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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4 UCW FEBRUARY 15 - 21, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR April Olsen editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com ART DIRECTOR Courtney Sapp-Scott art@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Isaiah Jones graphics@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Kathleen Ramsey Chayenne Burns Katrina Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Laura Macklem, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jason Brady, Jason Canady, Michael Futch, R. Elgin Zeiber, Ashley Kelsey, Cynthia Ross MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Paulette Naylor COVER Design by Courtney Sapp-Scott Photos on cover and page 13 courtesy of Pexels and Vecteezy 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. Published weekly on Wednesdays, Up & Coming Weekly welcomes 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 Army Airfield, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 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. A parade of teachers and activ- ists stood in front of the long table of senators Monday night, Feb. 6, labeling parents as abusive, volatile, unsafe adults whose involvement in their children's difficult journeys in self-discovery would lead to suicide, self-harm and death. e militant message boldly asserts that parents are the enemies, and se- crecy between schools and children should be ordained by the state. During the Senate Rules Commit- tee hearing about the Parents Bill of Rights, Democrat state Sen. Julie Mayfield said children face "wither- ing inquisitions from parents" about their gender confusion, painting parents as berating outsiders instead of concerned family members. Senators were asked by activists to trust schools as secret keepers of "af- firming spaces" and that asserted any attempt for parents to be informed about pronoun changes was "polic- ing queerness." Sen. Amy Galey, the Republican bill sponsor, reminded attendees that SB 49 makes provisions for rare instanc- es where children might be subject to abuse if parents learn about their child's chosen identity. But that pro- vision wasn't quite enough to satisfy anti-parental rights activists, who want parents left out in the cold while school employees usurp the moral and emotional guidance of other people's children. In the last two months, there have been 13 documented sex crimes by North Carolina school employ- ees, one charge for larceny, four for assault, one for being drunk while teaching, and another for child por- nography. Considering the number of crimes, with the majority be- ing sexual and assault charges, the school system and their activists are in no position to claim moral author- ity over parents. In fact, between the sexual assault by school employees, the bullying, violence, and drug use, it seems schools are one of the least safe spaces for children. Speakers in favor of SB 49 gave shocking examples of why transpar- ency is needed, detailing graphic sexual storylines in books offered in schools and gender confusing books aimed at kindergartners. A retired Orange County school teacher of 16 years said in a state- ment to the committee, "these books in media center would make grown people blush… We are supposed to protect our children, not harm them." She added that being asked to use alternative pronouns contributed to her decision to retire early. NC Values Coalition executive director Tami Fitzgerald told the committee that Charlotte Mecklen- burg School District started using "Welcoming Schools" in 2016, a teacher development program direct- ing teachers to incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity into lesson plans. Sen. Amy Galey has been the "mom representative" for many — she speaks on behalf of most moms in the state. Very plainly, Galey said in a press conference, "It baffles me to think that this bill could be divisive, quite frankly. I cannot understand why it would be controversial to say that children 5-6-7-8-9 years old should not be taught about sexuality or sexual activity in a public school classroom." e campaign to shut parents out while school administrators pro- vide pornography, keep secrets, and indoctrinate children is indeed baffling. It's especially troubling that the pattern follows grooming tactics, which include gaining access, trust development, isolating children from parents, and desensitizing children to sexual material by slowly exposing it to them. If you reference the Pave- ment Education Project's website at www.pavementeducationproject. com/ you can see examples of por- nography and books on gender ideol- ogy by county and school in North Carolina. As one speaker put it, there is no academic value in teaching chil- dren about gender fluidity or show- ing them sexually explicit material. Schools should stick to academics and leave cultural issues to the fam- ily. None of this happens suddenly; it's been a slow drip of agenda-driven curriculum brought to parents' at- tention largely during COVID shut- downs. e activists paint themselves as victims of parents who are in the wings, waiting to violently abuse their children because of gender confusion. Teachers who spoke positioned themselves as necessary paren- tal surrogates, the first adults who should rightfully respond to students' personal struggles. e character assassination of par- ents is simply a way to gain exclusive access to children, cutting out par- ents to influence an agenda. ankfully, the Senate passed S.B. 49. As the House considers a re- sponse, I hope members will con- sider the harmful toll educational agendas have taken on our children. While test scores continue to fall, mental health problems and gender confusion continue to rise. Schools are failing in their mission to provide a solid education that will prepare students to become productive, edu- cated members of society. ey should leave moral and per- sonal matters to families. PUBLISHER'S PEN Parents are not the enemy Schools shouldn't shut them out by LAURA MACKLEM, Carolina Journal LAURA MACKLEM, Press and Political Director, NC Values Coalition. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200