The Dive: White on Black and White

Last month, a UNC Board of Governors’ committee voted unanimously to repeal the diversity, equity, and inclusion policies the UNC System adopted in 2019. If the full board ratifies the decision later this month, the system and its 17 institutions will no longer have to employ diversity officers or work toward diversity goals. 

The committee’s decision came without discussion or public comment, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. It’s the latest in a series of race-related controversies for the UNC System; last year, in a case partially originating at UNC-Chapel Hill, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited using race in college admissions. 

To the degree most UNC leaders have commented on the proposed changes, they’ve stressed that the system is committed to equality and will still welcome students of all backgrounds. 

Board of Governors member Woody White hasn’t been so muted. On the day of the committee vote, White—a Wilmington lawyer and former state senator and county commissioner who was appointed last year—argued in a Carolina Journal op-ed that DEI “has severely damaged race relations.”

White’s column closed with an anecdote about a recent exchange with a Black man at a Circle K in Jones County, which drew a fair amount of attention online. The Assembly’s Jeffrey Billman caught up with White to ask some questions about his take and what he thinks should come next in the state’s universities.

Why Woody White Wants to End DEI at UNC

The Board of Governors member says that “your average white person, your average Black person, your average Hispanic—up until the last eight or 10 years, I don’t think saw skin color.” 

White conceded that the anecdote might not have been as “artful or convincing” as he intended. But he stood by his point: “Why would he do that if there’s a systemically racist society?”

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Law & Leland

Leland is once again drawing unwelcome attention from a state lawmaker. 

Brunswick County Rep. Frank Iler filed a bill on Tuesday that that would create a process for recall elections of the town council, a direct response to the whiplash the town endured after the council attempted to introduce a 70 percent property tax increase earlier this year. 

Unnerved residents flooded council meetings and decried the dramatic jump. (Local officials eventually acquiesced to a milder 17 percent hike, which is still being debated.) 

One thing many taxpayers wanted to do, but couldn’t, was quickly remove council members from office via a recall election. Iler’s bill would amend the town’s charter to allow such recalls as long as at least 25 percent of registered voters—or about 5,900 people—sign a petition. 

Iler said he was inundated with emails about the tax increase and wanted to ensure voters had the right to attempt a recall if they wanted. “It leaves it up to the people to decide,” he said.

Recall elections are rare in North Carolina. No blanket state law permits them for most offices, and just a fraction of municipalities have passed special legislation that would allow for them.

Last year, when a group of voters in Oak Island attempted a recall election for four council members over displeasure with a decision to adopt a paid parking program–a move the elections director called “unprecedented in Brunswick County.” The group later withdrew their plan after realizing they couldn’t gather enough signatures to meet statutory deadlines.

Iler’s move is functional but also symbolic. He has a track record of introducing legislation that isn’t very favorable to Leland. 

After Leland entered into a utility agreement with the local sanitary district provider in 2021, Iler introduced two separate bills aimed at what Iler and other critics called “forced annexation”–that is, requiring property owners to join the town of Leland in order to gain access. 

Iler’s fellow Brunswick County lawmaker, Sen. Bill Rabon, later authored two bills that became law curtailing the town’s annexation abilities.

Leland officials weren’t pleased with any of those bills, and don’t seem to appreciate Iler’s latest. Leland spokesperson Jessica Jewell said the town didn’t ask to have its charter changed, and looks forward to discussing it with Iler. 

“The request for the legislation seems rooted in misinformation and many misunderstandings,” she said.

–Johanna F. Still

Read this newsletter online or contact The Dive team with tips and feedback at wilmington@theassemblync.com.

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Indi’s-A-Go?

Earlier this year, we broke down how strife over Project Indigo, a massive planned development in the historic city of Southport, had ruffled relations on the Board of Aldermen. A bill Republican state Rep. Charlie Miller filed Tuesday would curtail Southport’s say over the expansive project.

The legislation would eliminate Southport’s planning and development power within its extraterritorial jurisdiction, an area outside of city limits but that the municipality retains some land use control over. A separate Miller bill, also filed Tuesday, would eliminate Southport’s ability to regulate tree removal outside its city limits. (Last year, Republican state Sen. Michael Lee filed a bill that would end extraterritorial jurisdictions across the state, but it stalled in the rules committee.)

A small portion of the project is inside Southport. But the vast majority lies outside city limits. Developers had previously offered to annex the property into city limits and generate millions in taxes, as long as the city would agree to their zoning and density requests.

But with Miller’s bill in play, the developers may not need the board’s green light after all.

–Johanna F. Still

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Sidewalks to Nowhere

Last year, 39-year-old wheelchair-user Joshua Resseguie was traveling with his dog on the shoulder of state Highway 210 when a car struck and killed him. 

Even though they didn’t know each other, news of his death hit Sam Boswell hard. 

Boswell is director of the Cape Fear Rural Transportation Planning Organization, and the group had for years called for adding bike and pedestrian access along Highway 210. The road has no sidewalks—just a shoulder painted like a bike lane where cyclists, walkers, and people using wheelchairs travel inches from cars.

One reason their concern hasn’t been addressed: A law state legislators passed in 2013 that made it much harder to improve access for pedestrians and cyclists on state roads. The law says state funds can only go to such efforts if they’re part of projects that benefit drivers.

“I can’t help but think,” Boswell said, “if we could have done more, there’s a chance that death was preventable.”

For The Assembly, Eric Barton explores the law’s genesis and lasting impact.

Why a 10-Year-Old Law Blocks Bike Lanes From Getting Off the Ground

The statute keeps the state from funding many projects to improve roads for walkers and cyclists.

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Around the Region

Bridge Bonus: WHQR reports that work on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge wrapped up two weeks early, and all lanes of traffic would open Wednesday evening. The contractor nabbed a half-million-dollar bonus for finishing ahead of schedule.

Culture Shift: A company that bills itself as the continent’s largest private-label fermented beverage manufacturer will take over the former TRU Colors headquarters downtown, Greater Wilmington Business Journal reports.

Chamber Crawl: The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce is slowing down the state’s effort to implement new drinking water standards for a group of chemicals known as PFAS, Port City Daily reports. The chamber has a history of lobbying against tougher PFAS standards. 

GOAT’s Back Home: Michael Jordan visited Wilmington Wednesday for a ribbon cutting at the first of two Novant Health family medical clinics he funded, Greater Wilmington Business Journal reports.

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Around the State

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