The Charlotte Post

09/28/2025

In addition to destroying homes, businesses, and infrastructure in addition to leaving thousands dead and homeless, Hurricane Katrina forced tens of thousands to resettle in new places.

Restauranteur Martine Clark and her family were among those who made that transition. Then married with two children ages 2 and 6 years old when Katrina hit New Orleans, the family shut down their restaurant, Bite Your Tongue, and settled down with friends in Huntersville.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the Clarks opened a food delivery service.

“Charlotte people were welcoming and made our transition here easy,” Clark said. “We created a new start-up delivery service, but, we also saw great potential for reviving Bite Your Tongue-New Orleans cuisine here. “We had opened in New Orleans in 2002 where there was great upside potential for success until Katrina.”

New Orleans transplants bounce back after Katrina

09/28/2025

Johnson C. Smith used homecoming to reclaim what works best.

The Golden Bulls recovered from a 28-10 loss at Virginia Union by mauling Bluefield State 69-13 Saturday at McGirt Field with historic results on several levels. The 56-point margin of victory was the largest since 1964 when JCSU beat Livingstone 83-77. Even the announced attendance – 7,833 – set a new on-campus standard.

Golden Bulls roll up largest margin of victory since 1964

09/28/2025

Johnson C. Smith's 2025 homecoming football game was one for the school record books. The Golden Bulls' 69-13 win vs. Bluefield State is the largest margin of victory since 1964 (77 points); quarterback Kelvin Durham tied the single-game mark for most touchdown passes (five) and Isaiah Perry matched the record for longest kick return (100 yards). Even the on-campus attendance record fell with 7,833 fans at Eddie McGirt Field.

09/27/2025

When Monday’s “fun” film session concluded, a grinning Chau Smith-Wade emerged from the Carolina Panthers’ locker room. He was ready to go, hopping on a scooter to start cruising around the corridors of Bank of America Stadium.

These are good times for the second-year cornerback.

Smith-Wade scored his first touchdown “since high school” in last week’s 30-0 win against the Atlanta Falcons on a second-quarter pick-six.

“It was a good break by him,” safety Demani Richardson said. “He’s always a guy who comes in early (for practice) and takes care of his business. He’ll make a play, celebrate and then back to business.”

Shutout of Atlanta opens door to building on success

09/26/2025

A football combo review of the Carolina Panthers' first win of 2025, Johnson C. Smith's 28-10 loss to Virginia Union and the Magnificent Seven high school rankings and a look ahead to the showdown between West Charlotte and Mallard Creek.

09/26/2025

The 49ers football squad is off for a week, but we have plenty to talk about ahead of starting American Conference play. We're also looking ahead to preseason preparations for Charlotte men's and women's basketball.

09/26/2025

Epoch Tribe turns real life stories into art.

Founders Hannah and Shardae Hasan started the community-based production company to put Black stories at the forefront of the stage. The idea for Epoch Tribe began when the sisters-in-law hosted a master class in Allentown, Pennsylvania where rising leaders in the community learned how to tell their own stories, followed by an open mic night.

“It was such a sort of magnetic experience,” Hannah said. “Right then, Shardae and I decided this is a thing. This is more than the open mic nights with our artists in a group. This feels like a business.”

Epoch Tribe production company grows outreach with new initiatives

09/26/2025

Christine "Kristy" Beke has endured as an entrepreneur.

Over two decades Beke has managed to grow a single chair hair braiding operation in Uptown into what is now a small haircare empire featuring two salons, a beauty supply store, a beauty academy and national entrepreneurial speaking engagements.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, in general 20% of small businesses fail within the first year; half fail within the first five years. Sixty-five percent never see the 10-year mark and only 25% pass 15 years. The same data reports that among Black women small business owners the survival rate beyond 15 years is 3%.

How has Beke, 46, managed to excel against the odds?

“I wouldn’t call it a rigid formula," she said, “but I believe my strength has come from faith, resilience, and discipline.”

Entrepreneur Christine Beke builds empire over two decades

09/25/2025

Independence High has been through its share of adversity five weeks into the season.

Last week, the Patriots rallied from a 20-12 hole in the third quarter to beat previous No. 3 Palisades 27-20 on the road. Independence, which moves up to third in this week’s rankings, got off to a 12-0 advantage before Palisades, rallied for the 20 unanswered points. The Patriots, though, had the final say with the final 15 points, capped by Jared Street’s 3-yard run with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left.

“Our kids are resilient,” Patriots coach D.J. McFadden said. “We’ve played good teams all nonconference, five weeks of it. We've been down in some of these games, so we just felt like, late in this game, when it got tight, that our experience in these games would come and take over. Credit to our kids, they kept playing. They've been down before. They've been on the road and down before. And we just stuck with it.”

Pats move to third in Magnificent Seven after beating Palisades

09/25/2025

It’s about time the sun shined on the Panthers.

Whether they were just that good in a 30-0 dog walking of the Atlanta Falcons or the Falcons were just that pathetic, it’s secondary. Carolina needed respite from a summer of misery – winless preseason, followed by a pair of uninspired losses to open the regular season – so any port in a storm, right?

Carolina needs to string wins together, convince skeptics

09/23/2025

Mass transit is a necessity as Mecklenburg County’s population surges.

The most efficient way to pay and implement for initiates – and who should bear the cost – is the subject of raging debate at the intersection of economics, race and urban development.

Is a 1-cent sales tax enough investment for infrastructure enough, or a start to accommodate a region expected to add another 600,000 people in the next 20 years? As voters weigh the possibilities of a sales tax referendum, The Post is launching a series on the state of transportation in Charlotte and the communities most impacted by mass transit.

Series will engage residents impacted by previous initiatives and look to future

09/23/2025

A North Carolina bill originally touted as criminal justice reform includes returning capital punishment as a key cornerstone.

The Republican-controlled state Senate on Monday passed House Bill 307, or Iryna’s Law, which includes a measure to revive the death penalty as part of the package by removing barriers that have prevented executions.

The bill, named after Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death in Charlotte on a Lynx Blue Line train, would require the review of death penalty appeals within two years of filing, and bar continuances unless a judge declares extenuating circumstances in a case.

Amendment is part of criminal justice overhaul proposal