a commentator on the intersection of immigration and law enforcement, as Carli Brosseau detailed last month.

Now Page is preparing to square off against Phil Berger, arguably the state’s most powerful politician. Berger has served as the state Senate’s leader since Republicans gained a legislative majority in 2011, breaking the Democrats’ century-long hold. Berger is widely regarded as a main architect of North Carolina’s dramatic rightward shift in policy. And he, too, calls Eden home.

But Page has been oddly quiet about some of his signature issues as he’s talked about his challenge to Berger, Brosseau reports today.

What We’re Reading

Fund While It Lasts: Per Axios, more than a dozen Republicans are backing a bill to strip $500 million in funding to NCInnovation, a program to invest in research at state universities.

Well That’s Neighborly: President Donald Trump has tapped Gov. Josh Stein to co-chair the bipartisan Council of Governors, WRAL reports, along with Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Putin on the Ritz: Some GOP lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, are trying to distance themselves from Trump’s position on the war in Ukraine, according to Politico.

Our Recent Stories

What’s the Secret Sauce Behind Ray’s Weather, Western NC’s Favorite Forecast?

How the self-taught weatherman behind Ray’s Weather, Western North Carolina’s most trusted forecast, knew Hurricane Helene would be a historic catastrophe.

Two Former Students Sue St. Andrews University Over Sex Offender on Campus

The two women say the school knowingly admitted a wrestler who was a convicted sex offender, leading to their 2022 assaults.

How an Aggressive Church is Making Waves at N.C. State

Former members of Restored Church Raleigh say they felt pressured to be baptized and to isolate from friends and family.

The Assembly is a digital magazine covering power and place in North Carolina. Sent this by a friend? Subscribe to our newsletter here.