Up & Coming Weekly

August 13, 2019

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.

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AUGUST 14-20, 2019 UCW 37 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Rocky Mount writer Etaf Rum, author of "A Woman Is No Man," grew up in a Palestinian immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1990s and 2000s. Her book is based on experiences in that community. We first meet Isra, a 17-year-old girl living in Palestine. Her family arranges marriage to an older man, Adam, who owns a deli and lives with his parents and siblings in Brooklyn, New York. Living in Adam's family's basement, Isra becomes a vir- tual servant to Adam's mother, Fareeda, who pushes the couple to have children, males who can build the family's repu- tation and influence. Isra produces four children, but because they are all girls Fareeda shows her displeasure. Years later after Adam and Isra die, Fareeda raises the girls. The oldest, Deya, is a high school senior. Fareeda looks for a Palestinian man for her to marry. Deya wants to go to college, but she is afraid to bolt her family and the community's customs. She knows of women who have stood up against male domination and then faced beatings and even death. As Rum explains, the book "meant challenging many long-held beliefs in my community and violating our code of silence." Elaine Neil Orr's novel, "Swimming Between Worlds," is set in 1950s Winston-Salem and Nigeria. The com- ing-of-age and love story is enriched by the overlay of the Nigerian strug- gle and the civil rights protests in Winston-Salem. Tacker Hart, with an architectural degree at N.C. State, got a plum assign- ment to work in Nigeria, where he became so captivated by Nigerian culture, religion, and ambience that his white supervisors sent him home. Back in Winston-Salem, he falls for Kate Monroe, from one of Winston's leading families. They become connected to Gaines, a young African-American col- lege student who drags Tacker and Kate into his work organizing protest move- ments at lunch counters. Orr blends civil rights and romance for a poignant and unexpected ending. Raleigh News & Observer politi- cal reporter and columnist Rob Christensen's "The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys" follows the Alamance County farm family of North Carolina governors Kerr Scott and his son Robert. He describes how Kerr Scott defeated the favored gubernatorial candidate of the conservative wing of the party in 1948 and adopted a liberal program of road-building, public school improve- ment and expanded government ser- vices. He ran for U.S. Senate in 1954 as a liberal in a campaign managed by future Governor Terry Sanford. Once elected, Christensen writes, Scott nev- ertheless joined with fellow southern- ers to oppose civil rights legislation and became "just another segregationist, little different from most of the south- ern caucus." Christensen then follows the politi- cal career of Kerr's son, Bob Scott, who when elected governor in 1968, faced mountains of bitter controversies in the areas of race, labor, student unrest and higher education administration. In "Freedom Fighters and Hell Raisers: A Gallery of Memorable Southerners," famed essayist Hal Crowther has collected a sampling of his best work — columns about memorable southerners — including Will Campbell, James Dickey, Marshall Frady, John Hope Franklin, Jesse Helms, Molly Ivins, Frank M. Johnson, George Wallace and Doc Watson. All are dead, and Crowther, without funeralizing, sizes up their character and contributions. Crowther's essay about blind musi- cian Doc Watson is my favorite. Neither blindness nor the loss of his beloved son, Merle, could keep him from using his music to bring people of all back- grounds and political persuasions to be moved by his songs and guitar playing. We need Crowther's freedom fighters and hell raisers, but the real heroes will be folks like Watson who bring us together. Four challenging books make for good summer reading by D.G. MARTIN D.G. MARTIN, Host of UNC's Book Watch. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. LITERATURE TOURNAMENTS WIN BIG IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY As home of Fort Bragg, our sports facili es have been tested by the world's toughest. From soccer to baseball, skeet shoo ng to wrestling, our excellent venues and highly trained staff are ready to serve. Here are 5 top reasons tournament planners choose Cumberland County: 1. Facili es. Soccer, cheerleading, basketball, boxing, gymnas cs, wrestling, fishing, skeet shoo ng, baseball, golf and other sports tournaments will find a facility to suit their needs. 2. Access to Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installa ons in the United States, boasts a variety of world-class facili es for tournaments. 3. Bureau Assistance Start to Finish. The Faye eville Area Conven on & Visitors Bureau stands ready to make your event a success. Sports Sales Manager Stephanie Decatur is your enthusias c and connected point of contact to coordinate your requirements. 4. Prime Loca on. Cumberland County's central loca on, halfway between New York and Florida and in the center of the East Coast of North Carolina is ideal for regional sports planners. 5. Big Amen es, Small-Town Prices. With world-class sports facili es, 600+ restaurants, 70+ hotels and plenty of free or inexpensive ac vi es, Cumberland County boasts the ameni es of a bigger city. The best part? Your dollar will stretch further here than in larger ci es. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Melody Foote Director of Communications Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau B U L L E T I N Download a mobile app for exploring Cumberland County. Are you involved in a sports organiza on and interested in bringing your regional, state or na onal tournament to Cumber- land County? Contact Stephanie Decatur, Sports Sales Manager. She'll work with you every step of the way.

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