What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Go to: facebook.com/BestBranson Like The Best of Branson on Facebook for a chance to win some Really Great Prizes! This week's prize: New contest each week! facebook.com/BestBranson LIKE our Facebook page before 11:59 pm this Tuesday, Jan. 26, to be entered to win one free pass To ON TV 40 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 24-30, 2021 PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jocelyn Murphy 479-872-5176 jmurphy@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAJocelyn DESIGNER Deb Harvell 479-872-5029 REPORTER Lara Hightower 479-365-2913 lhightower@nwadg.com WHAT'S What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. ON THE COVER Byron Keith Byrd's work "Plum Ripe" (oil on canvas, 60-by-60 inches) was accepted into a virtual exhibi- tion at the Hammond Museum and will be featured on that website until December 2021 (hammond museum.org/january-virtual-exhibition). Byrd is one of 28 international artists selected for the New York exhibition in addition to his current showcase at Fenix Fayetteville. (Courtesy Image/ Theobald Creative) "Being a woman of color, it was important that we didn't black out my eyes," Leslie said. "We wanted to play with light instead of playing with darkness to help accentuate me being a black woman in playing this role." Leslie auditioned to be Batwoman while the Black Lives Matter movement was protesting the death of George Floyd, which happened on the same day in May that Christian Cooper was racially harassed while bird watching in Central Park. "Batwoman's" new season debuted less than two weeks after the violence and death that took place at the Capitol, a day where a noose and Confederate flag breached the United States' beacon of democracy not far from where Leslie grew up in Upper Marlboro, Md. The significance of being Batwoman now is not lost on Leslie. "I'm really saddened by the events that have happened within the last year. But it really just revealed that we have a lot of work to do as a world, more specifically as a country," Leslie said. "Life imitates art, so it's very important that what we see on television represents who we really are and that it continues to inspire people that may be voiceless or scared to (be) who they are." Diversity in comic storytelling has shown gradual improvement over the years. It has been almost a decade since Miles Morales debuted as the half-Puerto Rican, half-African American Spider-Man over at Marvel Comics. Since then, the wall-crawler has starred in an Academy Award- winning animated film and is currently the star of one of the most popular video games on the PS5. DC is finally catching up to Marvel's progress. Leslie is the CW's second Black superhero in a lead role, after DC's "Black Lightning." Her character's alter ego, Ryan Wilder, recently made her comics debut. The company also just introduced a Black Batman and a Brazilian Wonder Woman in the pages of its new publishing initiative, "Future State." Milestone Comics, a DC imprint, will resume publishing some of the world's most popular Black superheroes after a long hiatus, with plans to grow on big and small screens. Leslie is proud to take part in such bold ideas. "To be a part of (the Batman franchise) in the capacity where I'm the one saving the day … I think it's so powerful," Leslie said. "I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that my version of a superhero would have been something that was so groundbreaking." Batwoman Continued From Page 38