One on One

Holding back the tide
[Feb. 15, 2013] North Carolina Republicans are trying to do what the Democrats did in our state for 50 years: Hold back the tide! Until about 1960, North Carolina was part of a “Democratic Solid South.” But a Republican “Southern Strategy” and changing loyalties brought about a rising GOP tide that attracted conservative Democrats who followed Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms into the Republican Party. That rising tide led to Republican control of most Southern state governments by the turn of the millennium. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Reacting to Governor McCrory’s higher education remarks
[Feb. 14, 2013] It was as if aliens had attacked and taken over the state’s university system. At least that is how upset my university friends and faculty reacted to Governor Pat McCrory’s remarks about higher education. He said, "I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs…I'm going to adjust my education curriculum to what business and commerce needs to get our kids jobs as opposed to moving back in with their parents after they graduate with debt.” By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Politics, no. Lee, Jill, and Bookwatch, yes.
[Dec. 26, 2012] “Tell me more about Jill and Lee and their new books.” I wanted to talk politics and more about why Romney lost and McCrory won, but these readers wanted only to hear more about the upcoming books by their favorite authors, Jill McCorkle and Lee Smith. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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What the data shows about North Carolina voters
[Nov. 2, 2012] “It is the greatest thing that could happen to the conservative cause in North Carolina.” Back in 1988, former state representative Ivan Mothershead, a Mecklenburg Republican, was commenting on my move from Charlotte to Chapel Hill. “Your move will make two communities a lot more conservative.” By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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This dad can finally brag about his son
[Aug. 19, 2012] Maybe you did not notice. Last month the governor signed House Bill 799 (HR 799), a bill that makes it easier for military spouses to get the certification they need to work in North Carolina if they have been licensed for their occupation in another state. For service men and women who have been trained by the military, the new law also gives credit for that training when they apply for an occupational license in North Carolina. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Make room at the top of your book pile!
[Aug. 19, 2012] The summer is fast coming to an end. And I bet there is a stack of books by your bed or somewhere in your house, ones that you meant to read this summer. But there were just too many other things you had to do. Watch out! Here comes another batch of new North Carolina books, some of which belong at the top of your book pile. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Searching for the real Black Beard and the real Jesus
[Aug. 14, 2012] What does North Carolina coastal historian Kevin Dufuss have in common with New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman? If you asked them, each might tell you he is a truth seeker about a man whose life is shrouded in myth. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Separated by slavery, longing to reunite
[Jul. 16, 2012] “Babies was snatched from their mothers’ breasts and sold to speculators. Children was separated from sisters and brothers and never saw each other again. Course they cry; you think they not cry when they was sold like cattle? I could tell you about it all day, but even then you couldn’t guess the awfulness of it.” These words from a former slave that remind us of one of the great horrors of slavery, the breakup of families, are found in Heather Andrea Williams’s new book, “Help Me to Find My People: The African American Search for Family Lost in Slavery.” By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Doris Betts and Reynolds Price: Filling the empty space
[Jul. 11, 2012] Who writes for us now? The question came up again with the death of Doris Betts, the beloved teacher and writer, a few weeks ago, reminding us that we have still not gotten used to a North Carolina without Reynolds Price although he died more than a year ago. Even non-readers miss them. Their storytelling wisdom had spread like ripples from their readers and students into a wider audience. Are there other North Carolina writers and teachers to take their places? By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Seven new books every North Carolinian should know about
[Jul. 11, 2012] There is no way to read them all. No, and we cannot even know about all of the more than 1,000 books about our state or by authors with North Carolina connections. But every year there are a few books that, for one reason or another, are so important or interesting that we should know at least something about them. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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How did God vote on Amendment 1?
[Jul. 11, 2012] Where was God in all this, really? North Carolinians heard God speaking in contradictory voices during the weeks leading up to the vote on May 8 when voters approved Amendment 1, which added to the state constitution a provision that “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized...” By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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The primary of all primaries - still not over
[May 4, 2012] Early voting is under way this week in North Carolina’s primary elections. So far there is not much excitement. Sixty-two years ago we had a much different primary and run-off election experience. Voters came out in record numbers. Today, a surprising number of people still remember that election and can tell you how the bitter struggle divided the state. Many of those who “remember” were not yet born in 1950. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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Amendment One to Obama’s rescue
[May 3, 2012] Amendment One. Whether it wins or loses, the effort to defeat it could be a crucial factor in a successful outcome for the Obama campaign in North Carolina this fall. Prospects for the effort to defeat the proposed marriage amendment to the constitution are still uncertain, notwithstanding a well-organized and impressive effort on the part of the amendment’s opponents. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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My coach did not spit on anybody’s hand
[May 3, 2012] It is too bad that sports reporters and historians at Atlantic Coast Conference headquarters are not reading “ACC Basketball.” This UNC Press book by Sam Walker was published last year and chronicles the game during the conference’s first 20 years. On the other hand, maybe it is a good thing for my old basketball coach, Lefty Driesell. By D. G. Martin
Also: NC Book Watch
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