Honoring the History of Our Black Communities
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Black History Month Edition 128 YEARS OF SERVING UNC STUDENTS AND THE UNIVERSITY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021 VOLUME 129, ISSUE 1 SPECIAL EDITION UNC’s next Honoring the Student Body President history of our Black communities !"#$%&$'()*!+,-$.#/%.01%0&2/3$ In honor of Black History Month, The Daily Tar history in the community, we wanted to shine a 45#$!6078$46.$9##7$0/$"26:7#$%&$;.02%$<%"=#2%$ Heel is dedicating pages 4 through 13 of this paper spotlight on these stories that matter. >&?#.2@#2%$A7#1%0&2/$.#/"7%/$02$%&=68B/$#=0%0&2C$ to Black stories at UNC and in Chapel Hill. From To read full-length versions of these stories and features on Black athletes to stories breaking down additional Black History Month content, visit )0/0%$=6078%6.5##7C1&@$%&$?0#D$#7#1%0&2$.#/"7%/C a new Orange County initiative to preserve Black dailytarheel.com/section/black-history-month. Leaders work on improving Black maternal health Transferred out and she’s back again Women’s basketball star family, with a dad who loved teaching and watching the game and an Stephanie Watts returns older brother who played at UNC- to UNC for her 6th year Pembroke. She also grew up in Wesley Chapel, North Carolina, 30 minutes By Ryan Wilcox outside of Charlotte and a brisk two Senior Writer and a half hours from Chapel Hill. [email protected] By the time she was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior Stephanie Watts says she’s never in high school, averaging 29.1 points, heard of another college athlete who 8.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists, she’d transferred back to a school they’d left. already been committed to the Tar Neither has her father, Stephen. Or Heels for nearly two years. No other her head coach, Courtney Banghart. school was really ever in contention. Or her team’s sports information “Everybody recruited her,” her dad director, Dana Gelin. Google searches said. “But once North Carolina got for things like “college transfer return involved, there was no close second.” to school” and “athlete transfer to Watts described her recruitment same school” came up empty. Such a by longtime UNC head coach and person probably exists, but they’re not national champion Sylvia Hatchell easy to find. as “a blessing.” When she arrived on That means that Watts is one of, campus she fell in love with Chapel if not the first of her kind: Someone Hill: the student body, the constant who missed her team — or her home, DTH/PARKER BROWN energy of Franklin Street, the or both — so much that she couldn’t hallowed Carmichael Arena where Jackie Carr-Martinez’s experience with a white doctor made her wary of returning the next day to give birth to her child. stand the idea of playing her sixth year she practiced and played. of college basketball anywhere else. Her first two seasons, individually The team is North Carolina. The at least, were just as divine. Though Momnibus bridges gaps in health care place is Chapel Hill. The 23-year-old the Tar Heels went 14-18 in 2015-16, guard says after a career of wins and Watts set a UNC first-year record losses, game-winners and injuries, with 76 made 3-pointers and she was By Praveena Somasundaram U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D – I.L.), U.S. Sen. Cory program records and head coach named ACC Freshman of the Year. Audience Engagement Editor Booker (D – N.J.) and members of the Black Maternal exits, there’s nowhere else she’d want As a sophomore, Watts set an ACC [email protected] Health Caucus, introduced the Black Maternal Health to end her academic journey. record with 10 made triples against Momnibus Act of 2021. “It just didn’t feel right to finish Charleston Southern and finished The night before she had her first child in March of Made up of 12 bills total, the Black Maternal Health anywhere but UNC,” Watts said. top 10 in the conference in points, 2013, Jacqueline Carr-Martinez went to a hospital in Momnibus is intended to comprehensively address minutes, rebounds, blocks and steals. Connecticut because she was cramping and in pain. America’s maternal health crisis. ‘There was no close second’ But she missed the final Carr-Martinez, now a Greensboro resident, was “The hour for bold action has arrived and bold action 23 years old and living in Connecticut when she was is what the Momnibus represents,” Underwood said in Watts grew up in a basketball SEE WATTS, PAGE 6 pregnant for the first time. She identifies as African a February press conference introducing it. American, Indian and Guyanese. Carr-Martinez said she Adams co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus, was examined by a white doctor who didn’t warn her of a group within the House of Representatives focused on the pain she’d experience while he checked her cervix. improving maternal health for Black women. “I just remember completely being in shock for how “The time to end preventable maternal mortality and bad the pain was,” Carr-Martinez said. “And then finally close racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes is long he was like, ‘Oh you can just put your hands under your overdue,” Adams’ website reads. back if you’re in pain.’” When Carr-Martinez arrived at the hospital in labor, After that interaction, Carr-Martinez said she was scared the same doctor came to help her. Despite urging from to go back to the hospital the next day, even as she went into nurses, she refused to push until another doctor arrived. active labor and counted the time between contractions. “All I kept thinking was I didn’t want this person to Research from recent years suggests that Carr- bring my child into the world,” Carr-Martinez said. Martinez’s fear was not unfounded. Black women in the Mothers of color, particularly Black mothers, state have a maternal mortality rate nearly double that nationwide die at a higher rate than white mothers, of white women, according to a 2014-15 Morbidity and according to research between 2007 and 2016 from the Mortality Weekly Report cited by the North Carolina Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, Medical Journal in January 2020. they face other health issues and discrimination during Organizations, activists and lawmakers, including and post-pregnancy. Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina’s 12th Congressional “I definitely think all doctors should be completely District, have been pushing for action to address the knowledgeable on the culture of their patients, no matter country’s maternal health crisis. what culture or background they have,” Carr-Martinez said. The objective of the fourth bill in the Black Maternal DTH FILE/YATES MCCONNELL A new bill in the U.S. House Health Momnibus Act of 2021 is to grow UNC graduate student guard Stephanie Watts (5) goes for a layup during game against High Point on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020 in Carmichael Arena. On Feb. 8, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (D – N.C.), alongside SEE PROTECTING, PAGE 7 How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me. ZORE NEALE HURSTON 2 Wednesday, February 24, 2021 News The Daily Tar Heel The Daily Tar Heel Established 1893 Meet UNC baseball’s new-ish coach 128 years of editorial freedom ANNA POGARCIC Scott Forbes is taking UNC in 2002 to work as an EDITOR!IN!CHIEF assistant at Winthrop until 2005, EDITOR"DAILYTARHEEL.COM helm of the Diamond when he returned to the Tar Heels Heels this season and never left. BRANDON STANDLEY “Coach Forbes has been here for EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR By Brian Keyes like as long as I’ve been alive,” redshirt MANAGING.EDITOR"DAILYTARHEEL.COM Senior Writer sophomore Danny Serretti said. “He [email protected] knows how things are supposed to go. WILL MELFI Nothing changes.” DIGITAL Despite a new head coach, not Forbes, for his part, spoke about MANAGING EDITOR much has changed for the North stepping into the new roll in stride. DIGITAL"DAILYTARHEEL.COM Carolina baseball team as it heads Nobody working in baseball expects into the beginning of its 2021 season. MAEVE SHEEHEY their first game heading a program Longtime head coach Mike Fox DIRECTOR OF ENTERPRISE to come amid a massive disruption might have retired in the COVID- ENTERPRISE"DAILYTARHEEL.COM to the sport like COVID-19, but with 19-lengthened offseason, but his so much continuity for the coaching MADDIE ELLIS successor, Scott Forbes, was no staff, the transition is coming about UNIVERSITY EDITOR strange face to UNC’s current as smoothly as can be expected. UNIVERSITY"DAILYTARHEEL.COM roster. The coaching change “Bryant Gaines is here, Jesse doesn’t herald a total revamp Wierzbicki and Jason Howell, SONIA RAO of the program — as Fox’s long- so I have three assistant coaches CITY & STATE EDITOR term assistant, Forbes was Fox’s that, you know, they’ve been CITY"DAILYTARHEEL.COM disciple for two decades, first as a coaching a while but they played player and then as a member of his here, they know the ins and outs,” NATHAN WESLEY coaching staff. Forbes said. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR “I would say if there was one Continuity amongst the team ARTS"DAILYTARHEEL.COM thing (I could take from Fox) … will be important going into (it) was the blueprint of how to what will be one of the most JARED MCMASTERS run a program or organization in logistically challenging seasons SPORTS EDITOR general,” Forbes said during the in team history.