Press Releases

DNCR Western Office Hosts Virtual Program on Reconstruction in Western North Carolina

Reconstruction remains one of the most misunderstood periods in our nation’s history. Broadly, it was about the meaning of citizenship as African American enslaved people seized their freedom and the restoration of the former Confederate states to the Union.

State Archives Presents Virtual Program With DNCR Deputy Secretary for Archives and History, Darin Waters, Ph.D.

The State Archives of North Carolina will host a virtual presentation, “Discovering and Telling Lost and Unknown Stories: A Family Odyssey,” Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2-3 p.m.  

Black History Month Tours at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum is open for Black History Month tours during February. Join the museum staff for tours daily at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., departing from the Visitor’s Center.

NEA announces over $33 million in project funding nationally, including $540,000 for North Carolina arts organizations and artists

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced its first round of recommended awards for the fiscal year 2022, totaling nearly $33.2 million, on Jan. 11.

‘Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901’ exhibition postponed

The opening of "Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901," at the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources been postponed.

NC and SC African American Heritage Commissions Partner to Gather Black Pandemic Experiences

The North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and the State Archives of North Carolina are partnering with the WeGOJA Foundation on a new initiative, Black Carolinians Speak: Portraits of a Pandemic, to capture the experiences of African Americans in the Carolinas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will gather first-person testimonies, letters, music, images, art and other documents that will be part of a physical and virtual exhibit.

Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901

From Feb. 3 to March 31, the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will host the exhibit, Freedom! A Promise Disrupted: North Carolina, 1862-1901. The exhibit will be open to the public weekly from 10 a.m-2 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free.

North Carolina State Parks Report Record 22.8 Million Visitors in 2021

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina state parks and recreation areas experienced a record number of visitors in 2021. The 41 sites welcomed 22.8 million visitors last year — three million more than any other year on record.

Bentonville to honor battle’s casualties in 'Peace to the Gallant Dead'

Two days after surviving the battle of Bentonville, Lt. Col. William E. Strong reflected on “those brave and gallant companions in arms who will come back to us no more.

Year in Review: The North Carolina Arts Council Awarded Almost $8 Million in Grant Funds in FY21-22

In its continued effort to support the arts sector through the pandemic, the North Carolina Arts Council distributed $7.9 million in grant funds to arts organizations and artists across the state in FY21-22. The source of these funds was a combination of state, federal, and private dollars.