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Public swimming pool access has dried up in Columbus County, NC: a legacy of 'racism, rural decay, and lost opportunity.'

 Stagnant water accumulated in the now-defunct swimming pool on Elm Street in Fair Bluff, NC.
Tracy Watts
/
The Assembly
Stagnant water accumulated in the now-defunct swimming pool on Elm Street in Fair Bluff, NC.

Columbus County, NC doesn’t have a single public pool and the nearest one is at least an hour away, according to Border Belt Independent reporter Ben Rappaport.

He talks with Due South co-host Leoneda Inge about a story he recently reported in partnership with The Assembly called “The Abandoned Pools of Columbus County.” It’s a story of economics, rural decay, and racism.

Guest

Ben Rappaport, reporter, Border Belt Independent

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.