Sherlock Holmes Would Say, The Game Is Afoot in Rocky Mount

Iโ€™m addicted to well written mysteries. My mother was a Sherlock Holmes buff. I regret that I didnโ€™t begin reading them until after she was gone. It would have been fun to compare notes. Iโ€™m thinking of her as I write about Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Would Say, The Game Is Afoot in Rocky Mount

Hope Arrives Early: A New Season of Candidates for City Council

As of March 1, something hopeful is taking shape in Rocky Mount. Ward 1 and Ward 2, both represented by longtime Councilmen, Andrรฉ Knight in Ward 1 and Reuben Blackwell in Ward 2, are no longer โ€œforegone conclusionโ€ seats. Brian Lapine and Mark Williams have already declared their intent to run against these incumbents, Lapine … Continue reading Hope Arrives Early: A New Season of Candidates for City Council

Changing How We Vote: 1985 Was a 42 Percent Minority City. 2026 That Minority Has Changed To a 62 Percent Majority.

When Rocky Mount moved from at-large elections to ward-based voting in 1985, the city looked very different. In 1980, Rocky Mountโ€™s total population was 41,283. At that time, Black residents made up just over 42 percent of the population. The shift to seven single-member wards came in that context, when Black citizens were a large … Continue reading Changing How We Vote: 1985 Was a 42 Percent Minority City. 2026 That Minority Has Changed To a 62 Percent Majority.