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/1325440
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 14 UCW JANUARY 6-12, 2021 2020 has been a year of t ransfor- mat ion and t ransit ion. This year has t ransformed t he way societ y walks, talks and t hinks. This was also a year of emergence and awareness. Unlikely heroes have emerged f rom t he social just ice movement deman- ding change. We must ask ourselves and our neighbors, "How do we beg in to improve t he communit y f rom w it- hin?" The worst t hing we could do is wait on t he government. Though t he government prov ides resources, we must learn to become self-sustaina- ble w it hin our communit y. It has to be a collaborat ive ef for t bet ween t he cit izens and elected leaders to turn compassion into concrete leg islat ion. Earlier t his year, I was g ranted t he honor of speak ing w it h Civ il R ights icon Clarence Henderson of t he Frederick Douglass Foundat ion of Nor t h Carolina. He was a par t icipant in t he 1960 sit-in at Woolwor t h's in Greensboro. He said somet hing t hat stuck w it h me. "We lef t t he money on t he table," he said. He was refer- ring to t he fact t hat t he Civ il R ights Movement did not result in economic empowerment and f inancial literac y. He f ur t her ex plained, "we were just happy to be at t he table." Now t hat we are at t he metaphorical table, we must come toget her and look for- ward to build a better 2021. No matter who t he president is, we must address t he problems w it hin our communit ies. During t he elect i- on c ycle, all solut ions were prefaced w it h "if you elect me to be your…, t hen I promise to…" or "as a member of…" W hile t he inst itut ion of govern- ment may not change, t he people change. The change in people brings about t he change in policies. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., A f rican A merican Studies Depar t ment Chair at Princeton Universit y, says t hat racial inequalit y is t he result of polic y mak ing. This upcoming year, 2021, Fayettev ille w ill be holding local elect ions, which include all of cit y council and t he mayor. These are t he people who enact policies t hat direct ly af fect our communit y. Cit y council, count y commissioners, and t he mayor are among t he key polic y makers in Fayettev ille. As a person t hat has a deep passion for change, I realize we don't have t he lu x ur y of t ime. COV ID is cons- tant ly w idening t he racial wealt h gap. We can't just t hrow money at t he problem. We must put t hose in of f ice who w ill work to create poli- cies t hat benef it t he communit y as a whole. How do we close t he racial wealt h gap? The f irst and most obv ious answer is reparat i- ons. However, repa- rat ions should be in t he form of ta x cre- dits t hat benef it t he Black communit y. Priscilla A lmodovar, CEO, Enter prise Communit y Par t ners, ex pres- sed a need to f i x t he housing cri- sis by init iat ing an emergenc y rental assistance pro- g ram because t here is $70,000,000,000 wor t h of back rent owed in A merica, simply because peo- ple are r unning out of money. Holiday season during COV ID is especially hard in lower income com- munit ies. Most of t he families in t hese areas spend more t han half of t heir income on rent. It's hard to focus on Christ mas in Nor t h Carolina when t here is a possibilit y of being ev icted on New Year's Day, once t he gover- nor's moratorium has been lif ted. If research is correct, t he cour t system w ill be inundated w it h ev ict ion cases and homelessness w ill be at an all- t ime high. Government should prov i- de t he tools needed for autono- my and upward mobilizat ion. Sk ip Gibbs of t he Ot her A merica Movement, is creat ing a Black Economic Development Zone named Bright wood in r ural Durham. However, t he government did not prov ide t he land for him. It was a result of people helping people. The government can assist t hose like Sk ip by prov iding equal and fair access to capital for all cit izens. By addressing t he most v ulnerable, t he ent ire communit y w ill f lourish as a whole. COV ID has prompted minorit ies to ex plore t heir ent repreneurial side. However, many lack t he k nowledge and educat ion associated w it h crea- t ing sustainable wealt h. Federal and local governments should focus on minorit y small business develop- ment, which creates income and wealt h. Wit h t his wealt h, minorit ies can obtain better educat ion and jobs t hat help st imulate t he economy and create jobs. There is no such t hing is "back to normal." 2020 has been a world chang ing year. As a communit y, we must come toget her, not only to hold elected leaders accountable, but to help t hem lead ef fect ively. We must not lose focus of t he fact t hat t his w ill be a pivotal local elec- t ion in Fayettev ille. One likely major focus of t he elect ion w ill be t he Market House. The Market House issue is about sy mbolic change, not systemic change. W E NEED SYSTEMIC POLICY CH A NGE. That should be t he discussion among all cit izens … how can we come toge- t her and build rat her t han dest roy and div ide. We must all cont inue to LE A D W ITH LOV E. Salute to ever y act iv ist gett ing act ive. Peace. Fayetteville forward — community advocate calls for change by RAKEEM "KEEM" JONES COMMUNITY VOICES RAKEEM "KEEM" JONES, Contributor. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484- 6200. Community advocate Rakeem "Keem" Jones continues to engage local citizens and leaders to bring about systemic policy changes. (Photo by Dajia Thomas)