His story in these pages says a lot more than the incessant finger pointing about race in the mass media. Freedom comes up again as we present in this issue Dale Gibson's compilation of the business leaders to watch in the new century. A free marketplace is the doppelganger of a free political society. It creates the robust economy and optimistic future so redolent today. Take a look at these up and comers and watch what happens as they make their mark on the world of tomorrow.
Freedom of expression is the critical component of American democracy.
Fortunately, the censorship today on campus, in the workplace and in our mass media has not yet completely diminished the steady flow of books by area authors. We have in our region an abundance of fine writers toiling today in the fertile soil of North Carolina literary achievement. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech, the two pillars of the unique American body politic appear in Part II of the series by Rick Smith and Mirinda Kossoff on literary legend Reynolds Price, who was born, grew up and today writes from North Carolina. The week after the first installment on the writer appeared in our pages last November, Price was featured in the cover story of Time magazine, continuing his themes of religion, the written word and the essence of a full and creative life. Arch T. Allen returns with Part II of his extensive look at the governance, influence and future of the UNC system of colleges and universities.