AP explores a historic Black town vulnerable to climate change
A boat ramp sign is submerged in the Tar River as the water level rises following a heavy rain in Princeville, N.C., March 17, 2022. The river, and the effects of climate change, continue to be a threat to the small, historic Black community in eastern North Carolina. The town, nestled in the river’s flood plain, bears the scars of previous storms. (AP Photo / Gerry Broome)
By Tom Foreman Jr., Allen Breed and Gerry Broome
The North Carolina-based team of Skip Foreman, Allen Breed and Gerry Broome tells the story of a historic Black town threatened by climate change, and its residents determined to endure and prosper.
Princeville, North Carolina, home of just over a thousand people, has flooded many times, including two disasters 17 years apart: Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and Matthew in 2016. Both floods were horrific, destroying homes and damaging roads. Caskets lifted out of the ground and floated down the street.
Charlotte reporter Skip Foreman had long wanted to revisit the town,the oldest in the U.S. founded by Black Americans. He grew up in Greenville,just an hour away,and as a child had no knowledge of Princeville’s existence or historical significance.
Along with Raleigh photographer Broome and national enterprise video journalist Breed,Foreman set out to capture the story of the town many have never heard of. Princeville has endured racism,bigotry and attempts by white neighbors to erase it from the map. And it will flood again — that much is clear. With a changing climate,hurricanes are likely to be more intense. Melting glaciers are causing sea levels to rise,making more flooding inevitable.
Yet the townspeople are determined to preserve their land and legacy. On this land, they see connections to both a shared history and a continued fight for survival.
Princeville resident Eddie Pettaway eats dinner at Tray-Seas Soul Food Restaurant in Princeville, N.C., Feb. 28, 2022. The restaurant is one of only a handful of establishments in the historic small town along the banks of the Tar River. Flooding from past hurricanes has left permanent scars on the small town. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
Carolyn Suggs Bandy talks with owner Tracey Knight while picking up takeout food at Tray-Seas Soul Food Restaurant in Princeville, N.C., Feb. 28, 2022. Bandy proudly gushed about her birthplace, a town that stakes its claim as the oldest chartered by Black Americans, nearly 140 years ago. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
An abandoned home sits in Princeville, N.C., March 10, 2022. The vulnerable community in the flood plain of the Tar River is fearful of the next hurricane, while many areas of the community are still damaged from previous floods. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
The Tar River flows under the bridge connecting Tarboro and Princeville, N.C., March 10, 2022. The river has flooded twice in recent history due to hurricanes, leaving permanent scars on the historic town of Princeville. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
Mayor Bobbie Jones looks out over the Tar River from an earthen levee in Princeville, N.C., March 17, 2022. Jones, a full-time school principal who lives in Princeville and commutes one hour each way to his job, says history compels him, and others, to work for his town’s survival. “These are sacred grounds,” Jones said. “These are sacred African-American grounds.” – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
An earthen levee runs along the Tar River in Princeville, N.C., Feb. 28, 2022. The town, whose seal proudly declares it “the oldest town chartered by Blacks in America,” has flooded many times and is threatened by the effects of climate change. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
The Princeville Museum Welcome Center in Princeville, N.C., is closed, Feb. 28, 2022. The community, established by freed slaves, has suffered two major hurricanes in recent memory. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
William Johnson cuts hair at Bridgers Barbershop in Princeville, N.C., March 10, 2022. The shop is one of only a few businesses in the small community that was established by freed slaves. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
The town cemetery in Princeville, N.C., shown Feb. 28, 2022, is a sobering reminder of the permanent damage suffered by the small community in recent storms. Past flooding left caskets floating in the historic Black community. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
Volunteer firefighters wait for their next call in Princeville, N.C., March 17, 2022. The fire department has been a lifeline for many Princeville residents during historic floods caused by hurricanes. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
A pedestrian walks past an abandoned home near historic Freedom Hill in Princeville, N.C., March 10, 2022. The red X signifies the house has been searched for bodies, a sign of past flooding from the Tar River. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
A home in Princeville, N.C., is in the process of having the foundation raised, March 10, 2022. Flooding from past hurricanes has left permanent damage to the vulnerable community, and some residents have received funding to help rebuild homes and raise foundations. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
A historical marker stands at the site of Freedom Hill in Princeville, N.C., March 10, 2022. Historic Princeville, on the banks of the Tar River in eastern North Carolina, is one hurricane away from disaster. The town, whose seal proudly declares it “the oldest town chartered by Blacks in America,” has flooded many times, including two hurricanes in recent memory. – AP Photo / Gerry Broome
“These are sacred African-American grounds,” says Bobbie Jones,Princeville’s two-term mayor. “How dare we be asked to move our town?”
The story took all three journalists to Princeville multiple times, talking to the people who live there and reporting in all formats on the town’s historical significance as well as its efforts to rebuild and protect. Breed used drone video to show the town and its unfit levee from above.
The package played prominently in the South and beyond, and Breed’s video caught on with some 1.3 million views on Facebook alone.
