NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | Thursday, October 14, 2021
The Only Way
Thursday, October 14, 2021 | 2
Letter from the editor
Tim Havens Correspondant
Hey y’all, Fall break has come and gone. It was a much needed time to decompress and relax so we can come back and finish strong. I want to acknowledge the state of our mental health as students. Although we are in a dark time as we mourn those who have been lost, we still look toward the light life brings us. This issue is about finding the way to bettering yourself and the world. There’s an article about two events on campus that focus on being your authentic self and supporting those in hard times. We also have an opinion about how the education system sets us up to fail.
THISISSUE 4
CAMERON PARK IS RENAMED
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MEDIA PAGE
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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
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Cameron Park’s history and it’s future renaming Self love is the best love Event focused on breast cancer awareness
WASSAPENED THIS WEEK
Events happening around the world
cover photo BY Connor Smith/ Correspondent Fair-goers enjoy the attractions at the NC State Fair on Friday, Oct. 12 2018.
On our media page we feature a staff playlist and a poem by Elikem and both are about self-love. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify @ nubianmessage. Be kind to yourself. We are losing some and yet we survive!
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Thursday, October 14, 2021 | 3
Features
GLBT Center Sponsors First Pride Walk Austin Modlin At 3 in the afternoon, on Monday, Correspondent
Oct, 19, 2021, the GLBT Center partnered with the Poole College of Management and the NC State Athletics to do the first Pride Walk at NC State University. The event was created in celebration of National Coming Out Day, an annual awareness day established by the LGBTQ community in support of people “coming out”, by self-disclosing their sexual or gender identity. The event was run by Andy DeRoin (they/them), the Assistant Director of the GLBT Center. Before the event, they answered some questions Nubian Message had for them about the event.
Nubian Message: “How long have you been working at the GLBT Center? Andy DeRoin: “I have been working at the GLBT Center since 2015.” NB: “Typically the GLBT Center does a mural in the Freedom Expression Tunnel. What made you decide to do a Pride Walk this year?” AD: “It was a way to engage with other campus partners in a way we never had before. Which is really cool and also Athletics has done other walks before. So they were really on board for it. So the pieces came together really.” NB: “Why do you feel the GLBT Center is an important place for students at NC State?” AD: “So really the GLBT Center, as well as the other community centers on campus. Provide spaces that are affirming and safe environments for those who have an identity that fits under our umbrella. That’s really important considering that the university as a whole is not always set up with our students in mind. We really hope, especially for the GLBT Center to be able to have students be able to celebrate parts of their identity that maybe haven’t been celebrated before. So I think the Pride Walk is going to do that” NB: “What does Coming Out Day mean to you?” AD: “To me I think it means visibility, and like the power of claiming your own space.”
Image from Creative Commons
NB: “Is coming out an important act? Do you feel that it’s a necessary aspect of becoming a part of the community?” AD: “No, at least not in a public way at all. I would hate it if people felt it was a pressure to do that. Even if you come out to yourself, that’s an important way of recognizing who you are and what it means to you. But by no means do you have to share that with other people. It's about self-acceptance. I think one thing with National Coming Out Day, those of us who can be out can also hold and create space and hopefully crack the door open for folks who are questioning, or who aren’t ready yet, hopefully they feel connected to the community and know that we’re here whenever you’re ready for it.” NB: “What spurred the decision for the Athletics department and GLBT Center to partner together for this event?” AD: “They came to us which was super cool. They [Athletics department] were like, “We’ve done this thing before.” and we were like, “That seems really do-able.” So, um, we were able to make it happen. Which is really helpful when you already have momentum for an event instead of making something from scratch.” NB: “So what does this partnership with the Athletics department look like moving forward? Do you guys plan on having any other joint events in the future?”
AD: “Yeah, hopefully. They had a really cool idea for a film screening that we’re hoping to do in the future. We also brought on Poole College of Management, which is kind of our middle rally point. We would love to get more colleges and campus partners moving forward.” The event started at 3 PM, but the walk itself didn’t begin until 4 PM. During this time between 3-4 p.m. participants could sign in and design signs and flags using the materials offered by the GLBT Center at their tables at Stafford Commons. They also could interact with fellow students and allies of the LGBTQ community. After sign-ins were over, participants started walking from Stafford Commons. The group traveled through the Freedom Expression Tunnel, the Brickyard, and across Hillsborough Street. The walk ended by Talley Student Union at Wolf Plaza. During the walk, students shared their thoughts on the Pride Walk event, National Coming Out Day and their own personal opinions on what coming out means to them. Haven had felt the event was, “somewhat anticlimactic, mainly because we’re just walking.” Arvin expressed his enthusiasm for the event, emphasizing the importance of the event, “being the first of its kind on NC State’s campus.” Greta stated that, “it’s good that this is happening.” Travis added that he felt that, “the event was very welcoming.” Harumi thought that it was “very empowering.” Also stating that this was their “first time at a pride event.” They were also asked about what the
concept of “coming out” means to them and its level of importance in being a part of the LGBTQ community. Haven said, “[Coming out means] being able to accept myself in public and not hiding who I am.” They also stated that there’s no need in disclosing your identity with others to “come out.” “I don’t think that you need to be public with your identity to be considered part of the community. Being a part of the community is more of an internal thing. Everyone doesn’t need to know. Before I was out, I still felt really connected to the community.” Haven also added that being a person of color adds another dimension to coming out. “My family [be] like, ‘Why are you making it harder for yourself? It’s already hard being black. Coming out adds more risk to people’s lives.’” Arvin had felt that the “concept of coming out is a bit white-centered.” He believes that coming out is, “something everyone should aspire to.” He also shared his belief in not having to share your identity with others. “I believe in coming out to yourself, not coming out to the world.” Greta added on to this, stating, “I believe coming out means accepting my reality and who I am.” She also shared an experience she’s had with family when it came to her coming out. “Whenever I came out to my mother, she kept telling me I was confused but I stood my ground and said, yes, I am sure this is me.” When asked about the importance of coming out, she stated, “I think stuff like that is important.” Greta adheres to the belief that, “Coming out is an individualistic process, I feel that nobody should come out if they don’t want to.” Travis stated, “Coming out is feeling accepted and finding other people that relate to you and your identities.” He furthered this by saying, “you’re finally telling others who you are and finding other people that relate to you.” Harumi stated that her idea of coming out is more, “about accepting myself. It’s coming to terms with who you are.” She believes that coming out should be seen as more of an individual thing. “You’re just as valid in your identity, at the end of the day it’s your choice no one else’s.”.
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News
Residents vote to rename Cameron Park On Oct. 11, the residents of Cameron Park, a neighborhood that is over a century old, voted 240201 in favor of renaming the neighborhood to break it’s ties to white supremacy and slavery. Andie Alford The Cameron name for the neighborhood Editor-in-Chief stemmed from the Cameron family of enslavers, most notably Duncan W. Cameron. Cameron owned several plantations in North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama. They had previously owned the land that is now the Cameron neighborhood and the nearby shopping center. Cameron Park, a neighborhood across the street from the belltower side of NC State University, was initially developed in 1910. The developers excluded Black people from buying property and living in the area, except as live-in domestic servants.
Need some DIVERSITY in your life? We got you covered. Join us in October for these special events from the Campus Community Centers, part of the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity.
The nearby Oberlin Village neighborhood is a historically Black-founded community next to the shopping district. It is the only surviving freedman’s village that grew out of a free Black settlement in North Carolina. Oberlin VIllage has been encroached upon by developments from the shopping district, thereby erasing the heritage of the area and tying it to enslavers rather than the free Black people who established the community. The non-profit organization, Friends of Oberlin Village, also spoke out about the gentrification and history of the Oberlin Village and Cameron Park areas, which led to the ideas of changing the name of Cameron residential and business areas. This vote for the name change of Cameron Park comes after the renaming of the shopping center to Village District in January 2021. The owners of the shopping district, Regency Centers, released a statement in January that explained why they were renaming the shopping district. Here is what Regency Centers said in
regards to the name change, “This new brand represents Regency’s commitment to a welcoming environment for all our patrons, neighbors, merchants and employees.” Along a similar vein, the Wake County Board of Commissioners voted in March 2021 to change the name of the library in the Village District shopping center to the Village Regional Library. This was an unanimous decision on the part of the Board of Commissioners. Wake County Commissioner, Shinica Thomas, said the following about the changes in March, “Wake County embraces and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion. We want all residents to feel comfortable and respected when they visit any of our buildings.” As for the Cameron Park name change, residents of the area are said to be proposing name changes for the neighborhood between now and Nov. 15. The name will not be changed on any legal documents or deed, but will be reflected
by the city of Raleigh and other public and private agencies. Some residents have expressed concern about the neighborhood name change being a symbolic gesture after the events and protests of 2020 during the pandemic. They suggested the possibility of creating a fund to support descendants of enslaved persons connected to the Cameron family or students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Whether the rename of the residential area is a symbolic gesture or not is a topic that can continue to be debated, but the name of the Cameron areas will be changed. We will find out around the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022, what that new name will be and it will most likely be implemented before the end of 2022.
Opinion
Ode To E
Self Love
You deserve to be loved, cherished, and appreciated You deserve the most gentle love
playlist by Nubian Message Staff
An all-encompassing, unconditional love
It's always important to love yourself first. Keep your head up babes.
Girl on Fire
Alicia Keys
Me, Myself, and I
beyonce Dreamville, Ari lennox, Bas, Baby Rose
After The storm hard To Love
Kali Uchis Calvin Harris ft Jessie Reyez
Independent Woment pt.1 back to the streets Ass Like That Soulmate Original Baby Pretty Girl Rock
A love that allows you to explore A love that allows you to grow into the woman you were meant to be A love that allows you to take up space
Graphic by Kyle howe
Self Love
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Destiny's Child
Saweetie ft. jhene Aiko
Victoria Monet
I am so sorry that it took me 21 and a half years to realize Realize that you are worthy, beautiful That you are more than just a Black girl with muddled emotions That your pain is valid That your struggles are valid That your tears are valid That your happiness is valid And deep down I’ve always loved you Even that girl from Schilletter Village, whose time was filled with nothing but tears, concussions, and bruises Even that girl from 2008, who struggled for control of her own body, constantly wondering when he would stop Even that girl from Lafayette, attempting to bleach and scratch the darkness from her body
Lizzo
Even that girl from Science and Math, wondering when she would
simi
Even that girl from November 15, 2018, who was distraught when
finally be free from her pain she woke up to live another day
Keri WIlson I love you more than the stars in the sky
snakeskin System swagger
Rina Sawayama tayla parx Ruff-n-smooth, Stay Jay
And I promise to always love and cherish you To never lose sight of you To always advocate for you And if loving you is wrong then I don’t want to be right
Thursday, October 14, 2021 | 6
Features
Learning About Breast Cancer and its Patients
Contributed by the Mu Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
On Monday, Oct. Milan Hall Correspondent 11, 2021, the Kappa
Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Mu Omicron of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. collaborated to present “Let's Get it Off Our Chest: Breast Cancer Cards, KOnvo & MOre.” The event was an opportunity for its attendees to learn about breast cancer and make cards for patients in the hospital. The program started with a small introduction to the sororities, their histories and values. Following the introductions, attendees were given some guidance for writing their cards. The cards were not to be made out to specific people and not include phrases such as “get well soon” as a way to keep the cards positive and uplifting. The 2015 documentary “The C Word” played in the background during the card making. “The C Word” is a documentary which seeks to bring awareness to cancer as well as clear up the many misconceptions surrounding it. The documentary helped illustrate a lot of the struggles that cancer patients faced after getting their diagnosis. Many of the patients talked about how their doctors didn’t really help them understand their illness, and they gave them incredibly simple and vague advice such as exercise. To understand the meaning and importance behind this event, we spoke to a few people who helped organize and host the event. We were able to speak to Jada Jant, the President of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. We also spoke to Lindsey Russ, the Vice President, and Jacori Crudup, the Physical and Mental Health Chair of the Mu Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Jant, Russ, and Crudup helped oversee and facilitate the event as well as contributing to the collaboration between the two organizations.
All three were asked why the event was important. Crudup stated, “breast cancer, especially breast cancer awareness, is pivotal because we are all about the empowerment of women and uplifting women.” She also mentioned how this event and learning about breast cancer is important to the black community, “a lot of black people do have that stigma about not going to the doctor.” Adding onto that, Russ explained “A lot of things in the film that they mentioned were things like stress management, diet, exercise, and those are things that the black community sometimes lacks because of lack of opportunity. So, it was very important that we brought out individuals who look like us to this event so that we can learn about the different preventive measures that we can take.” Jant explained, “We see this as a way of giving back to the community. Also, it's a really important way to uplift the women and men struggling with breast cancer. Additionally, we have the educational aspect as well.” The educational portion of the event provided information surrounding breast cancer that is not common knowledge. They were also asked about the importance of making cards. Jant stated that “We think that raising money is nice but oftentimes people don't get to feel the direct impact of the money... making cards goes directly to the breast cancer patients. It's a great way to uplift them, dealing with anything like that is very hard, and it is hard to stay positive so that card could really make someone's day.” In a similar light, Russ stated that “One small thing can change your whole day.” The Let's Get it Off Our Chest: Breast Cancer Cards, KOnvo & MOre event provided a space to learn about breast cancer while servicing those with it.
Kyrie Irving: The Education Issue Star Point Guard Kyrie Irving risks not playing this NBA season in order to stay unvaccinated from COVID-19. The loss of Irving would cause the Nets to lose their position as the favorite Tim Havens to win the NBA title in Correspondent the ‘21-’22 season. In the beginning Kyrie was known as the bright and curious young star of the NBA. Irving attended the prestigious Duke University, starred in the “Uncle Drew” Nike commercial series that was so popular it was made into a movie and hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA history that won the Cleveland Cavaliers the NBA championship. Today, Irving is the most controversial player in professional basketball. The same voices in the media who sing his praise on the court, call for him to retire and state that Kyrie is a distraction to his team and worse, a person who spreads disinformation that can be fatal to those who listen. So when did the public’s opinion change and why? Irving - who is both Black and Lakota, began to connect with his family heritage to understand himself, especially Indigenous roots as Kyrie’s Lakota mother passed when was four. In 2018, Irving became a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and has since paid homage through tribe centered show designs, donations, and advocacy. Around this time Irving would begin to express frustration with US education even stating “They lie to us.” On Irving’s Instagram, you will regularly see posts discussing the treaties with Indigenous tribes broken by the US government, James Baldwin quotes and criticism of the lack of honesty in the US public school system. Frequently Irving is reposting from unofficial pages dedicated to advocacy for Black and Indigenous history, sources that can be run by anybody. Looking for truth through social media causes Irving’s beliefs to blur the
lines from little-known facts to fictional conspiracy theories like “flat earth” and vaccine conspiracies amongst others. Truth is, there are a lot of young minorities who think like Irving. Distrustful of government sources because of the lack of honesty in public schools and other U.S institutions. After taking an African-American history course at NC State, talking to an elder, or searching the internet many agree with Irving’s statement “they lie to us.” The history of U.S race relations is broadly painted in public schools but omits facts that challenge America's commitment to its main values. Hiding these truths causes one to be hurt, distrustful, and question current reality. These secrets alter one’s reality when the realization comes that had they been born 200 years earlier the founding father they were taught to love may hate on them or that the Nazis they were taught to hate got many of their racist ideas from the US. Failing to address the inconvenient truths of the history of everyone in this country is not only irresponsible and uncompassionate but allows us to repeat our mistakes. Irving has donated millions of dollars to causes such as WNBA player payment, HBCU Universities, Indigenousness issues and meals for those in need. He has provided quotes like “My purpose is bigger than basketball” and has goals listed like empowering, uplifting, and educating Black and Indigenous youth. It’s clear that Kyrie wants to leave a positive mark on future generations. Irving’s reasoning for not taking the vaccine is wrong but the larger issue to be discussed is what led to this. Should “their'' (the government) vaccine be trusted? Have you ever heard of Tuskegee, the Wilmington Insurrection, or the death of Fred Hampton? For most of the U.S population, the answer would be probably not. That’s the real issue here. If Irving was taught the truth from the beginning, then he and many young people like him wouldn’t get lost in an attempt to find it.
Opinion
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Wassapened This Week: September 29th- Oct 6th Authors note These are events that happened this week that I chose to highlight. These are in no way everything everyone needs to know. I highly encourage everyone to read the news themselves, ugonna from reliable sources ezuma-igwe and to develop their own Staff Writer opinions. My opinions have been italicized. With that being said all opinions stated in this article are my own so if you don’t like them then sip your tea and mind your business. Some of the news events this week can be triggering. The theme of this week's Wassapened This Week is flaws: Systemic flaws, flaws in medicine, and flaws in society.
Miya
On Saturday, Oct 2, the police found a body wooded area near the Tymber Skan on the Lake apartments that they later confirmed on Wednesday, Oct 6th to be that of Miya Marcano. Since September 24 Miya had been missing and she was least seen at her apartment complex, Arden Villas Luxury Apartments in Orlando. Her body was found approximately 18 miles west of her home. Armando Manuel Caballero, the maintenance man for her apartment complex, abused the privileges of his job by accessing her apartment, waiting for her, kidnapping and later killing her. This low down dirty coward of a man later killed himself. This story further shows that even if a man has nothing he will have audacity. Why is it that lives continue to be lost because a man can not take no for an answer? All this girl did was say no to his advance and in his dim witted pea sized brain it justified death. Society needs to stop allowing for this behavior to perpetuate. No woman should ever feel pressured to do anything she does not want to do.
Social media
On Monday, Oct 4, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for 6 hours starting a little before noon. I know I wasn’t the only one who thought their phone was broken. Facebook says it was because an update to Facebook's routers that coordinate network traffic went wrong. While many were confused, many turned to another platform, Twitter, for entertainment. Twitter happily welcomed
Graphic By ugonna Ezuma-igwe with a tweet saying “Hello literally everyone” which got over 3 million likes. Many companies took advantage of this marketing opportunity to poke fun at Facebook's blunder. Netflix, Motorola and many more joined in. Not only were companies joining in, but people were also too.
Catholic church
On Tuesday, Oct 5, an independent commission released a report, after two and a half years of investigations, that estimated that 330,000 children in France were sexually abused over the past 70 years, from 1950-2020, by members of the Catholic church. This independent commission was set up by the Roman Catholic Church in France in order to investigate the extent of abuse in the church. In order to identify cases of abuse the commission spoke to victims, who voluntarily came forward, witnesses while studying church, court, police and news archives. The grueling nearly 2,500-page report detailed how for decades the wrongful actions of Catholic officials were covered up and dismissed while the church silenced and gaslighted their victims. About 216,000 victims were abused by priests and other clerics and then about 114,000 were abused by church figures such as camp counselors. The majority of the victims were pre-adolescent boys, boys ages 10 to 13, from social backgrounds. It's very disheartening and
quite frankly vexing to know that many of these cases of abuse will not be prosecuted as the abuser has died or the statute of limitations has expired. Most of the abuse transpired between the 1950 and 1970s. While these numbers are far worse than what many people imagined, no one should be surprised that the abuse has been occurring. This report only illuminates a structural flaw in the Catholic church's culture of pure imaging, aka working to uphold the image of the church's flawlessness, that allows for the culture of silencing and repudiation of its members’ actions. The church’s apologies are not enough, more needs to be done, reparations and systemic change need to occur. And to each of those moronic and duplicitous good for nothing abusers, those exposed and those still unknown, the world may not have seen but remember you served a God of vengeance. Your time is coming. Be afraid. Be very afraid not only of God but of the world.
WHO
On Wednesday, Oct 6th, the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed the world’s first malaria vaccine. Malaria is spread when a parasite-infected female Anopheles mosquito bite/feeds on a human. Those with Malaria suffer from high fevers, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and flu-like illness. This moment is historic as this vaccine has been long-awaited and it is the first vaccine developed for any parasitic
disease. Approximately 1-3 million people die from Malaria every year with about 80-90% of the deaths in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Can you believe that children in sub-Saharan Africa have an average of six malaria episodes a year !!! Imagine going through that multiple times a year. I had malaria once and that was more than enough for a lifetime. The endorsement comes from the results of an ongoing pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. While it did show some success, the efficiency was only moderate. It’s only 30% effective in preventing hospitalizations and 40% effective in preventing infections. This is why global health leaders are recommending that the vaccine should not replace methods, such as insecticidetreated bed nets, but instead should be given in addition to using the methods in place. I do have some concerns about how the countries who need it most will be able to afford it once companies and alliances determine if it is a worthwhile investment. Many of the countries whose people suffer from malaria the most are developing and are still trying to recover from the COVID pandemic. What systems will be put in place to ensure that those who want the vaccine will receive it?