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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina, United States. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhills, the Lower Cape Fear (Wilmington Area), the Crystal Coast, the Inner Banks and the Outer Banks. It is composed of the 41 most eastern counties in the state. Cities include Fayetteville, Greenville, Jacksonville, Wilmington, Rocky Mount and North Carolina's first capital New Bern.
In 1993, the State Legislature established seven regional economic development organizations and three of these serve eastern North Carolina - Northeast North Carolina Commission (covering 16 counties), North Carolina East Alliance (representing 13 counties surrounding North Carolina's Global TransPark), and North Carolina's Southeast Commission (assisting 11 counties).
New transitions are being made in the geography of the economic sectors. Economic Development Commissions are transforming, such as North Carolina's Eastern Region Commission's transition into North Carolina East Alliance. Different EDC's have different ways to increase prosperity in the area. NCEA's first focus is to improve the talent pipeline to create a more comprehensive local workforce. Shoop, the Commissioner for Washington's EDC stated "In a private setting, they would be able to access different funds for additional economic projects or initiatives in the county."[1]
Located east of the Piedmont and west of the Atlantic Ocean, Eastern North Carolina contains very few major urban centers. Greenville is close to the region's geographic center. Fayetteville is the largest city in the region, followed by Wilmington and Greenville.
Eastern North Carolina is roughly made up of the 41 easternmost counties in North Carolina. Generally, the region denotes all of the state's counties on and east of Interstate 95 (also known as East Coast USA Main Street, stretching from northern Maine to the southern tip of Florida). If defined by geological formations, eastern North Carolina comprises the 44 counties of the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains. In terms of economic similarities, the region includes 41 counties. The commonly accepted definition is all counties east of and crossed by Interstate 95, which is 41 counties. I-95 intersects with US64/264 at Wilson County and is in close proximity to I-40. This makes transportation throughout the region incredible along with easy access to the rest of the state and country. The region is further divisible into three geographic sections: the Southeast, Inner Banks and the Outer Banks.
The coast of North Carolina were dominated by Native Americans, primarily the Tuscarora people residing near present-day Snow Hill. Eastern North Carolina is also home to the first attempted English settlement in the New World on Roanoke Island.
During the colonial era of American History, the East was the dominant region of North Carolina in both government and commerce. Towns of early significance included Bath, Beaufort, Elizabeth City, Edenton, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, and Wilmington. North Carolina's early economy was built upon cash crops, fisheries and turpentine industries. Early East Carolinians lived on settlements at the mouths of the various rivers. Settlers to the regions were of English, Scottish, Swiss and German descent. Eastern North Carolina was a haven for pirating and home to the infamous pirate Blackbeard. The city of New Bern was founded in 1710 by settlers from the Palatinate region of Germany, and later became the colonial capital. Around the end of the eighteenth century, however, such dominance shifted to the Piedmont center of the state.
The growth in population of the western and piedmont regions of North Carolina after the American Revolution led to revisions of the Constitution of North Carolina in 1835. These amendments included electing the governor by popular vote.[2]
The region is dotted with universities. There are five public universities and seven private institutions in the region. The largest is East Carolina University, a Doctoral University with Higher Research Activity on the Carnegie scale.[citation needed] The four other public universities are Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The seven private institutions are: Barton College, Campbell University, Chowan University, Methodist University, University of Mount Olive, North Carolina Wesleyan College, and Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
The area is also served by 23 community colleges. The two-year institutes are: Beaufort County Community College, Bladen Community College, Brunswick Community College, Cape Fear Community College, Carteret Community College, College of the Albemarle, Coastal Carolina Community College, Craven Community College, Edgecombe Community College, Fayetteville Technical Community College, James Sprunt Community College, Johnston Community College, Lenoir Community College, Roanoke-Chowan Community College, Martin Community College, Nash Community College, Pamlico Community College, Pitt Community College, Sampson Community College, Sandhills Community College, Southeastern Community College, Wayne Community College, and Wilson Community College.
Many community colleges hold programs to create a more able workforce in Eastern North Carolina. The different economic clusters, including but not limited to advanced manufacturing (aerospace, automotive and industrial machinery), life sciences (Biopharma and medical device research, development and manufacturing), value-added agriculture (food processing, forest products, etc.) and marine products (boat building) have prompted Community Colleges to offer associate degrees in related fields (e.g. Airframe/power plant maintenance, composite technology, engineering technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing technology, machining and welding).
Eastern North Carolina is served by two main interstate highways and a number of U.S. routes.
Over 60 motor freight carriers provide service to all parts of the nation.
FedEx, UPS, DHL and Emery have offices in all major communities.
The transportation within the region allows for easy access to anywhere in the continental United States of America. I-40 and I-95 are capable of this with close proximity to I-85 as well. Manufacturers can move their goods efficiently and families can travel with ease.
Much of the region's main highways have been designated as the Historic Albemarle Tour, which connects many historic sites in Eastern North Carolina.
CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway, and the North Carolina Railroad Company serve the industries within the region. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak, is a train service for passengers. Amtrak passenger stations are located in Rocky Mount, Wilson, Selma, Fayetteville and throughout North Carolina and the Eastern region.
Wilmington International Airport is in Eastern North Carolina along with RDU within a short driving distance. Raleigh-Durham International can be reached via I-40 (with I-440 or I-540 being additional options). There are several ways to access Wilmington International easily when in the region, using I-40 or US-17.
There are also sixteen regional airports that serve general aviation in the Eastern region of North Carolina: Greenville, Jacksonville and New Bern provide commuter service to Charlotte, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
The North Carolina Global TransPark (GTP) is a 2,500 acre, multi-modal industrial park.[3]
There are deep-water bulk, break-bulk cargo and container facilities in ENC at Morehead City, NC and Wilmington, NC. A third comprehensive deep-water (Panamx-ready) port exists just north of the state line in Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA. All three ports also have RoRo (roll-on, roll-off) facilities to handle autos and military equipment.
The local government of Eastern North Carolina is served by seven of the 16 North Carolina Councils of Government. They include the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, Mid-Carolina Council of Governments, Lumber River Council of Governments, Cape Fear Council of Governments, Eastern Carolina Council of Governments, Mid-East Commission, and the Albemarle Commission.
Eastern North Carolina is by and large an impoverished area. Nearly 21 percent of people live in poverty in this region[citation needed]. Outsourcing of textile manufacturing jobs along with other manufacturing jobs has caused unemployment in the area to increase particularly in the northeastern area of the state. Many areas of Eastern North Carolina are experiencing little economic growth; however, areas such as Greenville and Winterville (Pitt County) are growing rapidly due to the location of East Carolina University and its associated medical facilities. Fleet Readiness Center East on board Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point is the largest industrial employer east of Interstate 95, with an annual payroll of $277 million.[4]
Eastern North Carolina is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region on the East Coast of the United States, and has relatively flat land that is primarily used for farming. The Outer Banks and Inner Banks are comparable to the Tidewater region of Virginia in terms of topography.
Eastern North Carolina generally consists of 41 counties, which when combined form a total regional area of roughly 9,700 square miles (25000 square km). The counties commonly included in the region are as follows:[5]
Eastern North Carolina communities in the region include:
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Eastern North Carolina (sometimes abbreviated as ENC) is the region encompassing the eastern tier of North Carolina, United States. It is known geographically as the state's Coastal Plain region. Primary subregions of Eastern North Carolina include the Sandhills, the Lower Cape Fear (Wilmington Area), the Crystal Coast, the Inner Banks and the Outer Banks. It is composed of the 41 most eastern counties in the state. Cities include Fayetteville, Greenville, Jacksonville, Wilmington, Rocky Mount and North Carolina's first capital New Bern. In 1993, the State Legislature established seven regional economic development organizations and three of these serve eastern North Carolina - Northeast North Carolina Commission (covering 16 counties), North Carolina East Alliance (representing 13 counties surrounding North Carolina's Global TransPark), and North Carolina's Southeast Commission (assisting 11 counties). New transitions are being made in the geography of the economic sectors. Economic Development Commissions are transforming, such as North Carolina's Eastern Region Commission's transition into North Carolina East Alliance. Different EDC's have different ways to increase prosperity in the area. NCEA's first focus is to improve the talent pipeline to create a more comprehensive local workforce. Shoop, the Commissioner for Washington's EDC stated "In a private setting, they would be able to access different funds for additional economic projects or initiatives in the county." Located east of the Piedmont and west of the Atlantic Ocean, Eastern North Carolina contains very few major urban centers. Greenville is close to the region's geographic center. Fayetteville is the largest city in the region, followed by Wilmington and Greenville.
The New River is a 50-mile (80-km) long river in southeastern North Carolina in the United States. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The river has been plagued in more recent years by pollution by solid waste. It rises in northwestern Onslow County and flows east-southeast past Jacksonville, where it widens into a tidal estuary approximately two miles (3.2 km) wide. As an estuary it meanders through Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and enters the Atlantic in Onslow Bay, via the New River Inlet between two barrier islands. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway crosses the entrance of the river between the coast and the barrier island. The river is periodically dredged for fishing operations.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (in case citations, E.D.N.C.) is the United States district court that serves the eastern 44 counties in North Carolina. Appeals from the Eastern District of North Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that travels 2,556.61 miles (4,114.46 km) from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. In North Carolina, I-40 travels 420.21 miles (676.26 km) across the entirety of the state from the Tennessee state line along the Pigeon River Gorge to U.S. Highway 117 (US 117) and North Carolina Highway 132 (NC 132) in Wilmington. I-40 is the longest Interstate Highway in North Carolina and is the only Interstate to completely span the state from west to east. Traveling from west to east, I-40 connects the three major regions of North Carolina—Western North Carolina, the Piedmont, and Eastern North Carolina. In the Piedmont region, I-40 connects the Piedmont Triad and Research Triangle metropolitan regions. Included in these regions are the cities of Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham, and Winston-Salem, which represent the second through fifth largest cities in the state, respectively. In addition, I-40 connects the cities of Asheville and Hickory in Western North Carolina, Wilmington in Eastern North Carolina, and many smaller communities along its route. The landscapes traversed by I-40 include the Blue Ridge Mountains, the foothills of Western North Carolina, suburban communities, the urban core of Piedmont cities, along with Eastern North Carolina farmland. There are five Interstate auxiliary routes of I-40: I-140, I-240, I-440, I-540, and I-840. The freeway bears several names in addition to the I-40 designation. Throughout the state, the freeway is known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway, a name shared with multiple Interstates across the state. From the Guilford–Alamance county line to one mile (1.6 km) east of NC 54, in Graham, I-40 and I-85 is known as the Sam Hunt Freeway. From Orange County to Raleigh, I-40 is known as the Harriet Morehead Berry Freeway, John Motley Morehead III Freeway, Dan K. Moore Freeway, and Tom Bradshaw Freeway. I-40 is the James Harrington Freeway from US 70 to I-95. In Duplin County, a section of I-40 is known as the Henry L. Stevens Jr. Highway. From the Pender–New Hanover county line to the eastern terminus of I-40, the freeway is known as the Michael Jordan Highway. I-40 was an original Interstate Highway planned in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. In North Carolina, the original highway was to run from the Tennessee state line to Greensboro, where the freeway would end at I-85. In 1958, the first section of completed Interstate Highway in the state was I-40 along the East–West Expressway in Winston-Salem. I-40 received two extension approvals; the first in 1969 to I-95, to be routed in or near Smithfield, and the second in 1984 to Wilmington. The last section completed was the Winston-Salem rerouting in 1992. The highest point is at 2,786 feet (849 m), located at the Swannanoa Gap, and the lowest point is at 15 feet (4.6 m), located at the Pender–New Hanover county line.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
