White Control in Fund Distribution

Willie Johnson has been driving 30 minutes from his hometown in New Bern, NC to the more rural area of Trenton, NC for nine years. His congregation is there – in a church located within ‘the bowl’ of Back Street. Many of his parishioners have weathered all of North Carolina’s storms. And geographically, African American communities within Trenton have often received the most damage. But most of the county’s relief funding decision-makers are white. Johnson has seen the situation become increasingly dire.

Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding in Coastal Carolina communities. The podcast is a project of Shoresides and Working Narratives.