People surf as the sun comes up at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Ana Shellem, who owns Shell’em Seafood, stands on an island where wild mussels grow near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Shellem harvests a wide variety of wild caught species including oysters, mussels, sea beans, and prickly pears to deliver fresh to local restaurants.
For The New York Times
Ana Shellem, who owns Shell’em Seafood, walks across an island near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina after harvesting prickly pears.
For The New York Times
Ana Shellem, who owns Shell’em Seafood, looks for wild mussels on an island near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The New York Times
A few of the mussels that Ana Shellem, who owns Shell’em Seafood, has harvested sit in the bottom of her basket in the waters near Wrightsville Beach, North.
For The New York Times
Ana Shellem, who owns Shell’em Seafood, navigates her boat through the waters near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The New York Times
The sun sets over the Ensign Harbor Marina in Merritt, North Carolina. Dan Parsons and Perry Cooper dock the sailboat that they lived on for six months during the pandemic at the marina.
For The Washington Post
Gianna Olea, 5, left, and Katie Olea, 6, right, sit in the sand at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Their mom Francisca Castro explained that the family all agreed that it was too hot to come to the beach in the middle of the day and preferred to come in the evening when the sun had gone down.
For The Washington Post
(Left to right) Gianna Olea, 5, Sergio Olea, Kayla Olea, 1, Francisca Castro, Sergio Olea Jr., 8, Katie Olea, 6, and Sherlyn Olea, 3, feed the seagulls snacks at the beach as the sun goes down at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Tyanna Grissett stands in the surf as the sun goes down at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. With heat indexes soaring into the 100s in North Carolina, many beachgoers are opting to visit in the evening when it’s cooler.
For The Washington Post
People play in the waves as the sun goes down at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Camila Gonzales, 3, left, lays in the water with her dad Jonathan Gonzales, right, at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Gonzales explains that he prefers to come to the beach in the evenings when it’s cooler because his daughter is outside a lot playing during the day and he wants to keep her from getting exposed to the sun too much.
For The Washington Post
Kara Torres, left, participates in a sunrise yoga class led by Caroline Cooley, right, on the Crystal Pier at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Cooley explains that doing yoga early in the morning means that you get it in “before the sun starts to beam down and the humidity gets too high.” Relating to her personal yoga practice, she says, “If I wait until later in the day, the heat’s going to beat me and I probably won’t do it.”
For The Washington Post
Amanda Brown participates in a sunrise yoga class on the Crystal Pier at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
The sun rises over the Holden Beach Marina where Cane Faircloth docks his Ollie Raja charter boats in Supply, North Carolina. Faircloth’s family has lived in the area for generations and their lives and livelihoods are closely tied to the ocean. With a 110,000-acre site being opened for bidding off the coast for a potential wind farm, Faircloth is concerned about potential impacts to the fish population, the environment, and local businesses.
For The Wall Street Journal
Cane Faircloth guides his Ollie Raja charter boat out of the Holden Beach Marina in Supply, North Carolina. Faircloth’s family has lived in the area for generations and their lives and livelihoods are closely tied to the ocean.
For The Wall Street Journal
Josh and Danny Jones fish off of Cane Faircloth’s charter boat near Holden Beach, North Carolina.
For The Wall Street Journal
People dot the beach at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. With heat indexes soaring into the 100s in North Carolina, many beachgoers are opting to visit once the sun has gone down.
For The Washington Post
Dawn Fletcher, whose son Stuart Fletcher died of an opioid overdose in 2019, stands in her home in Greenville, North Carolina. Stuart struggled with addiction for close to ten years and died just after leaving a rehab program.
For The Washington Post
The sun rises over Greenville, North Carolina. Cotton and tobacco crops were originally the main economic drivers of the town before East Carolina University became one of the largest universities in the state’s school system.
For The Washington Post
Dawn Fletcher, left, and J.D. Fletcher, right, whose son Stuart Fletcher died of an opioid overdose in 2019, hold a photo of their son at their home in Greenville, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Ellie Crout, whose brothers Jackson Laughinghouse and Alex Laughinghouse both died from opioid overdose, stands in the entryway of her home in Wilson, North Carolina. After the trauma that Crout and her family have been through, she says that she has come to believe that there are fates and suffering that are worse than death.
For The Washington Post
A cast of Lacy Ann Laughinghouse’s hand sits on the table of her half sister Ellie Crout in Wilson, North Carolina. Lacy Ann died at the age of four weeks old and her death was perhaps in part the catalyst for the deaths of three more family members who all passed away from opioid overdose.
For The Washington Post
Fran Lunsford Laughinghouse walks up to the columbarium that holds both of her sons’ ashes at the Pinewood Memorial Park in Greenville, North Carolina. Jackson and Alex Laughinghouse both died of opioid overdose. Fran felt that it was important to have a physical place for people to go to remember the boys. She often visits to play music and talk to them.
For The Washington Post
Fran Lunsford Laughinghouse kisses her necklace that has a charm for each of her children including her two sons who died of opioid overdose as she sits at the Pinewood Memorial Park in Greenville, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Bioretention ponds sit along the banks of the Trent River with the goal of mitigating the impact of future flooding on the town of Pollocksville, North Carolina. Hurricane Florence caused extensive flood damage to the town of less than 300 people in 2018. Now the town is five years into a seven year recovery plan to make the community more resilient to future storms.
For The Assembly
Mayor James Bender stands inside the historic train depot in Pollocksville, North Carolina which is now used as the town offices. Hurricane Florence caused extensive flood damage to the town of less than 300 people in 2018.
For The Assembly
(Left to right) Sam Davis, Ted Lewis, Emily Lewis, and Judy Cullipher eat lunch at Grilling Buddies in Pollocksville, North Carolina.
For The Assembly
Curtis Thompson fishes on the opposite side of the pier as everyone else in Kure Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
A house along the beach on Ocean Drive in Rodanthe, North Carolina is in imminent danger of falling into the sea. Residents are trying to find ways to mitigate future damage but one of the countyÕs main goals during beach nourishment projects is to protect Highway 12 rather than individual homes so this area is currently less of a priority.
For WUNC
Riders in cowboy hats and sombreros take over Benson, North Carolina during Mule Days. Mule Days, which has been held for 73 years, features a festival, music, a parade, and rodeos. Riders maneuver their horses and mules throughout the town in an event that celebrates the most “infamous” of animals and honors cowboy culture.
For Cardinal & Pine
Carly Rae Johnson, Junior Miss Benson 2023, sits in the stands before the rodeo at Mule Days in Benson, North Carolina.
For Cardinal & Pine
Surrounded by family Dale Durden, center, practices roping a tiny toy calf during Mule Days in Benson, North Carolina.
For Cardinal & Pine
Jimmy Coleman, who has been coming to Mule Days for 31 years, wears a horseshoe necklace before the rodeo in Benson, North Carolina. Coleman and his friends used to ride the 105 miles from Delco to Benson each year.
For Cardinal & Pine
Little Miss Benson Callen Smith, 7, left, and Mia Roberts, 6, right, sit in the stand before the rodeo begins at Mule Days in Benson, North Carolina.
For Cardinal & Pine
Bronc riders practice before the Mule Days rodeo in Benson, North Carolina on September 24, 2022. Mule Days, which has been held for 73 years, features a festival, music, a parade, and rodeos. Riders maneuver their horses and mules throughout the town in an event that celebrates the most “infamous” of animals and honors cowboy culture.
For Cardinal & Pine
Trey Dail, of Wilson, North Carolina, stands in the bleachers during the Mule Days rodeo in Benson, North Carolina.
For Cardinal & Pine
This photo was included in Women Photograph’s 100 images from 2022.
Jennifer Le Zotte, a history professor at UNCW, stands in her home in Wilmington, North Carolina. For over the past year and a half, she has been responsible for keeping both her two kids and her elderly parents safe while understanding the reality that there may never be a clear end to the pandemic.
For The Washington Post
The interior of the Temple of Israel is awash in light from the unique French stained glass windows in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Temple was built in 1846 and is the oldest Jewish house of worship in the state. The age of the building in addition to hurricane damage have forced the congregation to begin raising funds to restore the historic temple.
Alex Galdamez, left, and his daughter Alexa Galdamez, 9, right, look up at the stars during a skywatching event at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Raleigh Astronomy Club and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center organized the event to coincide with the Perseid meteor shower. Over 4500 people registered for the event which drew seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
For Cardinal & Pine
Pool tables sit empty at the pier in Kure Beach, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
A memorial walk for Johnny Davis, 19, who was shot and killed in West Palm Beach. Organizers Ricky Aiken and Terryon Chapman are part of the Inner City Innovators who are working on the issues of black on black crime. Since June, 22 young men have been shot in the neighborhoods northwest of downtown West Palm Beach.
The Herritage bar hosts a drag brunch in honor of Pride Month in Kinston, North Carolina. The event takes place in rural Eastern North Carolina. Miss ENC Pride Michelle Michaels explains that it's easier to be accepted as a drag queen in bigger cities, but in rural communities it can be "a bit more tricky."
For WUNC
Veruca Salt, a drag performer based in Raleigh, sprays her hair before performing at The Herritage in Kinston, North Carolina. Salt explains that she snuck into her first drag event at age 17. "I saw the local queens do an amazing show and knew instantly that all of my interests of makeup, hair, show business had a name, DRAG!"
For WUNC
After 25 years Michaels says she has drag great grandkids referencing all of the performers she has mentored over the years. She sees her role as paving the way to make drag "easier and more fulfilling as those before me did. As a momma to Eastern North Carolina I always hope to look out for them [young performers] and provide safe homes where all feel welcome."
For WUNC
A pro-abortion rally held at Innes Park in Wilmington, North Carolina following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Congressional candidate Russell Fry addresses a crowd of supporters during a “Fry the Rice” campaign event at Cindy and Jim’s Ice Cream shop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Fry, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, defeated challenging incumbent Tom Rice who was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.
For The Wall Street Journal
Judy Dorr, left, and her son Jerry Pate, right, stand outside of Cindy and Jim’s Ice Cream shop with their dog Milo during a “Fry the Rice” campaign event for congressional candidate Russell Fry in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
For The Wall Street Journal
Supporters of former President Donald Trump wait in line before a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Tara Wood, left, Chair of the Charleston chapter of Moms for Liberty, and Vice Chair April Coleman, right, cheer during an event for presidential candidate Tim Scott at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina. The Moms for Liberty group has over 100,000 members in chapters throughout the country and is being courted by many GOP candidates.
For The Wall Street Journal
Angelina Davenport, left, a member of the Berkeley County chapter of Moms for Liberty, talks with Berkeley County School Board member Michael Ramsey, right, after an event for presidential candidate Tim Scott at Charleston Southern University.
For The Wall Street Journal
Jess Huntley, left, and Izzy Oberci, right, attend a rally for former President Donald Trump in Wilmington, North Carolina.
For The Washington Post
Mikara Smith-Hendricks prepares Covid vaccines during an outdoor clinic hosted by her mother Dr. Karen Smith in Raeford, North Carolina. Dr. Smith has served the rural community for decades building trust with her patients and continues to hold conversations about the importance of vaccines.
For The Assembly
Medical supplies are laid out on a table during an outdoor vaccination clinic hosted by Dr. Karen Smith in Raeford, North Carolina.
For The Assembly
Dr. Karen Smith receives a Covid booster vaccination during an outdoor clinic hosted by her practice in Raeford, North Carolina.
For The Assembly
Tammy Locklear, right, winces as she receives her very first Covid vaccine from Debra McLeod, left, during an outdoor clinic hosted by Dr. Karen Smith in Raeford, North Carolina.
For The Assembly
Miss Lumbee Taylor Locklear, center, adjusts Riley Dial’s hair while Kynnady Locklear, left, looks on during the American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh. Despite being one of the largest tribes in the eastern United States, the Lumbee Tribe continues to be denied federal recognition.
For AARP
Gage McClenny, of Clinton, dances with other members of the Coharie tribe during the American Indian Heritage Celebration at the North Carolina Museum of History.
For The North State Journal
Bernice Sack, 94, sets out silverware to have an afternoon snack of her famous cherry dump cake at the home she shares with her daughter in Hubert, North Carolina. In 1983 when Sack took out a universal life insurance policy, such policies were often earning double digits in interest. Now despite paying over $37,000 over the course of the policy, she must continue to make payments of $285 each month or risk losing the $20,000 she still hopes that her children will collect to help pay for funeral expenses when she passes away.
For The Wall Street Journal
Bernice Sack, 94, stands in her bedroom in the home she shares with her daughter in Hubert, North Carolina.
For The Wall Street Journal
A gravestone sits in the cemetery outside of the Jubilee Baptist Church in Chapel Hill. When the new church was replanted at this site, concerned families called to make sure the graves would remain untouched.
For BuzzFeed News
Kevin Georgas, a co-pastor of Jubilee Baptist Church, closes the front doors of the churchÕs Chapel Hill location. A core tenet of the Jubilee Baptist Church is debt forgiveness and congregants are encouraged to apply for help with repaying debt as a means to liberate them from some of their burdens.
For BuzzFeed News
(Left to right) Terri Straka’s family John Raymund, Clayton Kiniry, Thaddeus Straka, Zachary Raymund, and Sophia Raymund, 5, help her move into her new home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Straka is part of a buyout program to relocate Horry County residents away from flood prone areas and into safer homes. Despite the emotion of leaving her former home of 30 years, Straka says the new place “is like a dream come true. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
For The Washington Post
Terri Straka, left, explores her new home with her granddaughter Sophia Raymund, 5, right, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Straka is part of a buyout program to relocate Horry County residents away from flood prone areas and into safer homes.
For The Washington Post
Terri Straka talks with her family as they help her move into her new home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Straka is part of a buyout program to relocate Horry County residents away from flood prone areas and into safer homes.
For The Washington Post
Ben Williamson sits in the dining room of his home on Starcreek Circle in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He and his wife moved from New Jersey without seeing the house in person and without receiving information about the past flooding that has happened in the neighborhood. Now with a one-year-old they are weighing their options but Williamson says he plans to take the buyout.
For The Washington Post
Justin Walsh holds up his cross necklace while waiting for the Summit Church Easter Sunday service to begin at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh. Pastor J.D. Greear, who leads the church, preached about eternal life after death and encouraged attendees to be baptized.
For The Assembly
Anna Thomasson, 17, left and Lily Thomasson, 15, right, raise their hands in worship as they listen to music and watch people be baptized during the Summit Church Easter Sunday service at Walnut Creek Amphitheater. Thousands of people attended the service to hear Pastor J.D. Greear preach about salvation and the promise of eternal life.
For The Assembly
Melissa Chin is baptized during the Summit Church Easter Sunday service at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh.
For The Assembly
Emmanuel Kidibu is baptized during the Summit Church Easter Sunday service as his father Yabi Kidibu records the moment on two phones at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh. Thousands of people attended to hear Pastor J.D. Greear deliver a sermon about salvation and the promise of eternal life.
For The Assembly
Pastor J.D. Greear, leader of The Summit Church, sits in the worship space at the church’s Brier Creek Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Pastor Greear, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, preaches to thousands of followers in the Triangle every Sunday whether in person or virtually at home or on one of the church’s ten other local campuses.
For The Assembly
Daniel Rivera stretches in the dressing room area with the female competitors at the 2018 Pole Sport Organization: Triangle Pole Championships in Cary, North Carolina. Twelve women competed for three qualifying spots for the PSO national competition but Daniel was the only professional male pole dancer at the Cary event.
For Narratively
Daniel Rivera, left, practices his routine during pole testing, alongside Makayla Freeman, right, before performances start in the 2018 Pole Sport Organization: Triangle Pole Championships in Cary, North Carolina. He was the only professional male pole dancer at the Cary competition and he qualified for nationals. Daniel, 22, who lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina, says "in high school teachers ask you what you want to be in five years. I never would have thought I'd be Mr. Pole Dance America.”
For Narratively
Children play soccer in the predominantly Hispanic trailer park off Hanes Road in Galax, Virginia. With a population of just around 7,000, the small town of Galax in rural southwest Virginia has one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the state. Young adults who were born in Galax or arrived as children are now starting families of their own.
For NPR
A cross stands outside a home in Galax, Virginia. With a population of just around 7,000, the town of Galax in rural southwest Virginia has one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the state. Residents in town have a wide range of views about immigration as the community continues to struggle with the decline of the textile and furniture industries that were once the primary providers of middle class jobs.
For NPR
Crates of sweet potatoes fill a curing and storage facility at Kornegay Family Farms and Produce in Princeton, North Caorlina. North Carolina produces 67% of the country’s sweet potatoes and curing the sweet potatoes allows the starch in them to convert to sugar to give them their characteristic sweet flavor.
For The New York Times
Farmworkers harvest sweet potatoes at Kornegay Family Farms and Produce in Princeton, North Carolina. North Carolina produces 67% of the country’s sweet potatoes. Kornegay Farms ships a steady supply of sweet potatoes throughout the year and with harvesting just over halfway done, they do not anticipate any disruptions to distribution ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
For The New York Times
Carrie McClain manages Hart-T-Tree Farms, the business that her father started in the late 1970s, based in Grassy Creek, North Carolina. The farm specializes in Fraser fir Christmas trees and sends them all over the country. McClain is also on the Ashe County Christmas Tree Association board. Ashe County produces the most Christmas trees of any county in the country with approximately 12,000 acres used for the crop.
For AARP
Hart-T-Tree Farms in Grassy Creek, North Carolina. The farm specializes in Fraser fir Christmas trees and sends them all over the country. McClain is also on the Ashe County Christmas Tree Association board. Ashe County produces the most Christmas trees of any county in the country with approximately 12,000 acres used for the crop.
For AARP
Hart-T-Tree Farms in Grassy Creek, North Carolina. The farm specializes in Fraser fir Christmas trees and sends them all over the country. McClain is also on the Ashe County Christmas Tree Association board. Ashe County produces the most Christmas trees of any county in the country with approximately 12,000 acres used for the crop
.For AARP
Earl Armstrong, Giblem Lodge #2 Worshipful Master, stands inside Giblem Lodge in Wilmington, North Carolina. The lodge, which was built in 1871, is the second oldest Masonic temple in the state. Plans are currently underway to preserve and restore the historic building.
For WilmingtonBiz Magazine
Renee Stewart stands outside the building that used to house Taylor Fish Farm on her family’s land in Cedar Grove, North Carolina. The fish farm was hailed as an innovative success story just a few years ago until Stewart and her brother Valee Taylor became embroiled in a battle to access loans and crucial capital to sustain their business.
For Mother Jones
Levi Grissett holds a photo of his wife Frances McMillan Grissett, and himself at his home on his family land in Supply, North Carolina. Grissett, who has become know for his unique heirloom collard greens, only started growing collards because his wife liked them. She passed away in 2009 but Grissett has continued to garden as he has done since he was young.
For NPR
Levi Grissett harvests his legendarily large collard green plants on his family land in Supply, North Carolina. Grissett convinced his friend A.D. Munn to give him some heirloom collard green seeds that date back over 100 years. Now Grissett has become know locally for his special collards which he never sells but gives away to older members of the community.
Commissioner Nancy Barbee sits along the banks of the Trent River in Pollocksville, North Carolina where generations of her family have grown up.
For The Assembly
The Trent River winds its way through Pollocksville, North Carolina. During Hurricane Florence in 2018 the river covered all but the very top of the bridge. The flooding caused extensive damage to the town of less than 300. Now the town is five years into a seven year recovery plan to make the community more resilient to future storms and to use the natural beauty of the area as a draw for visitors.
For The Assembly
Terry Jackson, a board member of the Giblem Lodge, stands on the third of the historic building as restoration and preservation is underway. Giblem Lodge, which was built it 1871, is the second-oldest Black Masonic Temple in the state.
For WilmingtonBiz Magazine
South Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Kaye Hearn stands in a courtroom at the Horry County Judicial and Administration Complex in Conway, South Carolina. Justice Hearn played a crucial role in helping to strike down the stateÕs six-week abortion ban. Due to age limit restrictions, Justice Hearn recently retired and is currently considering what new path to take for the first time since she became a judge in 1986.
For ProPublica
Michael Schneider, a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant, holds a leather Bible cover he made in his garage studio at his home in Swansboro, North Carolina. He uses art and music therapy to help manage his epilepsy and PTSD following a traumatic brain injury. The Semper Fi Fund, which supports injured military service members and veterans, built Schneider’s studio and he in turn has been teaching leatherworking through their programs.
For NPR
Rachel Shenk, right, and her son Mason Shenk, 3, left, stand in the open-air turkey enclosure on their farm in Newport, North Carolina. Rachel explains that one of her primary motivations in starting a farm was “so that we could do it as a family.” She hopes that one day Mason will find his own way to be involved in the farm.
For NPR
The sun sets on the Ensign Harbor Marina in Merritt, North Carolina. Dan Parsons and Perry Cooper dock the sailboat that they lived on for six months during the pandemic at the marina.
For The Washington Post