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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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM OCTOBER 16-22, 2019 UCW 5 KARL MERRITT, Columnist. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. will provide $7.5 million. Add the fact that this is a state facility, not just for Fayetteville. For a one-time investment of $7.5 million, Fayetteville receives a tremendous economic return over many years to come. In the final analysis, $7.5 million from Fayetteville is minuscule and will be recouped in taxes, not to mention added jobs. is being the case, why would Colvin and his group try to take over, and even risk losing, this project? My thinking is this is more identity politics. Consider the primary popula- tion categories in Fayetteville as available at http:// worldpopulationreview.com: White: 45.95%; Black or African-American: 41.54%; Two or more races: 5.83%; Asian: 2.88%; Other race: 2.59%. Here is my unpacking of that assessment. If Colvin and other black politicians, as well as some like-minded whites, can appeal to the emo- tions of the 41.54% of black Fayetteville citizens and drive substantial voter turnout, they can easily win elections. Add some of the other nonwhite groups, and the odds are even better. is is the game played across America. is is not the first time Colvin has convinced some members of City Council to force a group to make major changes in their program based on an alleged concern for Fayetteville's black citizens. It also happened in 2016. I wrote about this episode in a column titled, "Dogwood Festival Music Diversity: An Opportunity for Exercising Leadership." Please read the column at http://www. karlmerritt.com/2017/02/03/dogwood-festival- music-diversity-an-opportunity-for-exercising-lead- ership/. In my estimation, Colvin, and some other members of City Council, in an atmosphere of total disrespect toward officials of the Dogwood Festi- val and lack of appreciation for the contributions of the Dogwood organization to this city, bullied festival organizers into adding music genres that are inconsistent with what had been a very successful concept. e Dogwood Festival was "hijacked" and the same thing is being attempted with the Center. In preparation for writing this column, I emailed eight questions to Colvin and all nine members of City Council. Councilwoman Tisha Waddell was the only one to answer the questions in writing. Coun- cilman Bill Crisp answered every question during a phone conversation. Councilman D.J. Haire, after some back-and-forth by email, sent one saying that he saw me at the ursday meeting and what he said there is his position. at is, he is talking with his constituents. Mayor Colvin's response was to ask if I sent the questions to Cumberland County Commissioners. I responded that I had not sent the questions because I understood they were still on board and asked if he knew differently. ere was no further response. I received no response, email or otherwise, from the remaining members of City Council. Space will only allow me to share responses to a few of the eight questions. One question was, "What steps are being taken by Council to accurately de- termine the magnitude of opposition to and support for this project?" Neither Waddell nor Crisp made any claim of an organized process for accurately measuring opposition or support. In the ursday meeting, Haire indicated that he is holding listening sessions throughout his district. Waddell indicated that she received two phone calls and one email expressing opposition to the Center. Crisp said, from his district, one person advised him of opposi- tion while several indicated support for the project. Given Fayetteville's population of over 200,000, it is impossible to conclude that there is a fair and effective effort to measure opposition to the History Center. I say "opposition" because I sense there is no effort on the part of the mayor and his cohorts to measure support. If that were the case, there would be serious outreach across racial lines and presenta- tions would be balanced. Another question was, "Given that a previ- ous council approved the funding and organizers have substantially moved ahead depending on that funding, do you have concern that pulling the funding will cause future distrust of Fayetteville government?" Waddell and Crisp fully recognize the danger in the wrangling that is going on regarding city support of this project. In my estimation, this discourages citizens, businesses or anybody who might be willing to invest in the advancement of this city; they must be able to trust City Council to live up to its commitments. Even further, our legislative delegation, based on a supportive vote of a previ- ous City Council, fought to get state funding for this project. Now, at the last minute, the rug is being toyed with in what I hold is an indefensible man- ner. I find it laughable that, given how City Council is handling this matter, anybody would have the audacity to question the honesty and integrity of the Center organizers. A third question: "If the $7.5 million is withdrawn, how will it be used? What will be the economic im- pact of the alternative use?" It has become common knowledge that the $7.5 million city commitment is not budgeted. Consequently, there is no plan for how that money would be used elsewhere. at also means no effort has been made to determine the economic impact of using the money elsewhere and how any return compares with putting it toward the Center. is failure to budget highlights, again, the trust issue with this Council. One other question from the eight: "Have you made a public statement regarding the 'Build it so we can burn it down' sign that was held up by one attendee during the public hearing on this mat- ter?" e sign referred to in this question shows in a photo accompanying an article in e Fayetteville Observer by John Henderson titled, "Fayetteville mayor: Growing number of black residents con- cerned about Civil War center." e person holding the sign is sitting on the front row. Other signs are also being held up in the chamber. In their respons- es, Waddell and Crisp expressed concern that the sign was there but stated that they had not made any public comment. Waddell wrote: "I have not made a public statement about it, but I find all references to violence and/or criminal behavior abhorrent. I be- lieve that regardless of whether one supports something or not, we should always support civil dialogue and should be encour- aging open communication without fear of retribution." Nei- ther Haire nor Colvin addressed the question. I have no doubt that if such a sign were held up regarding a project supported by, and seen as favorable to the black community, the outrage from Colvin and his cohorts would be deafening. What message is received by white Fayetteville citizens? So much for the questions. As to the concept for this Center, it appears Colvin, and those who join him in thinking there will be an overwhelming focus on slavery and justifying the South's actions in the Civil War, do not understand the current concept. To be fair with the mayor, I sent him an email asking what he understood the concept to be and how he wanted it changed. No response. A few months ago, I wrote a column titled "Needed: NC Civil War & Reconstruction History Center." It is at http://www. karlmerritt.com/2019/06/25/needed-nc-civil-war- reconstruction-history-center/. e concept is to focus on the stories that show how all people were affected by, and responded to, the Civil War and Reconstruction. It does not take much effort to get accurate information on this matter of concept or the whole project. Informing and encouraging the black community to do so does not fit with the strat- egy and tactics of identity politics. In the end, due to political maneuvering, short- sightedness and misinformation, Fayetteville will probably lose this project and suffer for years to come because of doing so. at suffering will include even greater racial tension than we know now. at will be because, even though most white citizens are scared into silence where identity poli- tics is at work; frustration, disgust, and even anger, must be present in many of them. If the concept and name are changed and the project survives, the negative impact on race relations will be the same, if not worse. What's being done here is "treacherous territory." Yes, another hijacking is underway. In preparation for writing this column, I emailed eight questions to Colvin and all nine members of City Council. Councilwoman Tisha Waddell (left) was the only one to answer the questions in writing. Coun- cilman Bill Crisp (right) answered every question during a phone conversation.