Rockingham County
Rockingham's local government is not representative of its ethnic make
up. Their County Board of Commissioners is made up of five
representatives who at this time are all white. The African American
community makes up 18.6% of the county population. The commissioners
are elected at large in staggered partisan elections to serve four-year
terms. There should be at least one African American representative on
this governing board. It is unclear what the ethnic make up of the
County School Board is, but it consists of eight members who are
elected from each of eight districts for four-year terms.There are individual cities within Rockingham County that also merit attention. The city of Eden has an eight-member City Council. Currently all eight members are white, which fails to represent the cities 19.8% African American Population. The city council members are elected in staggered elections to four-year terms. Each member represents a particular ward, but the city at large votes for the representatives from each ward.
Rockingham is a largely rural county, with an average income below that of North Carolina as a whole. As a result, it may lack the infrastructure necessary to host workshops.