The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893

Saturday May 27th

Elevate: Amplifying voices in our community

Elevate is here to do exactly what it says — to give a platform to those whose voices are often silenced. This is a page to celebrate and uplift the underrepresented communities that make up Chapel Hill, who contribute to our culture and daily lives in ways that are often not reported. Elevate adds depth to stories across campus, the town and Orange County.


The page is in part put together and reported by members of the Sharif Durhams Leadership Program, a talent and leadership development course for DTH students from underrepresented groups. Elevate accepts pitches throughout the year for op-eds and letters from members of different groups in our community. Please send submissions to elevate@dailytarheel.com.



Signs outside Chapel of the Cross, an early voting location, point residents towards the front door on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.

'Not accessible to everyone': People with disabilities face voting obstacles

Though polling locations across the country are required by statute to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, some voters may still have trouble casting their ballots according to Disability Rights North Carolina.   The American Civil Liberties Union found that one in every five people who are eligible to vote has a disability.  “Having the right to vote is the basics of this democratic system and we need to have a democratic system where every single citizen in this country can vote with no impediments to that practice,” Ricky Scott, a voting rights activist who is blind, said.

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DTH Photo Illustration. Epilogue Book Cafe has a stand with free LGBTQ+-themed books for community members. There are also various ways to get a book discreetly if you wish. Photographed Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.

Epilogue offers free queer books to increase accessibility

Epilogue Books Chocolates Brews is offering free queer literature for young adult and middle-grade readers, on a carousel of books called Reading Rainbows. Epilogue customers can contribute books to the carousel by letting a bookseller know a book they're purchasing is for Reading Rainbows or by having a bookseller choose one for them. 

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Ceara Corry, MPA, MSW, LCSWA; Social Worker. 
Photo taken by Daniel Brown

CAPS will host two safe dating seminars for multicultural students

Two programs hosted by UNC's Counseling and Psychological Services Multicultural Health Program are hoping to shed light on the increased sexual violence toward marginalized communities.  “Green Flags: Healthy Relationships and Safe Dating for International Students” will be held on Friday, Oct. 28, at 1:00 p.m. in room 3407 of the Carolina Union. “Healing Forward: Intimacy after Trauma for BIPOC Students” will be on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 5:00 p.m. in room 3201 of the Student Union. 

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Journalism school announces new DEI Action Plan, student inclusivity programs

The Hussman School of Journalism and Media recently released the 2022 plan of action on diversity, equity and inclusion.  The plan arrives one year after the Oct. 2021 routine review of the school by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The school is currently on provisional accreditation status.  The plan was developed through a collaborative process with Dean Raul Reis and other members of the school’s faculty and staff. 

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The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, located in Raleigh, is pictured on Aug. 26, 2022.

NCDHHS awarded $13.8 million to expand employment for those with disabilities

$13.8 million was awarded to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services to support those with developmental and intellectual disabilities in finding competitive employment.  The grant will allow 300 individuals to transition from subminimum wage positions to Competitive Integrated Employment positions, where they will earn at least minimum wage. 

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Dr. Joanne Wilson, a 1969 alumnus of UNC, reflects on her time at the University as a Black female during the Black Pioneers Dinner on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

UNC's Black Pioneers reflect on decades of 'shared kinship'

Members of the Black Alumni Reunion met for dinner and conversation last Friday at their first full-scale, in-person event since 2019.  The dinner was one of numerous events that took place across a five-day-long celebration of Black alumni at UNC. Members in attendance included past and present Black students, including the Black Pioneers. The Pioneers are the first generation of Black students who attended UNC-Chapel Hill from 1952 through the class of 1972.

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Sophomore Joy Jiang, first-year Christina Huang, and sophomore Sarah Zhang pose for a portrait at the Old Well on Oct. 3, 2022. The UNC for Affirmative Action group aims to defend diversity at UNC.

Students start UNC for Affirmative Action

UNC for Affirmative Action is a new student group aiming to raise awareness about affirmative action and the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that could affect it at UNC.  Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be heard on October 31 and has the potential to nullify UNC’s affirmative action policies

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The 440 Night Club float at the 2022 Pride Parade in Durham, N.C. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.
Photo Courtesy of Eliza Benbow.

Latinx LGBTQ+ community continues to improve outreach, support during Hispanic Heritage Month

Latinx Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and local organizations members of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in North Carolina and the Triangle are working to increase support, education and advocacy for each other. Of the more than 11.3 million LGBTQ+ adults that live in the United States, about 20 percent, or 2.3 million, also identify as Latinx, according to a report by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. “We try to empower people to get to know themselves,” Oscar Garcia, a community leader who works with LILA Latinx LGBTQI INC., said.

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