Up & Coming Weekly

May 31, 2022

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 JUNE 1 - 7, 2022 UCW 13 history center, will be the state flag and the U.S Flag. We will have no statues or monuments." Bryan noted that an organiza- tion offered the committee money in the center's early planning stages if it agreed to house all statewide Confederate statues at the center. "We said no. We will get the money a different way," Bryan said. Healy explained the center would feature cutting-edge inter- active storytelling, and Anderson elaborated on that concept focus- ing on the power of those stories. "is is a history center. We are not going to be a collecting museum. We will have several artifacts in there, but only if they continue further telling the story," Healy said. "e history center will allow us not only to be interactive, as Mac [Healy] says but to tell a story; to use the power of stories that come from people who have a gen- erational contact with all of this," Anderson said. "e history center will allow us to make people feel emotionally connected." Anderson went on to relay an anecdote about seeing a Ku Klux Klan robe at the Civil Rights Mu- seum in Greensboro. "Wouldn't it be nice if there were a story attached to this that people could really understand what the power of the Klan robe is?" Anderson said. e narratives in the center's curriculum will represent and belong to everyone in the state. "e critical issue is this is going to tell the story of everybody lo- cated in the state of North Caro- lina during a certain designated period," Bryan said. e center's goal is to collect 100 stories from each of 100 counties; while they have not yet achieved this, they are still actively collect- ing and vetting stories from North Carolinians. According to Healy, the public does not want to go to a museum and read storyboards anymore. ey want interactive museums. "is is going to be that," he said. e "touch and feel" aspect of the center contributes to the over- all costs of the project, explained Healy. In addition to the cutting- edge technology and content, nationwide increases in materials and supply chain issues have con- tributed to increasing costs. Initially, the cost to build the center was estimated at approxi- mately $65 million, but since has been estimated at about $80 mil- lion. Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $60 million for the project. Before that, the committee raised money from private contributors and se- cured a commitment from the City of Fayetteville City Council and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for $7.5 million each. According to Anderson, the center will help make Fayetteville a destination city. Ralph Huff, a local philanthro- pist and former owner of H&H builders, a residential construc- tion company, attended the news conference and echoed Anderson's remark. Huff said Fayetteville could become a weekend destination where visi- tors spend several days walking from one venue to another. Huff referred to visitors walking to the proposed downtown Arts & Enter- tainment Center, Segra Stadium, the Airborne and Special Opera- tions Museum, and, finally, atop Haymount Hill to the proposed History Center. e committee expects the center to be an economic boon for Cumberland County. A study predating the building of Segra Stadium projects that the center will have an $18 million annual economic impact and secure about 200 jobs. Healy explained that this positive impact might be even higher with added amenities such as Segra Stadium, increasing the draw for visitors to downtown Fayetteville. Healy described the center as a "world-class one-of-its-kind his- tory center located in Fayetteville for the state of North Carolina." Among those scheduled to participate in the third ground- breaking ceremony is Spencer Crew, Ph. D., emeritus director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Crew is among a half dozen his- tory scholars that Anderson noted are associated with the center. e scholars are writing and designing a curriculum covering the years 1835 through the early 1900s for the history center. Healy said the 11 a.m. ground- breaking ceremony marks the start of construction for the cen- ter's main building. For additional information on the Civil War & Reconstruction History Center, its curriculum or the ground-break- ing, visit nccivilwarcenter.org. COVER STORY An Interview with John C. Becton (CUMBERLAND) https://nccivilwarcenter.org/an-interview-with-john-c- becton/ During an interview, John Becton shared his and his family's experiences in enslavement and after emanci- pation. e son of Simon and Harriet Becton, he grew up hearing their recollections, and remembered when Sherman's army moved through Cumberland County, N.C. in 1865. "[H]e will come back to dixey again": A Letter of Re- assurance from a Soldier to his Sister (LINCOLN) https://nccivilwarcenter.org/he-will-come-back-to- dixey-again-a-letter-of-reassurance-from-a-soldier-to- his-sister/ F. Washington "Wash" Dellinger wrote this letter of reassurance to his sister, Margaret Brown. Wash was a Confederate soldier, as was Margaret's husband, Wil- liam Brown. However, after being taken prisoner twice, William took the Oath of Allegiance and joined the Union Army. Daniel Nazareth was Daniel Huff, A Formerly En- slaved Man Who Fought for the Union (Wayne) https://nccivilwarcenter.org/daniel-nazareth-was- daniel-huff-a-formerly-enslaved-man-who-fought-for- the-union/ In 1865, Daniel Huff, an enslaved man who was born in Georgia, escaped and joined Sherman's march north. While in North Carolina, Huff changed his surname to Nazareth and enlisted in Company K of the 135th U.S.C.T. e Winton-Triangle: A Mixed-Race Community's Civil War (Hertford) https://nccivilwarcenter.org/the-winton-triangle-a- mixed-race-communitys-civil-war/ In February 1862, much of Winton, N.C. was burned by Union Troops. Afterward, many local mixed-race men responded by joining the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Colored Troops. After the war, the community worked to establish schools for people of color. Jacob Bryant: A Documented Lumbee Indian Who Fought in the Confederate Army (Robeson) https://nccivilwarcenter.org/jacob-bryant-a-docu- mented-lumbee-indian-who-fought-in-the-confeder- ate-army/ Born in Robeson County, 36-year-old Jacob Bryant, a Lumbee farmer, served as a substitute for I. Smith and was mustered in Company G of the 61st North Carolina Infantry.

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