Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1003220
4 UCW JULY 11-17, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Jason Brady, Lauren Vanderveen, Matthew Skipper, Shane Wilson SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly wel- comes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2018 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Amid the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014-16 came a resurgence of an age- old concept – one that is vital not just to in- dividuals, but to communities everywhere. Being "woke" or "staying woke" became the battle cry for the cause. e word "woke" and the phrase "stay woke" have continued to gain popular- ity since then, and in ways that involve more and more Americans. Originally, "woke" or "stay woke" referred to advis- ing African-Americans to stay aware and focused on those issues that pertain to racial or social justice. e African-Amer- ican Vernacular English expression "stay woke" means stay focused on issues of importance and do not get distracted by meaningless diversions. Now, the word and term are catch- ing on in a broader sense. Are you woke? Are you staying woke? What is the level of your wokeness? I guess we can thank millennial activists and social media for launching this term into our mainstream vocabulary. For this brief editorial, I am going to define the word "woke" as a byword for general social and political awareness. Even though the phrase was used almost exclusively in the context of Black Lives Matter referencing racial concerns and concerns over social justice, its broader meaning began taking hold around 2015. e term morphed into a more general term meaning just being aware of your surroundings. So, using this more generic definition of "woke," I ask: Fayetteville and Cumberland County, are you woke? In other words, are you aware of the social and political environment? And, if you are woke, what are you doing to get involved and to influence the outcomes of these social and political situations? Or, are you going to choose not to be woke, meaning that you intentionally make an effort not to be aware of your social or po- litical surroundings or the elements that influence them? Unfortunately, the majority of our local population is not woke. And, it really isn't their fault. It is difficult to stay woke in our community when we lack the tradi- tional vehicles of communication that are enjoyed by other communities. It's difficult to stay woke when you don't have a local TV station or other traditional media outlets providing a continual thread of unbiased news and information. Yes, Fayetteville and Cumberland County is a news media and information desert. It is way too easy for people not to stay woke. In fact, it takes major effort to stay woke. I do feel that Fayetteville and Cumberland County do a great job when it comes to being aware of social issues like addressing homelessness and fighting hunger and drug-related problems. I'll conclude by saying that the leader- ship of Fayetteville and Cumberland Coun- ty are highly aware of the factors affecting the social, political and economic environ- ment of our communities. e question is whether they will communicate with each other to convert this awareness into posi- tive and tangible initiatives. Let's all hope so. ere is so much op- portunity for growth in our community, not only economically, but for love, fair- ness, understanding, tolerance, goodness and happiness. It all starts with a conver- sation. Not an indictment. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. You can bet that we are woke! And, the fact that you are reading this publication means you are, too. Fayetteville, are you woke? by BILL BOWMAN HIGH 94 HIGH 96 JULY 12 JULY 13 JULY 14 JULY 15 JULY 16 JULY 17 PM Thunderstorms Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Scattered Thunderstorms LOW 70 LOW 75 LOW 74 LOW 70 LOW 72 LOW 76 HIGH 89 HIGH 92 HIGH 93 HIGH 91 BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.