The first time I met Nate, he was asking a question about a microphone I was using to collect stories at a local church men's breakfast. The church is known for the number of military families it attracts, and I was looking for one-liners about freedom for radio vignettes I was planning to broadcast from Memorial Day to Independence Day.

As I engaged in a conversation about the microphone and his how-to mechanic videos, I had no idea of the story that was just beneath the surface. It wasn't until at least six months later I met his wife and discovered the pair and their three children had been through a harrowing, headline grabbing ordeal three years prior to my meeting Nate.

His wife's younger brother, who was living with them to add some order and stability to his life, had been shot to death – after being beaten and robbed – on an otherwise beautiful day in May. The story caught my interest. Not because of the murder itself, but because of the story of faith and forgiveness surrounding it.

Imagine the range of emotions in a courtroom filled with grieving family members on just about every seat in the room. One family grieving the life of a 16-year old killed over $120, and the parents and siblings of six other young people grieving the sons they were about to lose to the prison system.

Now imagine the guardian of the slain teen handing the mother of one of the accused a tissue to wipe her tears as she said, “I forgive you. It's not your fault.”

This wasn't a scene from a cheesy made-for-TV movie, it was real life. It took real courage, and it stemmed from real faith. The incident and events surrounding it called everything into question for Nate and his family. And as they embraced those questions, they emerged with answers that led them to the dusty villages surrounding ancient Jerusalem, where a man named Jesus taught about loving God, treating others as well as you would yourself, and forgiving those who seek to do you harm.

The journey that led them to forgiveness led them down roads of anger, bitterness and even resentment, but the God they found along the way gives them a peace which outweighs it all.

At WCLN, we call that Monday School. The lessons learned as we venture beyond the rally and rhetoric of a weekend worship service into stories of real life, real faith, and real people. We have devoted air time and a podcast channel to stories like Nate's – and have discovered they are all around us. Our friends, neighbors, and co-workers; their stories contain tales of heroism or sorrow, and may be marked with an undeniable joy that defies explanation.

You can find Monday School wherever you listen to podcasts, and we hope you do.

Pictured: There are many lessons of faith and forgiveness to be learned as we venture beyond weekend worship services into stories of real life and real people.

Over 30 years ago, a small group of friends with diverse interests and opinions shared an appreciation of African and African American culture along with a desire to produce positive changes in their local community. They decided to form the Umoja Group with Dr. Kwame Tuprah and Dorothy Fielder at the helm. Through the years, the organization has grown and continues to make a lasting impression in the Fayetteville community.

“The purpose of the group is to share positive cultural information about Africans, African Americans and Carribeans,” said Wanda Wesley, incoming director of the Umoja Group, Inc. “It is our duty to spotlight and share that information with others so they will know about the greatness, unity and develop a mutual respect for one another.”

The group, incorporated in 2005, is very active in the community and one of their biggest services is to assist students by awarding them scholarships for college. Since 1998, the group has given over $22,000 in scholarships.

“Since the Umoja Group was formed in the community, the scholarships focus around students who live in the Broadell, E. E. Smith and Fayetteville State community,” said Wesley. “So most of those scholarship recipients have either been students who actually attend E. E. Smith High School or who have been active participants in the Umoja Group’s activities over the years as far as volunteers or supporters.”

Wesley added that a lot of the students who receive scholarships are recommended by the E. E. Smith Band because a lot of the students in the band participate in many of their activities.

“We have worked with the school to identify worthy students who have positive attitudes, decent grades and give back to the community,” said Wesley. “In December 2020, we gave a $1,000 scholarship to Deborah Effon, an early senior at Massey Hill Classical High School that finished in December.”

One of their annual events is the Umoja Festival held the last Saturday in August. “It is a community day and we have singers, dancers, food and product vendors, and a health fair,” said Wesley. “For the last few years, we have partnered with Darvin Jones from Cape Fear Valley to have a health fair and it has been very well received.”

The health fair is designed for individuals who might not normally go to the doctor for routine physicals. The health screenings include cholesterol, rapid HIV test, depression screening, blood pressure, blood glucose, body mass index, vision screening, lung function tests, flu shots, blood typing, AFib testing and more.

“One year there was a person whose blood pressure was so high and they did not realize it and came to the health fair,” said Wesley. “They found out they needed to take care of some things and it may have saved their life.”

“What I think is really special about the festival is that it is intergenerational, something for the entire family, wholesome, fun and exciting,” said Wesley. “You would feel comfortable bringing your small child out as well as your grandparent.”

Darvin Jones, community health coordinator of Cape Fear Valley, gave his perspective of the group.

“I think the Umoja Group does an outstanding job in the community trying to bring culture and heritage together,” said Jones. “Umoja means unity and that is exactly what they do through some of their programs with education and the appreciation of the arts, culture and a positive history.

“I approached the Umoja Group ten years ago about doing what I call the hospital making a house call into the community,” said Jones. “The first group that I approached about this was very lukewarm, but the Umoja Group loved the idea so we got together and discussed the vision of what it could be.”

Jones added that together they executed that vision and now it has become a part of the Umoja Festival. Every year they find something that they screen for, such as high blood pressure, in abundance.

Not only is it set up to find these things, it is designed to help people. It has grown into being the largest health fair in the county.

The Kwanzaa celebration has become a popular staple event in the community. “We recently had our Kwanzaa celebration and that is when I first got started with the Umoja Group,” said Wesley. “The celebration is a great community gathering of people and it tells them the history of Kwanzaa along with the seven principles, their meanings, and how they can live that through their
daily lives.”

The last few years the celebration has taken place at the Smith Recreation Center. “There is a set program and we usually start off with a drum call, welcome, singing, libation to those who have passed, a parade of African kings and queens, a tribute to elders, a feast, storytelling, scholarship presentation, dancing and more,” said Wesley. “One of our most popular acts is Shaka Zulu, performed by Larry Johnson, who has been doing this for over 20 years and everybody looks forward to his performance.”

Due to the circumstances of COVID-19, the celebration was held virtually on Facebook in December 2020. “We shared Kwanzaa videos throughout the month of December which proved to be well-received and we will most likely incorporate that format into how we celebrate going forward,” said Wesley. “We did several interviews with children and adults who have been a part of the celebration for years and we were able to reach a larger audience to include folks from other states and overseas.”

Future projects include digitizing the mural “Wall of Honor” to make the information more widely accessible and sharing stories about the individuals featured on
the mural.

For more information, donations, or to volunteer call 910-485-8035 or email umojagroupfay@gmail.com. If you would like to purchase a copy of Wall of Honor: A Celebration of Fayetteville’s Everyday Heroes contact Donna Barnes at 919-368-5258.

Pictured above: The Umoja Festival at Seabrook Park is usually held the last Saturday in August. The public event is a celebration of culture and heritage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured above: Umoja Group members celebrate Kwanzaa (left to right) Ramon Huggins, Dr. Kwame Tuprah, Yawa Tuprah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured above: Deborah Effon (center) received the 2020 Umoja Group Scholarship.

Writing an article on a work of art is complicated for many reasons. We each bring our own perceptions, bias and learned conventions when placing value or simply looking at a work of art. The complexity of contemporary art can include an additional layer — the ethnicity of the artist.

Making works of art and art criticism today is not simple, there are many questions one could ask for doing either activity. For me, when I think about the ethnicity of the artist and how to look at their work, Leo Segedin asks some of the right questions in his article titled "Outakes From Making It: Race, Gender and Ethnicity in the Artworld." He asks: “… Are there generally acceptable ideas about what constitutes aesthetic ‘quality’? Does each minority group have their own aesthetic standards, its own criteria?... Is there a common aesthetic within a minority that is only accessible to the minority? … What constitutes ‘minority’ art? Who defines the essence and social agenda of a feminist artist, a Latino or Black artist?”

Why anyone, minority or not, becomes an artist can be just as complex. The quotes by Vicki Rhoda, the featured artist for this special edition of Up & Coming Weekly, answer many of Segedin’s questions. The answers are found in why she became an educator, what is important to her in the classroom and why she is an artist.

Raised in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, Mrs. Mazie Bell Rhoda (Vicki’s mother), gave her a set of art supplies at the age of eleven years old. While at home, Vicki would sit on the steps and repeatedly draw and paint the small church across the street. To have a creative nature and be open minded is a wonderful attribute, but it was also the cause of some of the challenges in her life.

The direction of Rhoda’s life took hold when she was in high school, she met Ms. Peggy Webb, her art teacher. Not only was Ms. Webb an excellent teacher but she was also the only African American art teacher in Bladen County in the 80s. Inspired by an African American role model Rhoda’s direction in life was permanently altered on the path to become an artist and educator.

Since being inspired by Ms. Webb, Rhoda earned a bachelor's degree in Art at Fayetteville State University. She has taught art in the public schools for 23 years, grades K-12. For the last four years she has been on the faculty at FSU in the Department of Performing and Fine Arts teaching art education and core art classes after earning a Master of Art Education at the University of Florida. She has also earned an advanced degree as an Educational Specialist from Grand Canyon University. Rhoda is presently working to complete her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership K-12.

Rhoda stayed enthusiastic about teaching in public schools for 23 years. When she began teaching in the Bladen County public schools during the mid-90s Ms. Webb had relocated to another county and Rhoda became the only African American art teacher in the county.

Rhoda reflected on the lack diversity of the teachers in the Bladen County schools at that time and what a relief it was to be employed by the Cumberland County public school system. Finally she was in an educational environment where the teachers and students were equally diverse, she felt more comfortable, she could be herself.

No matter what school she was teaching in, Rhoda knew the importance of art in the public schools and witnessed the positive effects year after year. She shared with me: “Having art programs in the public schools is as important as math and science for many reasons. The myth is that art is simply recreational. Yet, taking an art class teaches the students diversity, global literacy, aesthetics, artists and art styles, and problem solving. Students leave an art class and see the world in a different way. Not only do they express themselves creatively, but they also can become personally transformed.”

She continued, “Certain assignments revealed many of the personal problems students were having at home or a tragedy they have suffered. When talking to the student about the assignment they felt safe about sharing an experience. Art gave them a voice they did not have. For many the arts is an outlet to succeed in ways they could not in core classes. When I left public schools, I hoped I could have touched the lives of students in ways that would make a difference in their sense of self-worth and I was able to open the door to understanding diversity.”

Rhoda was hired at FSU to recruit for and strengthen the art education program. After her first year in academe she redesigned the art education program by developing four new classes and eliminating some classes. The changes from teaching in the public schools for so many years to teaching students in higher education is a big leap for anyone. When asked about the transition she stated: “It was difficult. In middle and high school your approach to lesson plans is very different than higher education. Although you teach critical thinking in public schools, in higher education the analysis levels are so much higher. I am working with adults, so my language (personally and professionally) is very different. I’m happy to say the attention span of students at the university is lengthy compared to the public schools and is not only expected but required.”

Rhoda’s success as an art educator is partially due to being a practicing artist. By being an artist she can share her creative efforts; the students are able to see she is engaged in the creative process. It is the same creative process that began at the age of eleven when she drew and painted the church across the street repeatedly.

When asked why art remained so important to Rhoda, why she became an artist and to talk about her artistic style, she shared the following: “I was a very quiet child, while being creative I was reflective and thinking about so many things in my life. Art always gave me a voice to share what I could not do verbally. Later in life, around 1996, I learned a collage technique during a workshop and have continued to work in that media. The collage technique, in some ways, spoke to me. I could readily see images and myself in the layers of paper, I could relate it to my own life, and I saw ways to express my ideas. So what you are seeing in many of the earlier works is what I could not say out loud, but through the work.”

Rhoda continued, “In the beginning, I was trying to express who I am. Raised in a Southern Pentecostal Holiness Church, uniformity was stressed for men and women, but I always saw things differently than my family. Being an artist I found a way to express myself visually. Although my personal collages are about expressing who I am, it can still resonate with others who grew up in the South and
are Black.”

“I started my political work after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, I realized just being Black in America is political.
These are my experiences, being born Black is political, people in the southern Black community just handle it differently. The slogan Black Lives Matter is not new, we have been fighting for our lives to matter as long as I have been alive and historically. It is not OK to see color, yet due to social media, systemic racism is more evident. I always wanted my students to know everyone is important and we all bring something of value to enrich each other’s lives in many ways.”

The reasons Rhoda gives for becoming an artist answer some of Segedin’s questions. Making art is a form of self-realization and it gives people a voice to share experiences. If just being Black is political, no matter how some would deny it or be impatient with the statement, it is obvious that race, ethnicity, and visual culture are inextricably linked. Artists draw from their identity to create awareness for different reasons, some create to influence change in American culture.

In closing, works of art by some minority artists and other artists can be complicated and even some of Segedin’s questions are folly. We cannot characterize all works of art during the period in which they are being made. Ultimately, we can know some truths about works of art, but we cannot know all truths. It behooves us to stay openminded to why artists are creating works of art, search for a truth and new meaning. In the end, the history of art will often look like what we did not understand at the time.

Pictured: "Judged" by Vicki Rhoda.

NC MedAssist is holding a Mobile Free Pharmacy Event in partnership with Humana in Cumberland County on Feb. 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will be held at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church located at 701 Westmont Dr., Fayetteville and is open to any individual or family needing over-the-counter medications. Such items include cough and cold medicine, vitamins, allergy medication, first aid supplies, etc. Participants must be at least 18 years old to receive medicine. No identification is required, however face masks are required to participate.

“Our North Carolina team is proud to partner with NC MedAssist here in Cumberland County and across the state to bring resources to those in need in our community,” said Humana’s North Carolina Director Patrick Farley. “We hope that having these important over-the-counter supplies on hand will help everyone stay healthy this winter.”

All Mobile Free Pharmacy events are being held as a drive-thru service only. In order to comply with local recommended guidelines, all participants will remain in their vehicles while volunteers retrieve their medicine. Participants are highly encouraged to pre-order their over-the-counter medicine online by visiting https://medassist.org/mobile/ and selecting their county event. Additional options are available for those individuals unable to pre-register online, so that everyone who needs medicine will be able to receive it. However, it is highly suggested to come early in the day if you were not able to pre-order online, as medicine will be given out on a first come, first serve basis, and while supplies last.

At the event, all participants will receive information on NC MedAssist’s Free Pharmacy Program, which mails free prescription medications directly to a patient’s home. NC MedAssist’s overall goal is to help ease the burden for those in need; it is aiding people who are making the choice between buying food and purchasing life-saving medication.

“Due to the pandemic, we had to create a new and innovative way to continue serving the community. We will be bringing close to $100,000 worth of OTC medicine to the event to be distributed to those most in need in our community,” said Sheila Kidwell, Director of Foundations and Communication at NC MedAssist. “We understand there is a pressing need, especially in the midst of the cold and flu season. Our goal in this partnership with Humana is to improve the health of the community, one family at a time.”

The Mobile Free Pharmacy events have served upwards of 1,000 people, at times. To ensure the event runs smoothly and that all participants are served by the end, many volunteers are needed. NC MedAssist is partnered with safety-net organizations to recruit community members to serve in volunteer roles such as pharmacy consultation, client personal shoppers and sorters. However, the charitable organization is still actively seeking volunteers for the Mobile Free Pharmacy Event from the community. Any interested individuals can sign up at www.medassist.org/volunteer.

NC MedAssist is a statewide non-profit pharmacy, founded in 1997. The organization provides free prescription medication to all low-income, uninsured North Carolinians who qualify for their Free Pharmacy Program. NC MedAssist offers three programs that address the needs of children and adults: the Free Pharmacy Program (for prescription medication); the Over-the-Counter Program (which includes the Free OTC Store in Charlotte, as well as the Mobile Free Pharmacy Program which distributes over-the-counter medicine in communities across the state); and the Transitional Jobs Program (for individuals with barriers to employment). Last year, NC MedAssist distributed $76 million worth of prescription and over-the-counter medicine to NC residents.

Learn more about NC MedAssist at www.medassist.org. You can also visit their Facebook at www.facebook.com/NCMedAssist/.

Sara Cockrell, a Max Abbott Middle School student from Fayetteville won a $2,000 Army & Air Force Exchange Services gift card, the first-place prize in the Exchange’s worldwide "You Made the Grade" sweepstakes.

The Exchange, a military retail store, presented the gift card to the seventh grader on Jan. 29, her thirteenth birthday, at the North Post Exchange located on Fort Bragg.

“I am very excited, I was like how much again and my mom said ‘$2,000’ and I said ‘no, it can’t be that much,’” Cockrell said. “I wouldn't have expected the $2000, I wouldn’t have thought I was being rewarded for having good grades.”

Sara was selected from amongst 500 high-achieving military students from all over the world who qualified for the sweepstakes by maintaining a B average or higher.

We are so happy on her behalf and she's such a hard worker in school, so she really deserves it, Sue Cockrell, Sara’s mother said.

Students with qualifying grades are encouraged to enter the sweepstakes to win a $2,000, $1,500 or $500 Exchange gift card.

Cockrell said she will be using the money to buy an iPad for herself that she had been saving up for since the summer, to draw on and play Roblox on.

“She always does her homework, I don't have to ask her to do it, I have had no issues with her during virtual learning, which she's done all year,” Sue Cockrell said. “She gets up in the morning, she's very self-motivated.”

Cockrell was presented with her prize by the Exchange’s manager Amanda Hartfield, general manager for Fort Bragg Exchange, and the retail team at the Exchange that sang “Happy Birthday” for her and presented her with a cake.

In attendance to congratulate Cockrell were Fort Bragg Garrison Commander Col. Scott Pence, Fort Bragg Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Loehr and Max Abbott Middle School Principal Carla Crenshaw.

“Sara is a wonderful young lady, she works very hard, she’s one of those students that teachers love to have in class, she helps others and she's kind,” Crenshaw said. “I am so very proud of her.”

Pictured: Sara Cockrell, a seventh grader at Max Abbott Middle School, won the Army & Air Force Exchange Services worldwide "You Made the Grade" sweepstakes.

A World War II combat veteran is being honored for his service with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Retired Sgt. 1st Class Marvin Cornett of Auburn, Calif., will receive the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals that he earned nearly 76 years ago in a ceremony scheduled for Feb. 22. Cornett turns 100 on July 1.

Cornett participated in the combat parachute assault over Salerno, Italy, on Jan. 31, 1944, and stormed ashore at Anzio Beach, according to an 82nd Airborne Division news release. When the Army did not follow up on the award recommendations for his actions, Cornett did not pursue the matter. He was routinely reassigned stateside to Fort Benning, Ga., where he served as an instructor. Cornett went on to serve a full career.

Years later, Heritage Arsenal of Colorado Springs, Colo., found missing records of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart awards that never were conferred. An official of the organization who had been an Army Green Beret helped guide the family through the process of requesting the awards.

The ceremony is being coordinated by Heritage Arsenal and the Cornett family and will be hosted by the American Legion in Auburn. Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, will be the virtual guest speaker. U.S. Army recruiters will present the awards to Cornett who will be wearing his dress uniform during the event.

Pictured: Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Marvin Cornett

The narrative of history depends upon who is telling the story. The narrative of Black History Month is rarely told by Blacks.

Every year, we are told the same stories about the same people. Much of America has grown comfortable with telling the “safe” stories. During the month of February, we are constantly reminded of how slavery is an integral part of our heritage. Nobody wants to tell the honest story of what happened to Black America.

Many of the stories told during Black History Month are traumatic experiences that have residual effects. The notion of Black History Month is divisive in nature. BLACK HISTORY IS AMERICAN HISTORY.

The fact is that society has normalized division and continues to plague us as a human race. If we are a part of history, why is it that we only celebrate the impact and accomplishments of Black Americans during the shortest month of the year? Black people are making history every day. No disrespect to those who have came before us, but we must give people their flowers while they are able to smell them.

There are people in the community that have made history right here in the city of Fayetteville. For instance, Marshall Pitts is the first Black mayor of Fayetteville.

2020, which Christian Mosley calls “The Black Year,” revealed the true history of American society. The chants of protesters unearthed the time capsule of America’s attitude towards the Black community.

Black History Month stories romanticize the lives of people like Martin Luther King Jr., even though he was hated, jailed and even killed for his beliefs and thoughts. However, American society celebrates his legacy as if he was beloved when he was alive.

The social justice movement of today mirrors the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Advances in technology have allowed activists to tell their stories in real-time. However, the world has become so sensitive that the truth is frowned upon or silenced.

Sometimes, history can be divisive. The conversation surrounding the history of the Market House continues to be as polarizing as the paint that circles the structure. Throughout the last year, we have seen the removal of statues deemed to be “hateful” or “symbols of oppression.” On the opposing side, some argue that the monuments represent “pride” and “celebrates heritage.”

The Market House continues to divide our city. The mural was done as the city’s way to further the message of the City Council of 1989 that is engraved on a plaque attached to a pillar under the structure. The 1989 City Council acknowledged the trauma associated with the building. The message reads: “In memory and honor of those indomitable people who were stripped of their dignity when sold as slaves at this place.”

The removal and re-installment of the mural has been a hot topic. Rather than keep focusing on the structure or the mural, the city should appreciate Collyn Strother and Malcolm Chester. These two young men worked tirelessly to create a piece that symbolizes unity and inclusion.

But, there is a difference between diversity and inclusion. Fayetteville prides itself on diversity, but the city is not very inclusive. Diversity invites people to the table, but inclusion empowers your voice to be heard while you’re at the table. The person who came up this this quote must have been referencing the way the “system” panders to young Black America.

Recently, I sat with the group of artists under the Market House and discussed the role of art in the social justice movement. The common consensus among the group is the role of the artist is to bring the truth to the forefront. The group went on to express how nothing can replace the original feeling of initially completing the project. The group of artists are the truest definition of unity. They all represented different walks of life but came together for a common goal. By painting the mural, they were able to create progressive conversation around the Market House.

However, it is time for some new Black History. Much of my generation are natural born American citizens. Therefore, we should be celebrated like all other Americans that have changed the narrative.

In addition, we must stop covering up the truth like Collyn had to cover up the “peace sign” and “fist of solidarity” he had painted on the North and South exits of the traffic circle. Moments later, he received a call saying that he had to cover the symbols. The fact that those symbols had to be covered is another sign that society is not ready to accept its faults.

Once we open and honestly address the issues of racial inequality, we will be able to move forward as a unit like this group of artists have done. They are the epitome of unity and inclusion. They are what America should be modeled after.

Our exchange under the Market House was extremely refreshing. As a society, we must choose CONVERSATION OVER CONFRONTATION and LEAD WITH LOVE. Salute to Collyn and Malcolm.

Salute to every activist getting active. Happy Black History Month. Peace.

Pictured: Artist Collyn Strother paints over a peace symbol that was part of the mural circling the Market House in downtown Fayetteville.

I am starting this opinion piece on 28 January 2021; Black History Month begins in a few days. As I think about the intended purpose of that designated time, an overwhelming sense of sorrow, of grief, overtakes me. A Black History Month article (updated 27 January 2021) at www.history.com gives this purpose for the month: “Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history.”

In my lifetime, our nation has had substantial reason to celebrate and appreciate many Black Americans who, in powerfully positive fashion, contributed not only to our country, but to the world. This weight of sadness that I feel now is because, even though there are still Black citizens worthy of note for what they contribute to humanity, the numbers of such people seem far less than was the case just a few years ago. Even more painful than the much lower numbers is what I see as the reason for this decline. Not only are we failing to produce numbers of towering contributors to the wellbeing of society; instead, Black Americans are, to a substantial extent, providing fuel for the destruction of this great nation. I would argue that this is due to Black America’s change in strategy and tactics.

Strategy is defined as overall aims, while tactics are those actions employed in pursuing those overall aims. I contend that what was the prevailing strategy and tactics of Black Americans for many years is obvious if one takes time to study the lives of those who lived in that period. The candidates for study are numerous, but the life and career of General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. superbly illustrates the strategy and tactics to which I am referring.

General Davis was the first Black to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the 20th Century and the fourth in the Academy’s history, ranking 35 in a class of 276. His dream was to become an aviator, but was not allowed to do so because the Army Air Corps was not accepting Blacks for flight training. Despite initially not being allowed to enter flight training in the Army, he did so later and went on to reach the rank of Lieutenant General in the U.S. Air Force that, in 1947, became a separate military branch. Among Davis’ assignments was that of Commander 99th Fighter Squadron. This was the Army’s first Black fighter squadron. It performed in outstanding fashion during World War II and Davis proved highly effective and successful as squadron commander. In December 1998, well after his retirement in 1970, President Bill Clinton promoted Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. to full general. He had retired as a lieutenant general.

That is an extremely broad overview of General Davis’ military career. The focus for this discussion, however, is on how he set personal goals and had clear tactics for achieving those goals. Every indication is that this approach was consistent across the span of his lifetime. It shows repeatedly, but especially during his four years at West Point. That was an exceedingly difficult and challenging time. The following is from an article titled “General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.: A Life of Fortitude and Faithfulness” by Susan Robertson:

When he matriculated into the Long Gray Line, Davis encountered a juggernaut of institutional prejudice. During his four years as a cadet, he was never assigned a roommate and frequently shunned at required social events. Even worse, he endured the entire experience with no one speaking to him outside of the line of duty. Davis patiently endured countless daily depravations and degradations and kept his eye on the prize. Remarkably, he was to note later of his ill treatment: “It was designed to make me buckle, but I refused to buckle. They didn’t understand that I was going to stay there. That I was going to graduate.” When he did graduate and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1936, the Army had only two black line officers, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., and Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Such was Davis’ grace and character, he would say of his time at West Point: ”Living as a prisoner in solitary confinement for four years had not destroyed my personality, nor poisoned my attitude toward other people.” Yet, in spite of, or rather, because of the hardships he endured, Davis had already made an impact on his future fellow officers. In the 1936 issue of The Howitzer, West Point’s yearbook, it was said of him:

The courage, tenacity, and intelligence with which he conquered a problem incomparably more difficult than plebe year won for him the sincere admiration of his classmates, and his single-minded determination to continue in his chosen career cannot fail to inspire respect wherever fortune may lead him.

What I see here is a man who understood the power of persuasion that comes with doing a job well and demonstrating resolve in the face of challenging situations. When life is unfair and it feels as though the world is against us, we, as individuals, must choose how to respond. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. chose a goal, worked hard, refused to give up; in the process, he achieved much and gained the respect of many who had treated him unfairly … as well as many who might have otherwise done so in the future. This was the prevailing approach to life among Black Americans during his time and for generations before and maybe for some after him. Even though confronted with unfair treatment, embracing the Davis strategy and tactics rewarded Black Americans with improved respect and advancement in society and in living conditions.

I was born shortly after the end of World War II, when the life strategies and tactics employed by General Davis were still very present among Black Americans. I saw it work in the lives of my parents, grandmothers (both of my grandfathers died before I was born), uncles and aunts.

I lived with my maternal grandmother, Ma’ Bessie, until I was eight years old. One day, when I was about seven, she told me to sweep the back porch. I was simply sweeping the easy-to-reach areas. She came over and took the broom and demonstrated how I should sweep the corners and along the base of the walls. Then she looked into my young eyes and said, “Karl, whatever you do in life, do it well; you don’t know what you will have to do to earn a living, but whatever it is, do it well.” This was a lady whose husband had died and left her with three small children to rear. She did it all alone. I remember her washing the clothes of people as a source of income. I especially remember how she would starch and iron white shirts to perfection and hang them on the front porch for pick up.

Ma’ Bessie never gained the fame of a Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., but she had that same set of life strategies and tactics. I will be forever thankful that she, and others, exposed me to that life approach. Whatever good I have done in life, whatever genuine success has come to me, I owe to God and to people like Ma’ Bessie who were put in my life by Him.

Simply put, I contend that, for the most part, Black America has shifted to goals and strategies that would not be recognized, or considered reasonable, by Ma’ Bessie, General Davis, and millions of Black Americans who built successful lives by employing the approach described to this point. This shift has brought far too many Black Americans to focus on quotas for employment, education and business opportunities; deemphasizing the two parent family unit; looking to government to solve problems of poverty, alleged racism, low academic achievement; placing self-serving individuals in positons of power and influence; literally making every problem that plagues Black Americans about racism; calling for self-destructive actions, such as defunding police when they are extremely needed in the Black community; protesting in a fashion that routinely ends in riots, looting and destruction of property along with lives and livelihoods; creating a victim mentality among Black Americans. Without doubt, this approach is not only proving destructive for Black Americans, but also for all of America.

In the final analysis, the pressing question is: which group of goals and strategies should be the choice of Black America today? Given that the approach employed by Ma’ Bessie, General Davis, and millions of other Black Americans proved extremely successful while today’s prevailing approach is contributing to the destruction of a people and a country, the choice is crystal clear for me. Because the successful goals and strategies of the past have been discarded in favor of a shiny new destructive set, I grieve deeply.

Pictured: General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (Photo courtesy U.S. Air Force)

Your mama and mine were clear about this. We do not tell lies, nor do we perpetuate them. I must have told a whopper, because I can still remember my Kinston grandmother grabbing both my arms and putting her nose next to mine and hissing at me, “Margaret Dawson, don’t you EVER tell me a teewaddie again!” Teewaddie is eastern North Carolina speak for a big fat lie. I must have been about 5 or 6, and her technique was so effective, I doubt I ever told her another one.

There are facts, of course, and there are interpretations of facts, and sometimes it is difficult to separate them. The North Carolina Board of Education has been in the midst of just such a quandary, and it is not likely over yet. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements and the sketchy, relaxed relationship with the truth enjoyed by our former President and many of his supporters, the Board has been wrestling with how to teach North Carolina’s school children about inequity and injustice in American society.

Those are concepts not unlike art and pornography — hard to define, but we all know them when we see them. The 1898 coup d’etat in Wilmington, the only such overthrow of an elected government in American history, is a fact. It was not taught in schools during my public education because it had been spun in a different light. It has been well documented in recent years though by, among others, Philip Gerard in "Cape Fear Rising" (1994) and more recently in "Wilmington’s Lie" (2020) by David Zucchino, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and graduate of Terry Sanford High School. The coup d’etat, long buried in state and national history, should be part of social studies and history curricula at all levels in North Carolina schools and throughout our nation. Ditto for other documented events including civil rights activities, the women’s movement, and other historical events with both positive and negative connotations.

The Board struggled, and understandably so, over less concrete questions, including adjectives. Early proposals for social studies curriculum standards in included “systemic racism,” “system discrimination,” and “engender identity.” After fierce Board of Education debate over several months, a 7 to 5 vote has adopted standards that dropped those adjectives for less precise language. Still, it is a step in the right direction.

Proponents of social studies standards say the information will be more meaningful to students of color who now make up the majority of public school students in North Carolina. Opponents contend the standards project anti-American, anti-capitalist, and anti-democratic viewpoints. The fight is not over yet. Later this year, professional staff at the Department of Public Instruction will present additional documentation of how the new standards will be implemented in classrooms, which is sure to ignite yet another round of disagreement about what our children should learn and how they should learn it.

Most of us are not educators and know little about curriculum development of any sort. Most of us do have common sense, however, as have leaders of all stripes when they ponder truth, however painful. Here are three that ring true
to me.

“Truth will ultimately prevail where there is (sic) pains to bring it to light.” — George Washington

“Repetition does not translate a lie into a truth.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

And, chillingly, this from Sir Winston Churchill in a 1948 speech to Parliament. He was surely speaking about war, but it works just as well for discrimination and injustice.
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

February is an extraordinary month. I planned to write for you today to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the day where three friends and I boldly went and sat at the Woolworth counter in Greensboro, NC. As Black men, we didn't know how we would be leaving that restaurant. Some of us feared we would be beaten or even killed. That sit-in sparked similar sit-ins across the nation leading to significant social change in the United States.

Sadly, while the anniversary day should have been a day to celebrate how far we've come, we see firsthand how the liberal news media is viciously attacking independent thinking Black men.

Last week WRAL published a political cartoon that depicted my good friend, Mark Robinson, as a Klansman simply because he refuses to rubber-stamp the leftist agenda promoted by their liberal organization. Amazingly, this is only a few days after the Democrat-controlled school board scheduled a meeting that they knew Lt. Governor Robinson could not attend. It's heartbreaking how, even after 61 years, we're still having to fight to have a Black man protect his seat at the table.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we should be promoting, not silencing, voices like Mark Robinson's, our state's first Black Lieutenant Governor!

Like Mark, I will not be silenced! I plan to continue the fight. Through our efforts with the NC Faith and Freedom Coalition and the Frederick Douglass Foundation to educate and engage conservative-minded minorities, we will work even harder to combat these disgraceful attacks from the left. Will you stand with us? Let's send a message that we will not let them intimidate us! That's the best way to celebrate Black History and making history.

Pictured above: On the second day of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in, Clarence Henderson (far right) joins (front left to right) Joseph A. McNeil, Franklin E. McCain and William Smith at the Woolworth lunch counter.
(Courtesy of Greensboro News and Record)

Editor's Note: In a press conference, Lt. Gov. Robinson reacted to the cartoon: "On the second day of Black History Month, the first Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina has been portrayed as [racist]," he said. "That you would portray a Black man, just because he's in the GOP, as a Klansman... the hypocrisy is mind-numbing, folks."
In a statement from Capitol Broadcasting Company, Opinion Editor Seth Effron said: “Editorial cartoons are creative and provocative, using hyperbole and satire. No one believes Republicans on the State Board of Education are members of the Ku Klux Klan. The editorial cartoon by Dennis Draughon is meant to point out that these members of the State Board are trying to wipe out from the social studies curriculum the record of racism which includes the Klan and the segregationist practices that were imposed in our state and nation’s history.”

Clarence Henderson was a student at N.C. A&T State University when he sat down at the lunch counter at the Greensboro, Woolworth in the winter of 1960. The purpose was to protest racial segregation. He was 18 years of age. He wanted to change the system then, and now 61 years later, he is still working hard to change the system. This Black History Month and every month, we want to honor men like Mr. Henderson for their dedication and perseverance to obtaining fair and equal rights for all. Thank you for all your contributions. — Bill Bowman, Publisher

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health will be hosting three COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week for people in Groups 1 and 2, which includes healthcare workers with direct patient contact, long-term care facility staff and residents and individuals ages 65 and older.

The County does not have a timeline for when the state will move to Group 3 – frontline essential workers.

Drive-thru clinics are scheduled at the Crown Complex from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following days. Appointment blocks run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After 3 p.m., vaccinations are given on a standby basis for people in the eligible groups.
Tuesday, Feb. 9 – second doses only of both Pfizer and Moderna available.
Wednesday, Feb. 10 - first doses of the Moderna vaccine and second doses of Pfizer and Moderna. Due to the supply, no first doses of Pfizer will be issued.
Friday, Feb. 12 – first doses of Moderna and second doses of Pfizer and Moderna.

Receiving Your Second Dose
There is no clinic scheduled on Saturday. The vaccination record individuals received for their first dose indicates the earliest date to receive the second dose. It is not an appointment card.
The second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible (three weeks after the first dose for Pfizer or one month for Moderna). The second dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may be scheduled for administration up to six weeks (42 days) after the first dose.

There are two ways to receive your second dose:
• Use the first-come, first-served line. We encourage you to do this on Tuesdays, during our second dose only clinics; however, this option is also available on Wednesdays and Fridays. Though afternoons are designated for first-come, first-served, we can accommodate first-come, first-served in the mornings depending on turnout.
• Schedule an appointment using the appointment request form. You will receive an email confirmation with your second dose appointment.

Visit the County’s vaccine website for information on how to request an appointment block.

Find a Ride
The public can request transportation assistance when making an online appointment for the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics. Individuals who select the option for assistance with transportation to the vaccination site will be contacted by the Cumberland County Community Transportation Program after their appointment has been scheduled.

Same-day transportation appointments cannot be accommodated.

Visit the County’s vaccination page at co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19vaccine for information or to complete the appointment block request form or call 910-678-7657 weekdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Inauguration Day has come and gone, and democracy has prevailed, though not without national pain. A week after a violent, bloody and deadly insurrection at our United States Capitol, our new President and Vice President were sworn in on the steps of that same sacred building before a sprinkling of spectators in a city on near-total lockdown.

It is both reassuring and horrifying that at least some on the podium, including President Biden and Vice President Harris and their spouses, were reportedly wearing body armor and other protective clothing.

This unprecedented American inauguration begs the question, “how on God’s green earth did the people of the United States find ourselves in an uncivil war with each other?”
Social scientists and historians will debate this long after we are gone, and there are surely many factors. Our immediate past President, an active combatant in the uncivil war certainly stoked its fires by both his policies and incendiary language. He did not, however, invent our differences, many of which go back to the earliest days of our nation. He did make it acceptable to voice opinions not acceptable in the past, and that has shoved many Americans into hard and fast positions we find difficult to change.

Another, harder to pin down, factor is a gift from expanding technologies, social media. This general category includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok and others used by millions around the world but which digital immigrants like this writer may not know even exist, much less use. As best I understand the technologies, they are powered by algorithms, which allow social media platforms to tell us what they think we want to hear, based on choices we make online.

A simple example of this phenomenon is if I search for “blue sweater, size M,” it will not be long before ads for blue sweaters, size M pop up on my computer screen. No harm done, and I just might order one.

More ominous, though, is information fed to us that a is less fact-based and more opinion-based. "The Social Dilemma," a Netflix documentary, explores how the choices we make online, such as “likes,” create our “digital tattoo.” This tattoo identifies us in certain ways and affects how we are perceived both by people who read our posts and also by the technologies that power them. For example, if one person searches for and/or “likes” mainly conservative information or posts, and another person searches for and/or “likes” mainly liberal information or posts, both will find themselves in echo chambers, getting more and more of the same and less and less of the other. This means that if a skeptic and a believer both search for “climate change,” they will get different answers based on their past search behavior. Both answers will be tailored to the user, and neither may be factually accurate.

Think of it this way. Unless you search for a hard fact such as “how many quarts in a galloon,” the answer you get is going to be based more on how you are perceived generated by algorithms created just for you.

It is like we have siloed ourselves in two separate Towers of Babel. Those in one shout at those of us in the other, but we do not understand what those in the other tower are saying. In 2021 reality, MSNBC viewers cannot understand Fox News and vice versa.

Calls for social media regulation are increasing, and rightly so given their worldwide influence and inability to regulate themselves. Congress is expected to take up the issue this session. At the end of the day, though, it is we the American people who must reach out to each other from our separate Towers of Babel and seek common ground.

Let the healing begin.

If you're reading this, congratulations – you made it! You're almost a month into a brand new year. A year that came pre-loaded with its challenges and thoughts of what victories lie ahead,and the memories of time gone by. Over the past year many of us celebrated the joy and excitement of new life, some experienced the sadness of loss, and, if we're at all alike, we've done our best to be a friend offering encouragement in the wake of both the best and worst of times.

If nothing else, 2020 gave me opportunity once again to acknowledge the fact we're all just passing through. We get, we give, we have and we hold, but in the end we arrive at the same humbling conclusion – everything on this earth is temporary. While we build mighty castles to wall us in or monuments to all we consider great, the only true legacy we leave will be found in how we loved. Over time I've learned to loosen my grip on the things I think I control, lest they begin to control me in return. And I am reminded there is a time and season for everything, and a marvelous Creator who steadies and stills us though it all.

I don't want to beat a depressingly melancholy drum too long, so let's peer down the road from these first days of 2021 with the knowledge we have choices. We can each choose to see a winding road strewn with rocks, slopes, and unknown peril around each bend, or look a little further to the beauty of the horizon, with the realization the road itself is a journey worth taking. Each step brings us closer to something new, and often leads us away from things familiar.

In either case we take those steps both challenged and comforted by an immensely wise Creator who seems to say, "Be prepared to let go of anything I take from you, but never let go of My hand!"

You may have entered 2021 without making a resolution or a promise, but there is plenty of positive change you can work on this year. Start by simply being grateful. Take stock in all you've already been given. More than food, a decent car, a home or stuff to fill it, count the blessings of family, friends, and life itself. At WCLN, our daily charge is to bring relationships alive and deliver music filled with the good news that God loves you. The two greatest things we he hope to inspire in you is to love Him back, and love others more than yourself. That's what makes Christian 105.7 different, and it will work for you, too.

Enjoy your family and friends today. Give extra hugs and words of love just because you can. Make the world a happier place by doing some extra act of kindness. Smile a little bit longer. Most importantly, be grateful for the life you've been given.

The Gilbert Theater’s newest production “Rope” is set to open Jan. 29 and has already sold-out opening day.

The thrilling drama centered around a murder, once used as the basis of the Alfred Hitchcock film “Rope,” will play every weekend until
Feb. 14.”

Tickets are $16 per person, and $14 with senior (55+) and military discount are available for purchase on the theater’s website, or by calling 910-678-7186.

“’Rope’ is basically the opposite of ‘who done it?’ because you already know who’s done the murder and now it’s all about are they going to get away with it,” Matt Gore, director of the play, said. “It's darkly humorous where these two guys kill this 19-year-old young man, stuff him in a chest and decide to have a dinner party around his corpse.”

It’s mostly just a study in tension, and the building of tension and suspense, said Lawrence Carlisle, artistic director at the Gilbert Theater.

Beyond picking the play for the season, Carlisle will be acting in the play in the role of an acquaintance of the two murderers who invite him to the dinner party to flaunt the crime.

My character slowly starts to have some suspicions, he said.

Carlisle said he had not acted in a production for a while and thought it would be exciting to audition and act again.

“I just like the experience of it and having fun with the other performers and learning things from the director to use when I direct things,”
he said.

Carlisle picked “Rope” written by Patrick Hamilton, to include in this year’s season because he liked the story, a thriller, and he didn’t think those are seen often enough in theaters.

“It’s been a little bit of a challenge, you know, I still have to deal with the day-to-day and making sure that things are running smoothly on an administrative level while also learning a whole bunch of lines, worrying about costumes, stuff I usually don't have to worry about,” he said.

“Rope” is loosely based on the “Leopold and Loeb” murder in the 1920s. Guests can look forward to a night of suspense and thrill.

“The practices have been super smooth, I like working here and they have some very dedicated people working here behind the scenes, in the offices,” Gore said.

Things are going fairly well, all things considered, Carlisle said.

The production will be about two hours long with a ten-minute intermission.

Theater staff will conduct temperature checks at the door and offer socially distant seating with only up to 25 people per show. Masks will be required, and the staff will be sanitizing everything between each show.

“I hope people want to come see it, I know things are bad right now in the world, but what I have been trying to do since the start of this pandemic is hopefully have a place where people can come and forget about that even if they do have to wear their masks and socially distance, and not speak to the actors afterwards but some sacrifices have to be made,” Carlisle said.

For more information about the theater, production and tickets, visit https://www.gilberttheater.com

The new exhibit at Gallery 208, “Monument to Strangers: Photographs of Johanna Warwick”, opens Feb. 2 5:30 p.m. Visitors to the exhibition will see a body of work by an artist who utilizes a minimalist approach to comment on cultural history and how obsolete processes can inform and continue to shape perceptions about Americana.

British born but raised in Canada, Warwick works and lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Monument to Strangers” is the result of Warwick researching and recontextualized daily printed newspapers photographs from the 1880s to the 1960s. Visitors to the gallery will see large scale portraits which have been “recontextualized” to reveal Warwick’s truth, “images affect our understanding of cultural history.”

“Monuments to Strangers” also includes smaller works inspired by the process of image making during an early period in the history of commercial photography and printing. Warwick noted, “it was the first time in history, images of reality could be reproduced on presses reaching the public, rather than an image interpreted and altered by hand.”

We are fortunate in the area to be able to see works by a contemporary photographer who does not live in our region and an artist whose approach is conceptual. As with many conceptual works of art, visitors do not need to know the artist’s intent, but knowing the intent most often enhances a different type of experience than not knowing the meaning or purpose of the work. (For that reason, Gallery 208 always posts artist’s statements throughout the exhibit.)

A prelude to visiting the gallery is best said by Warwick: “In this work, I utilize news images and materially re-contextualize them to emphasize the limitations of photography as an emotionally and factually accurate record of the time. I combine analogue and digital processes to underscore the ways in which news photographs have been produced and how that production affects our understanding of cultural history. The photographs look at the selective representation of the individual within printed daily newspapers from the 1880s to the 1960s.”

Seeing the overly large portraits, 24” x 36,” viewers should be aware Warwick has been inspired by anonymity and through this body of work wanted to “ highlight how women and minorities were vastly underrepresented.” In creating this body of work the artist is “re-presenting these images in hopes to reveal and question our flawed history. The figures in the blocks are unknown, but they were at one point important, or significant enough, to have their image produced in this way. The images reveal how versions of history were presented publicly… I don’t seek to make a document as they were used before, but to photograph them as visual monuments. During this period in history, Men are photographed abundantly; women are few and far between.”

The exhibit also includes exquisite traditional still-lifes, created by using the outdated blocks of commercial printing as a subject. In these small works the artist is showing us an antiquated process while using new technology. Warwick noted:

“I am photographing them to present this historic process and lost imagery in a new way, using the technologies that made them obsolete. In re-photographing these images, my photographs are several iterations of light sensitive materials being exposed: the original photograph, the rephotographed negative, the photomechanical produced block, and my exposure. Each image thus goes from a positive, to a negative, recorded once again as a negative, then inverted to a positive. It is in this long chain of events, which traverses over decades, that the glow of light and color occurs. Together I strive for the photographs to describe the history of representation in American daily newspapers, as well as the history of photography.”

Warwick’s minimalist approach and the medium of photography itself often seems to lend itself to hurrying us hurries through an exhibit, we move too quickly, without contemplation. Due to the elusive nature of photography, the opposite needs to take place. The illusive nature of photography is combining the complexity of a contemporary art in the form of photography with its lingering history, everyone has a camera on their cell phone, and the ever-present hierarchical judgment of photography against other traditional disciplines.

The unfounded hierarchy and the fact the everyone have a camera on their cell phone only strengthens my revered respect for artists, like Warwick, who create remarkable photographic images equal to works of carved marble. The argument against the hierarchy in the arts is based on two facts. The hierarchical position has been outdated for some and each discipline is innately different and brings a particular way of seeing, ideating, and set of skills.

An earlier series by Warwick titled “Between the Ground & Sky” supports the above argument. In this body of Warwick wanted to capture the changing landscape of the Danby Marble Quarry in Dorset Mountain, Vermont. (The Danby Quarry, used since the 18th century, is the largest underground marble quarry in the world.)

She began photographing the marble because she was “curious about its use but eventually became charmed by the physical history carved into the space.” She states: “The heavy unyielding material takes a geometric form inside a huge organic landscape. I am fascinated by the constant metamorphosis of the space . . . Each method of removal has left an indelible impression on the mountain by destroying its natural state and creating a geometric and ordered new landscape. These are the qualities that I find both interesting and intriguing. I am fascinated by its now formal beauty.”

The conceptualization and dexterity by Warwick to create her photographs should not be compared to the idea and carving of figure in stone. Each medium brings is own innate qualities and challenges. If anything, the history of photography is far more interesting than representational figure carving that has been repeated and practiced in western art for centuries. Or, as John Berger, in “Ways of Seeing,” summarizes: “unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.”

Johanna Warwick graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with an MFA in Photography in 2010, and from Ryerson University with a BFA in Photography in 2006. She has been an Assistant Professor of Art & Photography at Louisiana State University since 2015 and exhibited in New York, Toronto and other major cities across North America. She was exhibited in Fresh at Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and was a selected artist by Lesley A. Martin as part of her Guest Room curating for Der Greif magazine.

In all types of disciplines art has the potential to bring a truth to the viewer and “Monument to Strangers: Photographs of Johanna Warwick,” meets this criterion. “Monuments to Strangers” opens Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. and will remain up until April. The gallery is located at 208 Rowan Street in Fayetteville and is open Monday – Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For information call 910-484-6200.

Hey, what's going on? Where? Here in Fayetteville? Raleigh? Washington D.C.? Portland, Seattle? "What's going on?" used to be a friendly, inquisitive and common query? Now, this once innocuous inquiry is met all too often with the flippant response: "How the hell should I know!" That's because they don't know. No one knows. How could they? The news media has gone off course and lost its sense of responsibility along with its journalistic integrity.

Hey, what's going on? Who the hell knows, but, you will surely know what this generation of inept news media posers want you to know. If it's news that doesn't suit or endorse the narrative of their political agenda or their employers' or advertisers' political agenda, then generally speaking, "it isn't news!"

As you read the next few hundred words, try to read them through the lens of being an American. Not a white, Black, brown, Democratic, Republican, Liberal, Conservative or vegetarian American, just an American. Think about how great it is. Do we not live in the most fabulous county in the world? And, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, what do we all have in common? Our freedom. So many freedoms. Why would we want to give them up or put them in jeopardy? We wouldn't. At least, not intentionally. This is why the First Amendment of our Constitution is so vital to our existence as a free nation.

Without free speech and the free press, we have no idea what our government leadership is doing. And, nothing good has ever come from that. Traditionally, the news media has been the formidable guardian of truth and the ardent enemy of tyranny. Unfortunately, today the media has acquiesced to political and commercial pressures. Now, the tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google are closing in on Americans by censoring free speech and picking and choosing what news and information we are entitled to receive. (Sound a little Third Reich?) This is a bold and blatant example of extinguishing American freedoms. It doesn't make any difference what color, race or political persuasion you are, in the end, if this continues, you are going to lose your rights and liberties along with the rest of America.

Let's put all this on a local perspective and be honest with each other. The next time someone says to you, "Hey, what's going on in Fayetteville?" Admit it! You have NO IDEA! How could you? We are a community of over 300,000, and we have no local TV station, an inept failing daily newspaper, and no media outlets willing to report on local issues and news. Local taxpaying citizens have no idea what is taking place at Fayetteville's City Hall, the County Courthouse, the CC school board meetings, or any other government meetings. We don't know our law enforcement status, what our crime rate is or how our tax dollars are being spent. We have little knowledge of how well our Mayor and fellow council members are performing, and we very, very seldom hear from our City Manager. In other words, Fayetteville and Cumberland County need local news media to keep residents informed on how our community is functioning. This is the responsibility of the local press and what residents expect. The Fayetteville community has a great deal of growth and economic potential. Citizens need to communicate with their local officials and monitor their performance, ensuring they have the community's priorities in proper order and are spending their tax dollars prudently.

Most people who know me know I'm not a fan of social media. I think it has a few good attributes, but mostly it causes more harm than good by disseminating false and misleading information. Besides, I don't believe in "aiding and abetting" the enemy. Using or providing support, financial or otherwise, to Google, Amazon, Apple, or Facebook only empowers them with more authority to restrict information and impede our First Amendment rights. So, knowing as a local community newspaper, I cannot affect or influence these mega tech companies' sinister actions, I will continue to focus my media concerns locally on Fayetteville and Cumberland County. The Up & Coming Weekly newspaper will continue to work within the journalism industry's basic guidelines and ethics. And, with the help and support of the community, we are working hard to prevent the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community from becoming the next North Carolina "news media desert."

We desperately need to know what is going on at City Hall, in the County Commissioners' chambers, and at the meetings of the school board and other public gatherings. More importantly, we need honest and factual information to hold our local government officials accountable - information required to celebrate their achievements and congratulate their accomplishments, as well as admonish incompetence and neglect when it exists. It's all about LOCAL. It's all about transparency, and it's all about accountability. It all starts with free speech and the FREE PRESS. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Cape Fear Regional Theatre began its studio classes Jan. 25 for children between the ages of 4 to 19.

The theatre is currently offering classes lasting seven weeks in musical theatre, acting, mini studio meant for 4 through 6-year-olds, and two new additions being the musical theatre dance and improv classes, Marc de la Concha, director of education for CFRT, said.

“The classes are half process based and half product based,” de la Concha said. “It’s not just getting together and rehearsing a couple of songs for the end show, we try to teach the kids a lot of skills for working in the theatre that will help them when they join us for a summer camp or when they audition for a show on a main stage.”

We try to give kids those skills which I believe add into their everyday lives like speaking in front of people, working as a team, reading skills and such, it’s a skill building and some product-based stuff meaning singing and dancing so you can show what you learnt throughout the class, he said.

The mini studios meant for younger kids focus on skills like standing in one place for more than a couple minutes, speak loud enough, be heard from the stage and are taught by me, Ashley Owen, marketing director and instructor for CFRT, said.

“This semester I am using Dr. Seuss books to teach them those skills and prepping them to go on to higher level classes,” she said.

During the spring break the kids will do their spring break bootcamp, where we will have them in small groups and do a version of the “Wizard of Oz,” it’s for the kids and won’t be open to the public, he said.

Owens said classes are once a week for an hour and half and cost $150 with the exception of the mini studio classes which are an hour long and cost $100.

The theatre offers military, sibling and multi-class discounts. Class size ranges from 10 to 15 kids in each class.

The class sizes are pretty small, so the kids get one-on-one instruction, and we keep it safe during the pandemic, de la Concha said.

“Lots of hand sanitizers and everyone’s got a mask on all the time,” Owen said.

Owens said it's been a tough year but they are lucky to have had great leadership at the theatre who put in the time to figure out things so kids could attend the summer camp program and these classes.

“Performing arts are important, you know, because we are learning in a different way than in school, learning empathy, learning about other people’s experiences, different cultures in a different way and I think it's important for kids to learn those skills,” de la Concha said. “And some learn these skills better this way than sitting in a school setting, it helps with team building and getting away from a screen and having actual interpersonal interactions.”

It’s been such a saving grace for me personally, I love the kids, getting to work with them, Owens said.

“It's just been so nice to see appreciate being together in a way that they or people didn't before the pandemic,” she said.

We are very excited for this year and anxiously waiting to be fully back in the theatre for education and for our mainstage season as well and hopefully we will be at the other end of this very soon, de la Concha said.

For more information on the classes and times, visit https://www.cfrt.org/education/#studio-classes

The city of Fayetteville has matched a record set several years ago in the number of homicides recorded this past year.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass says 33 homicides in 2020 include the shooting death of a 7-year-old child and two manslaughter cases. On average, Fayetteville homicides number in the mid-twenties annually.

Glass said authorities are waiting on the state’s chief medical examiner’s findings in two other cases.

The detective division is compiling an annual report which will include the identities of murder victims, the alleged perpetrators, causes of death and arrests in every homicide.

A formal report will be issued in February according to Glass.

The reality is that big tech has now jumped right into the arena of the war on censorship. After last week's rally in D.C., Facebook cut user's live feeds. Later, Twitter and Facebook deleted President Trump's account and many others.

Let's be honest: for years, Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have all been picking and choosing what's seen and not seen on social media platforms. This summer, we watched day and night riots, cities burning, stores looted, police assaulted and thugs were indiscriminately beating the crap out of people. We watched uncensored social media accounts of these coordinated riots and attacks from all across the county.

I understand that these "big tech" companies have the right to do as they wish. I get it. But, now, it's their way or the highway. In a world of competition, a new company immerged called Parler. If you are not familiar with Parler, it has pitched itself as "Twitter without restrictions." Twitter and Facebook are both free apps, and the president nor anyone else owns them. In exchange for this free service, they use our information and our keystrokes then sell that data to other companies. So last week, the president jumped on Parler. But no-no, without warning, Google pulled Parler from the Google Play Store, and Apple's App Store followed suit. Amazon hosts Parler on their Amazon Web Services and has also threatened to pull Parler. If AWS pulls Parler, they will more than likely be finished. All of this under the pretense that Trump supporters used Parler to call for violence at the Capitol. Really?

I protest a lot, not in force and not at a demonstration. I quietly resist. I usually protest by not purchasing or using a company's products or services. If you have an Apple phone, Apple requires you to go through their App Store to load apps.

Google does the same. Amazon owns one of the most extensive web hosting services in the world. When we hear the word cloud, that is part of it. Your information and the company's platforms are stored on their servers.

Who made these "high-tech" companies responsible for national security? Isn't that law enforcement's job? If there were plots to overthrow the country beforehand, why didn't they report them to the FBI or Homeland Security? When these companies unilaterally or collectively decide to target private citizens, businesses and organizations, that is a conspiracy known as racketeering. Now is the time for Attorney Generals and the FBI to do their jobs and start opening and investigating some cases.

Why is this happening? Imagine, what if the 78 million people who voted for Donald Trump decided to close their Facebook account and move to Parler? Their revenue would drop, and their stock would nosedive. And, what if 78 million people decided to no longer use Amazon for their shopping and decide to go back to shopping at their local stores?

Although these actions are not state-run communist propaganda machines, the effects are the same. These high-tech companies are essentially suppressing American's freedom of speech and restricting our First Amendment rights.

Today, everything revolves around the internet. For years, we were told to stop killing trees, protect the environment and save the planet. This made it easy to move toward the internet and social media. Even if you are frustrated and fed up with all of this, we find ourselves with very few alternatives because we cannot disconnect. Almost everything in our daily lives is connected to the internet. Payroll is electronic with no option to pay in cash. We do taxes via the internet. Our televisions, watches and Amazon Alexas all are collecting data 24/7. Our modern vehicles track every place we go and continually sends out data with no option to turn off the transmitters.

Can we go back to old school dial-up telephones, manual typewriters and Post Office mail? Can we demand we get paid via a paper check or real cash? How about we quit debating about election fraud and decide to dump electronic voting machines and return to in-person voting on paper ballots. While we are at it, let's get back on the gold standard. Here, in less than 800 words, I laid out how we can fix some issues in America pretty quickly. By the way, does anyone know how to train carrier pigeons?

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health formally moved into Phase 1b, Group 1 of the COVID-19 Vaccination Plan on Jan. 8 administering the coronavirus vaccine to anyone 75 years of age and older, regardless of health conditions.

More than 500 people received the vaccine at the clinic held at the Crown Complex. Within the first three hours, 200 vaccines were given to individuals in Phase 1a and Phase 1b, Group 1. Individuals who received their first dose of the vaccine are eligible to get their final dose as early as Jan. 29.

“This was our first mass vaccination clinic for the public, and we are pleased that things ran smoothly,” said Health Director Dr. Jennifer Green. “We will continue to fine-tune our operations as we expand our capacity moving forward into the other phases.”

The Health Department has already been vaccinating individuals in Phase 1a in a closed point of distribution center at the facility.

The Health Department coordinated with Cape Fear Valley Health to assist with overflow from the medical center’s limited supply clinic held the
same day.

Among those receiving a vaccination at Cape Fear Valley Health was Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin. Although he is not 75 years old, as a licensed funeral director, Colvin falls within the criteria for front-line workers to receive the vaccine.

He wanted to publicly receive the vaccine, Colvin said, to encourage all residents to receive it when they get the
opportunity.

As a funeral director, Colvin said he has seen first-hand how COVID-19 has affected this community.

“This virus is real, it is to be taken seriously,” Colvin said. “But the light at the end of the tunnel is this vaccine … this vaccine is safe, it’s needed and it’s necessary.”

The next vaccination clinics at the Crown Expo Center for individuals in Phase 1a and Phase 1b, Group 1 are scheduled for Jan. 12, 13, 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, while supplies last.

Individuals who are not part of Phase 1a or Phase 1b, Group 1, are not eligible to be vaccinated at this time. Phase 1a is for health care workers at high risk for exposure and staff and residents at long-term care facilities. Phase 1b, Group 1 is for people 75 years of age or older.

The COVID-19 vaccine is still limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the clinics. No appointments are necessary.

Anyone seeking the vaccine will be screened prior to entering the vaccination area. Vaccinations will be available in a drive-thru setting at the Crown Complex at the West VIP parking lot. A walk-in option will be available at the front of the building.

Visitors should expect long lines and come prepared to wait. Visit the County’s vaccine website https://co.cumberland.nc.us/departments/public-health-group/public-health/covid-19-vaccine for additional instructions.

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccination phases on the County’s vaccination page at co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19vaccine or call 910-433-3770.

Cape Fear Valley Health will begin online appointment scheduling for vaccines starting Jan. 13 for its hospital campuses including the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville and Cape Fear Valley hospitals in Hoke and Bladen counties.

Following the prioritization schedule from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, vaccines will go to those in Phases 1b, group 1, as well as continuing vaccinating first and second doses for healthcare workers in Phase 1a.

Individuals in the current phases may schedule an appointment online at www.capefearvalley.com/covid19 by choosing a time block. Time blocks for the Medical Center in Fayetteville will be 7-10 a.m.; 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.; 1-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Vaccine supply is limited and space is limited for each block.

At the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, the vaccine clinic will continue in the Rehabilitation Center Auditorium.

Individuals should arrive to the building from the corner of Melrose and John Carlisle Lane and look for the “Event Parking” sign for the designated parking lot. Do not arrive more than 30 minutes prior to your scheduled
appointment block.

Visit www.capefearvalley.com/covid19 to schedule an appointment and check for additional COVID-19 updates.

There is also an automated message line, 910-615-9000, which will be updated throughout the vaccine process with the phase currently being vaccinated.

Dr. Robert A. Clinton Jr. is a Fayetteville physician at Haymount Urgent Care on Owen Drive. He says he has been averaging 800 patients a day since March because he provides free rapid testing for COVID-19.

Until two months ago, his customers lined up in his parking lot. When the overflow started affecting nearby business traffic, Dr. Clinton told Up & Coming Weekly he requested police assistance, but eventually decided to lease a location to better accommodate those interested in being tested.

Since November, 30 of Dr. Clinton’s physician assistants, technicians and other employees have been working at the location of the former K&W cafeteria on Village Drive which was torn down several months ago. Hundreds of cars drive through four lanes for people to receive coronavirus testing. Mondays are the busiest, Dr. Clinton said, because testing is not done on weekends.

“I’ve been spending $30,000 a day to make test kits available which provide immediate results.” He said he has run up a debt of a million dollars, much of which he hopes will be reimbursed.

The tests are free, but many patients have insurance policies. Antigen tests are not only rapid. They are considered the most sensitive for detecting active infections, and the results are highly accurate. Health care providers collect mucus from the nose or throat using specialized swabs. Turnaround time of rapid tests is much quicker than PCR tests. Antigen testing works the same way as molecular PCR testing. But, instead of waiting days for the results, antigen rapid tests produce results in an hour or less, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Clinton says he has worked out an arrangement with a lab in Raleigh to speed up PCR testing so those results can also be available the same day.

There are some other free test locations in Cumberland County. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website has a listing of testing places. Some Walmart stores and eight CVS Pharmacies in Cumberland County are providing testing. There are two CVS testing sites in Hope Mills. Appointments are required.

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health announced last week that it is suspending its COVID-19 testing sites until further notice so that the department can scale up vaccination efforts. The department had been conducting free COVID-19 testing twice a week at Manna Church Cliffdale Road campus and Second Missionary Baptist Church.

“There are many other test locations in Cumberland County that are free and are open to the public,” said Cumberland County Public Health Director Dr. Jennifer Green. “The suspension of the testing sites will allow us to shift our staff to vaccination sites.”

The NCDHHS continues free testing sites at Manna Dream Center on Wednesdays and New Life Bible Church on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The department is working to get a vendor through NCDHHS to get three additional testing sites in the county.

Cumberland County currently has more than 20 COVID-19 testing locations. To find one near you, visit co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19. You can also visit the NCDHHS website at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/about-covid-19/testing/find-my-testing-place to find a free testing place near you.

As of Jan. 10, Cumberland County has a total of 14,671 COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths.

The county’s case positivity rate is at 15.4%. The target rate recommended by the World Health Organization is 5%.

Case Prioritization
Because of the rising number of positive tests, case investigations and contact tracing will be prioritized. Most recently reported cases, cases linked to a cluster/outbreak and cases known to be living in a congregate or healthcare setting, including hospitalizations will be prioritized first. All cases of COVID-19 must still be reported to the local health department or the NCDHHS.

The health department will deprioritize cases after 10 days from the date the specimen has been collected.

“The last lab result that comes in will be investigated first,” said Dr. Green. “The goal of prioritization is to maximize COVID-19 prevention success by focusing health department resources on investigating and tracing the close contacts of cases most at risk of large-scale transmission events.”

Case Notifications
NCDHHS issued updated case investigation and contact tracing guidance to help prioritize cases. All residents who have provided a cell phone or email address will receive an automatic text or email message to connect people to follow-up resources and supports.

People receiving a text or email will be directed to a secure website that provides additional information about how to protect themselves and their loved ones, how to get support if needed to safely isolate, and how to contact someone immediately for additional information.

Vaccination Rollout Plan
A tested, safe and effective vaccine will be available to all who want it, the County said, but initial supplies are limited. The health department received more than 3,500 doses of Pfizer and Moderna. Currently, Cumberland County is in Phase 1a of the vaccination plan. This phase vaccinates public health and health care workers fighting COVID-19 and long-term care staff and residents.

Phase 1b was expected to begin Jan. 11 and will be given in the following order:
•Group 1: Anyone 75 years and older
•Group 2: Health care workers (not vaccinated in Phase 1a) and frontline essential workers 50 years and older (estimated to begin late January)
•Group 3: Health care workers (not vaccinated in Phase 1a) and frontline essential workers (as defined above) of any age (estimated to begin in early February)
Final dates and times are still to be determined. Visit co.cumberland.nc.us/covid19/covid-19-vaccine for the most recent information.

Phase 2 will begin shortly after phase 1b in the following order:
Group 1: Anyone 65-75 years old
Group 2: Anyone aged 16 to 64 years with one or more high-risk medical conditions, as defined by CDC
Group 3: Anyone who is incarcerated or living in other congregate settings who is not already vaccinated due to age, medical condition or job function
Group 4: Essential workers who have not yet been vaccinated in Phase 1b

Staying Updated
Cumberland County urges all to stay updated on the latest information about COVID-19. You can visit the webpage at www.co.cumberland.nc.us//covid19 for a list of COVID-19-related closures and service changes.
The county is also sharing information on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

To broaden access to the COVID-19 vaccine, Cape Fear Valley Health has added an additional vaccine clinic at its Health Pavilion North location within the ExpressCare clinic location at 6387 Ramsey St. Going forward, the clinic will be open Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The HPN ExpressCare at this location is temporarily closed due to staff joining the COVID-19 vaccination efforts. ExpressCare at Highsmith Rainey Specialty Hospital will remain open, and an additional provider has been added to the clinic to care for patients seeking walk-in ExpressCare visits. All HPN ExpressCare calls will be forwarded to Highsmith Rainey ExpressCare. The other HPN clinics, including the Cancer Center, physical and occupational therapy, the Health Pavilion North Family Care, laboratory and radiology, as well as the outpatient pharmacy will remain open.

Cape Fear is currently offering vaccinations to healthcare workers and members of the public who are age 65 and older. Appointments may be scheduled for those that live in Cumberland or Bladen County. There is also a limited supply of doses for walk-ins available for individuals who do not live in one of those counties.

On Jan. 26, Hoke Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic converted to a walk-in only clinic that will allow individuals to stay in their vehicles until their group is called.

Cape Fear’s current vaccination clinic hours (for both employees and the public) are as follows:
-Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center Auditorium: Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those who schedule appointments at www.capefearvalley.com/COVID19 will be given priority here, but walk-ins are welcome, as supply allows.
-Cape Fear Valley Health Pavilion North (HPN) at ExpressCare: Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
-Bladen County Hospital: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those who schedule appointments at www.capefearvalley.com/COVID19 will be given priority here, but walk-ins are welcome, as our supply allows.
-Hoke Hospital: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Starting Jan. 26, the Hoke clinic will be a walk-in clinic only, which allows individuals to remain in their vehicles until called.