Special Note:
Again, as tradition will have it, Up & Coming Weekly again proves truth in the cliché: “ Where there is smoke, there’s fire.” Enjoy our perspective on the canceling of the MLK Jr. Parade, then go to page 9 to read Rachel Heimann Mercader’s excellent coverage of this situation in her City View article. Enjoy!
— Bill Bowman Publisher U&CW

For more than three decades, Fayetteville has come together each January to honor the life, legacy, and moral courage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The annual MLK Parade organized by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Martin Luther King Jr. organization, is not just a tradition—it is a civic commitment, a unifying moment, and a reflection of who we aspire to be in our community.
That is why this year’s abrupt cancellation of the parade is more than a scheduling mishap. It is a profound disappointment to residents, and the Fayetteville community deserves honesty about how we got here.
The truth appears simple: the parade committee was not organized, prepared, or functioning with the leadership they needed to execute what would have marked the parade’s 32nd year. Instead of acknowledging this, postponing the event, committee member Charlisa Y. Davis sends out a daunting press release implying that the parade was canceled due to community “safety concerns.” This is a claim that is not only misleading but insulting to all the citizens of Fayetteville, including the Fayetteville Police Department, which works hard to keep our city safe. They were not aware of or ever informed of any safety concerns or threats. Even members of the Martin Luther King, Jr. committee were unaware of any safety concerns —or of Davis’s press release itself.
This raises a troubling question: Why cast a negative aspersion on our community as an excuse when it appears the real issue is internal disorganization? Heaven knows Fayetteville gets enough bad and unfair publicity from out-of-town media.
The explanation brought forward was that they “didn’t have enough time” to secure permits, restrooms, and security, which is equally baffling. Their former parade organizer, Belinda Bryant, left the organization nearly two years ago. Two years is more than enough time for a functioning organization to regroup, plan, and prepare. Bryant confirmed she had no involvement in the 2025 parade and that other members handled planning last year.
Let’s be clear: The January 17th MLK JR. parade was not canceled because Fayetteville is unsafe. It was canceled because the Chairman of the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Martin Luther King, Jr. committee, Stanley Ford, failed in his stated responsibilities to do his job. Here is a man, who one year ago, appears on a local community radio show touting how very important the MLK Parade is to the Fayetteville community, then fails to execute it. That failure matters. It matters to the citizens of Fayetteville because the MLK Parade is not a casual event. It is a symbol of unity, progress, and remembrance. It is a day when our community—Black, white, young, old, military, civilian, Democrats, and Republicans—can come together to celebrate the dream Dr. King fought and died for, a dream that is all too often set aside in pursuit of selfish personal agendas.
To cancel such an event due to internal dysfunction and then attempt to mask that dysfunction behind unfounded claims of public danger is insulting and unacceptable. Even if the parade is rescheduled, the damage is done. A rescheduled event cannot erase the fact that the original celebration—the one that should have honored Dr. King on the national holiday—was lost due to mismanagement. Fayetteville deserves better. Dr. King’s legacy deserves better.
Our community needs and respects the work of the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Martin Luther King Jr. organization. I hope that its leadership will make the effort to take responsibility and recommit itself to presenting and preserving this parade for future generations, honoring a man who demanded integrity, accountability, and moral courage from all who claimed to lead. Those values are exactly what the committee needs to rediscover.
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper.