The Dive: Farewell to the Longtime Home of Wilmington’s Black Press

On the Monday before Election Day, while much of Wilmington was anxiously thinking about the future, a backhoe on South 7th Street was tearing down a piece of the past.

One hundred and thirty years of history “came crashing down,” Paul Jervay wrote in a piece published the following week on the demolition of The Wilmington Journal.

Jervay knows what he’s talking about–his family founded the paper. Just three years after the 1898 coup and massacre saw the burning of the local Black-owned paper, The Daily Record, Jervay’s grandfather, Paul Sr., opened a printing shop. He founded The Cape Fear Journal in 1927, taking up the mantle of the Black press from Alex Manly. It was renamed The Wilmington Journal 18 years later.

Jervay’s father, Robert, moved to Raleigh, where he launched The Carolinian in the late 1930s. The third generation of the Jervay family also took up the cause; Paul Jervay was the Carolinian’s publisher for over half a century, and his cousin, Mary Alice Jervay Thatch, worked at The Wilmington Journal in various capacities since she was a child, formally taking over in 1996.

But, after playing an important role in the Cape Fear region for decades, the Journal has more recently struggled with financial issues.

For WHQR and The Assembly, Benjamin Schachtman details how this historic building was razed.

Farewell to the Longtime Home of Wilmington’s Black Press

Earlier this month, a wrecking crew crushed the historic and dilapidated home of The Wilmington Journal–one of the state’s oldest Black papers.

We won’t be in your inbox next week for Thanksgiving, but we’ll be back Dec. 5. Read this newsletter online or contact The Dive team with tips and feedback at johanna@theassemblync.com.

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Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that started in Florida during the pandemic and quickly rose to national prominence, had mixed election results this cycle. 

There are indicators that residents across North Carolina may have soured on the group’s vision for K-12 education. Michele Morrow, Moms for Liberty’s choice for the state’s top K-12 post, underperformed. In addition to Morrow’s high-profile loss, five of seven North Carolina school board candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty chapters also lost their races.

The mixed outcomes reflect a continuation of Moms for Liberty’s spotty electoral record. Candidates in other states, such as Texas, also saw heavy losses. Last year, just 40 percent of the group’s endorsed candidates across the country won; in 2022, about half earned board seats.

Natosha Tew, until recently the chair of the Moms for Liberty’s New Hanover chapter, ranked last out of six candidates running for three seats on that county’s school board.

As Carli Brosseau and Johanna Still report, the results seem to signal low local enthusiasm for the group’s vision for K-12 education.

Moms for Liberty’s Local Election Scorecard

The “parental rights” group’s North Carolina chapters endorsed seven school board candidates this election cycle. Only two won.

Tew said some people misunderstand her and the Moms for Liberty group’s advocacy. “I think they see our passion and they mistake it for extremism,” she said. “It’s our children.”

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Around the Region

Cooked the Books: A district court judge sentenced Wilmington businessman George Taylor to a year in prison for tax evasion, Greater Wilmington Business Journal reports.

Upgrade U: Novant Health just received a lower hospital safety rating, down from a “B” in the spring to a “C.” A retired physician is lobbying local elected boards to pass resolutions asking the hospital to make improvements, Port City Daily reports.

Making a Case: Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan sat down with WHQR to discuss how she made the case against dentist Michael Hasson, who was sentenced to 80 years in prison last month for sexually assaulting patients. 

Down with Donny: Several Black community leaders claim recent backlash against Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams is racially motivated, Port City Daily reports. The city investigated Williams after several former employees alleged he created a toxic workplace.

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Around the State

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