The Fayetteville Observer Opinion Top 10: COVID-19, schools, City Council on readers' minds in 2021
Not surprisingly, the same big issues that have been on everyone’s mind in 2021 have also been on the minds of people who wrote opinion articles and letters to The Fayetteville Observer Opinion section.
Each year, we take a look back at which contributed stories from our local area attracted the most attention online; below is this year’s group. The pandemic continues to be a big story, while other contributions discuss race, Fayetteville City Council drama and the environment.
As we say in the mission statement for the Observer Opinion section: We believe the page should reflect the community as much as possible. When the section encompasses state and national issues, it is with an eye toward their local impact.
We encourage you to offer your own opinions. Submit opeds or letters to eletters@fayobserver.com. Maybe your story will wind up in this space next year.
— Myron B. Pitts, Opinion Editor
10. In November, Jimmy Buxton, president of the Fayetteville branch of the NAACP, criticized Cumberland County Schools for its proposed plan to lower the grade requirements for students to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities. (The Board of Education this month decided to not lower the requirements.)
He wrote: “In a district wherein a quarter of its schools wear the designation of low performing, it is an injustice to lower standards so that students can participate in extracurricular activities. Eliminating the 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) requirement will only serve to further widen the achievement gap, and will not encourage individuals to be lifelong learners ...
“If we genuinely want our children to reach their ‘maximum potential,’ to be college and/or career ready, to go on to become productive citizens and contribute positively to society, lowering academic standards is clearly not the answer.”
More: Cumberland County Schools’ lowering of standards fails its mission: NAACP leader
9. Fayetteville resident Warren Hahn wrote in February about having a close friend of another race when both were children — and how their parents reacted.
He wrote: “At dinner, my parents and sisters were noticeably quiet and spoke little, which was very unusual. After dinner, John called his father to come and pick him up. We went outside and sat on the front steps.
“When his dad pulled to the curb, he got out of this big new car dressed in a business suit. We never had a late model car and my dad never owned a suit. He was a very imposing figure. I thought to myself he must be a successful businessman. He looked at John and me and said that this will be the last time he comes to my house to pick up John.”
More: My first encounter with racism
8. In February, Fayetteville resident Pat King objected to the City Council’s decision to repaint the words, “Black Lives Do Matter” and “End Racism Now” around the Market House downtown after the city had unexpectedly painted over them in February.
He wrote: “As one of the naive student artists commissioned to repaint the so-called ‘mural’ around the Market House said: ‘It’s a painting, but to many of us it’s that bold statement that we’re here to make a change.’
“That change will not be more cohesiveness, but more division. To think you change peoples’ hearts by getting in their face is wrong, illogical and contrary to human nature. I will predict that some people and businesses will eventually ‘vote with their feet,’ i.e., leave the area. What is happening in Fayetteville is a travesty.”
More: Fayetteville should not have repainted divisive message downtown
7. In May, James Martin, a retired Army veteran, praised a state program that made it possible for his daughter, who is autistic, to attend a private school where she is thriving.
He wrote: “Before, she used to not enjoy going to school; now we use it as leverage to try and get her to go to bed early. ‘Hey, you want to go to school tomorrow?’
“This environment is so unique, in the sense that they are not throwing the behavior on top of the education. It is the behavior and education, side-by-side simultaneously, Monday through Friday, and it is incredible.
“We found a diamond in the rough in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is the reason why as a retired Army Combat veteran family, we are staying in North Carolina.”
More: Retired Fort Bragg soldier: My autistic daughter is excelling thanks to NC grant, scholarship
6. In June, the Rev. Jimmy Melvin raised the alarm about toxic groundwater that has long plagued his church near the Sampson County-Duplin County line.
He wrote: “I did not have to look far for the culprit; our church is located next to a hog farm. Church members have seen the field adjacent to our church being sprayed with hog waste. Later, after complaints were made, the spraying stopped, but I watched as the waste was spread on the field in particle form …
“As a proud son of a former farmer who logged and owned a sawmill, I take no issue with farmers providing for their families and making a living. I do take issue, though, in the case with the church congregation that I have been called to serve, that we have had to invest finances and time and energy towards a problem we did not create.”
More: Minister: Hog operations have harmed Sampson-Duplin church, but NC legislators have turned deaf ear
5. In February, four mothers in Cumberland County Schools pressed the school system to offer in-person learning; the schoolhouse doors had been shut from March of the prior year due to concerns over COVID-19.
Heather Ward wrote: “As a military family, the primary way that we form support networks is via school and activities. I understand that CCS has been choosing the side of safety and caution, but our military kids are struggling emotionally and socially in this pandemic, especially those who moved to support their service member(s) in 2020.
“In watching the past few board meetings, I am seeing that there is a big desire to 'keep us safe' but I am not hearing a lot of conversation regarding the charge to serve students …
“I am becoming increasingly worried that CCS is not able to meet the needs of my military kids. My soldier hasn’t missed a day of work amidst COVID-19.”
More: Four mothers: These Cumberland parents say it is time to re-open schools
4. In June, Fayetteville City Councilwoman Tisha Waddell wrote to express her frustrations with some of her colleagues on the council. (In November, she resigned her seat.)
She wrote: “Had my first two years been anything like my last two, there wouldn’t have been a second term. It is difficult to accept the amount of hypocrisy and fear in our local government and, even more so, that it is excused and expected. We should not expect our leaders, at any level, to be ego-driven or inconsistent in process and policy.
“Disagreements should not be allowed to become flashpoints, and unstable agitators should not be permitted to pull focus away from our council members’ actual responsibilities. The abusive mishandling of our leaders by members of the Council or members in the community should not be tolerated. Whether we like them or not, they were elected by a majority of the people who voted and belong precisely where they are.”
More: Fayetteville councilwoman: I am not running for mayor, or seeking reelection
3. In March, Cassandra Walker, a teacher in Cumberland County Schools, challenged the idea that the year of remote learning for students in 2020 and 2021 was a “wasted” school year.
She wrote: “Kids are resilient and will rise to the challenge if what is placed before them is interpreted as a challenge and not an inconvenience or a life-threatening interruption. It is the ultimate paradigm shift, a lesson in changing one’s perception.
“If students take this disruption and learn at an early age that interruptions in life are going to happen, how much better they will be. The question is how those interruptions are going to be handled. Will every day be met with a complaint or with appreciation and intent?
“If they can learn at an early age how to navigate the storms that life will bring how much more prepared they will be when they depart their parents’ households.”
More: Cumberland County teacher: No, this has not been a ‘wasted’ school year
2. In February, columnist Troy Williams, a member of the Observer’s Community Advisory Board, raised questions about systemic racism and what impact it might have.
He wrote: “Racism gets a lot of press, and an important question becomes: Are we preventing it or perpetuating the problem? It’s easy to call someone a racist these days, and white people tend to be easy targets. Identifying and shaming suspected white racists makes some people feel good about themselves even if they don't do very much to change actual outcomes …
“Our community certainly needs healing, but I’m not convinced all the answers will come from public officials. We cannot erase history by tearing down buildings.”
More: ‘Systemic racism’: Does it even exist?
1. In March, columnist Rakeem Jones broke news about a video shoot hosted by popular rapper, Morray, a native of Fayetteville.
He wrote: “Morray plans to shoot another video in Fayetteville, this one for his song, ‘Trenches.’ He intends to depict the city together as one big family.
“Many of his previous videos have been shot on closed sets. However, this next shoot will be open to the public and will feature a cookout for the entire community.
“Morray has said he wants people to know ‘you can smile in the hood. You ain’t got to gangbang.
‘I hate that the hood is seen as this grimy, evil place,” he said in an interview with XXL. ‘No, we have barbecues, cookouts and basketball tournaments. It’s fun in the hood sometimes.’”
More: Quicksand’ hitmaker Morray throwing a cookout — and Fayetteville is invited
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: The Fayetteville Opinion Top 10: Pandemic, race, schools City Council on readers' minds
