Press Releases

Two months before ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, Lillian Exum Clement was nominated by Buncombe County democrats to serve in the State House. She overwhelmingly defeated two male opponents in the primary and took her seat Jan. 5, 1921. She was the first woman in the South to hold legislative office and will be honored during tours celebrating March as Women’s History Month at the North Carolina State Capitol.

Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Southport is currently open to visitors, with regular events and programming scheduled to resume in the spring. The site’s visitors center, which sustained damage during Hurricane Florence, remains closed until repairs to the building can be completed.

Nominations are being accepted for the 2019 North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state, now through April 15. Created by the General Assembly in 1961 and administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the award recognizes “notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens” in the fields of literature, science, fine arts and public service. 

N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi Hamilton announces the appointment of Joshua Davis as the new Chief Financial Officer for the department.   A native of Davis, N.C., in Carteret County, he has worked at DNCR for over eight years and previously served as the department’s Strategy and Policy Advisor and the Director of Internal Audit. Prior to working at DNCR, Davis worked at the Office of the State Auditor for seven years as a Financial Auditor and Performance Audit Supervisor.

Governor Roy Cooper will induct North Carolina’s ninth poet laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, at a ceremony in the North Carolina State Capitol beginning at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18.

Programs celebrating women’s history will be offered at venues of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in March. This month is the launch of the department’s celebration of women’s fight for suffrage and equality, with the theme, “She Changed the World.” The commemoration from March 2019 to November 2020 will expand on contributions of North Carolina women to the state and nation.

A historic interpreter in period clothing can come to groups in the region during Black History Month to discuss the utensils used in the daily life of plantation residents in 1843. 

Most frequently seen images of African Americans from pre-Civil War times show them barefoot and poorly clothed. Collector Craig James has striking images of elegant and proud African Americans from that period. He will offer “A New Look at Early African American Images,” Thursday, Feb. 21 at 12:30 p.m., in the Archives & History/State Library Building,109 E. Jones St., Raleigh.

N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi Hamilton announces the appointment of Timothy Owens as the new State Librarian of North Carolina.

African Americans were ready to fight for freedom when the Civil War started, and before it ended they were recruited to take up arms. The CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center will explore that process in the program, “African American Troops in Eastern North Carolina,” followed by a Wyse Fork Battlefield tour Saturday, Feb. 2, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.