NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | Thursday, October 28, 2021
We Come Home
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 2
Letter from the editor
Tim Havens Correspondant
Hey y’all, Happy Red and White week! Let’s celebrate our existence together as minority students on this campus. Can we also reflect on how the numbers of minority students at NC State are dwindling because of performative wokeness and a lack of support from the university administration??? It’s important for us to continue to fight for our place at this campus because we should take pride that those first students in 1887 would be SICK to know that we’re getting an education here. This week we have a few articles about events that happened on campus the past few weeks, including an opinion piece on the PackHOWL concert and a feature on the N.C. State Fair. We also feature the AACC’s new gallery on Black alumni artists.
THISISSUE 4
BLACK ALUMNI ARTIST GALLERY
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MEDIA PAGE
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PACKHOWL: CONTAGIOUS FUN
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VOTING KNOWLEDGE
AACC Art Exhibit showcases 4 Black alumni Black Classics
A look into the experience of the PackHOWL concert "Skee Week" Event
cover photo BY Hallie Walker/ Correspondent There are a variety of pumpkins to choose from at the NC State Farmers Market on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Many of the vendors had pumpkins and other fall decorations set up for the new season.
Be sure to check out our media page where there’s a poem from Elikem about accountability. We also have a playlist of some Black classics.
The Sentinel of the African-American Community at NC State Since 1992
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Andrea/ Andie Alford (They/Them) Editor-in-Chief
nubian-editor@ncsu.edu Elikem Dodor (She/Her) Managing editor
nubian-managingeditor@ncsu.edu Arana Blake (She/They) Ugonna Ezuma-Igwe (She/Her) Layout designers
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Features
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 3
Back in action: 2021 Nc state fair After being closed last year due to COVID-19, the N.C. State Fair is back. This Ugonna year’s fair, entitled Ezuma-Igwe “Worth The Wait,” Staff Writer was open from Oct. 14, 2021, to Oct. 24, 2021, and featured a wide variety of attractions and food. A total of 821,463 people attended this year’s fair. According to their website, the NC State Fair is “the largest 11-day event in North Carolina and is consistently ranked among the top 25 fairs in North America.” The NC State Fair was started in 1853 and has showcased and promoted North Carolina’s agriculture, agribusiness, arts, crafts, and culture ever since. Last year was the first time that the N.C. State Fair has been canceled since World War II. There were no vaccine mandates to enter the fair or enforcement of masks on the site. All visitors were encouraged to get their vaccination to protect themselves and others from COVID-19. Even though Raleigh has a mask mandate, the mandate excludes properties that are operated by other government agencies so the N.C. State Fair was not subject to the city mandate. Additionally, people were encouraged to utilize masks if it made them feel more comfortable. There were little to no concerns about the fair being able to operate safely amid a global pandemic. Kent Yelverton, State Fair manager said “We do believe that the N.C. State Fair can operate safely. Thank goodness for the vaccine. If not for a vaccine, we would not be able to have events like this. We've looked at other events. We've seen the information coming from other large events. Those events have not resulted in on-site transmission in large numbers." The fair also featured about half a dozen hand sanitizer dispensers, hand washing stations, and complimentary masks. The First United Methodist Church of Cary partnered with Wake County Public Health, the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and FEMA to offer free vaccines. Several college students were able to attend this year’s fair and share their experiences amid a global pandemic. We were able to talk to Amaya Williams, a junior in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences about her experience at the fair. “I had a really great time at the fair and the food was absolutely delicious. In all honesty, though, there were far too many people there and I only went on 1
Elikem Dodor Managing Editor
connor smith/Student Media Fair-goers enjoy the attractions at the NC State Fair on Friday, Oct. 12 2018. Last year the NC State Fair had an attendance of over one million visitors.
ride. Due to the crowdedness, this will most likely be my first, and last time attending the N.C. State fair.” We were also able to talk to Jacori Crudup, a junior in the College of Textiles about her experience at the fair. “It was a great time as always, but of course no one had on a mask which was kind of unsettling. I can’t blame people because most people go for the food, and so did I. I appreciate the fair staff for attempting to have socially distanced areas to sit and eat.” The N.C. State Fair had a wide variety of food. Ranging from fair classics such as corn dogs and cotton candy to new introductions such as the deep-fried lobster pops from Oak City Fish and Chips and twisted chicken on tots from Hot Chix Hotcakes and Chicken. This year there were more fair food vendors that introduced new food items that accommodated vegetarian and vegan diets. One of the new arrivals was Sassy's Catering (Sassy’s Sweets). A motherdaughter catering company based in Massachusetts that specialized in farm-totable style vegan and vegetarian food, that included customizable Sweet Potato Tacos and Loaded Potatoes. Another new food addition was EthioIndi Alkaline Cuisine. It was a completely
Elikem dodor/Nubian Message vegan food truck originally based in Winston-Salem, NC. They served plantbased burgers and hot dogs which provided fair goers the opportunity to enjoy fair classics while cutting out meat and dairy. This year during the Fair, Nubian was able to try some of the fair favorites. We got the Campfire on a stick from Hot Chix Hotcakes and Chicken. It was a kabob of mini pancakes and marshmallows that was sprinkled with chocolate syrup and rolled into graham crackers. While it sounded enticing, it lacked chocolate sauce and flavour which made it underwhelming. We were also able to try the Hot Chix
Tacos from Hot Chix Hotcakes and Chicken. It was composed of a Fried chicken tenderloin wrapped in a taco style pancake. We had a choice of 14 sauces and chose syrup. Overall, the scarcity of syrup made the taco dry and the pancakes' flavour lacked authenticity. Though this stand was quite popular and had a long line, the food did not meet the standard of quality that preceded it. This stand struggled with a lack of sauce and flavour originality. We felt that we would have enjoyed this food more if we had made it ourselves. Finally, we were able to try the infamous Bacon Krispy Kreme Burger. It was two Krispy Kreme donuts (in place of a bun) stacked with a burger patty, bacon, lettuce and ketchup. When we received the burger it was not built like a burger despite them asking us what we wanted on it . The meat was quite tough which made it harder to enjoy the food as we struggled to chew it. In conclusion, we enjoyed the concept of a sweet and savory burger but felt that the food stand we went to didn’t do it justice. Though the N.C. State Fair ended on Sunday Oct. 24,2021, it will be back Oct. 13-23,2022 for those who missed it or were unable to attend this year.
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 4
Features
AACC Welcomes Black Alumni Artist for 2nd Gallery Andie alford On Oct. 25, the Editor-in-Chief African American
Cultural Center (AACC) hosted an opening reception for their second art gallery of the 2021-2022 academic year. The gallery is entitled “Kurudi Nyumbani,” which is Swahili for the return home. The AACC chose this exhibit theme to highlight the 30th anniversary of the center’s existence at NC State and the idea of homecoming during Red and White week. The gallery featured art from four Black alumni: J. Stacy Utley (‘01, ‘06), Britney Symone (‘19), Jason Franklin (‘92, ‘97) and Robyn Bess (‘20). Their art highlights personal themes of being seen, living authentically as a Black woman and understanding the Black experience through the good and the bad. The event began with Isaiah Lucas, Program Coordinator of the AACC, welcoming the guests to the gallery and giving an introduction on the featured artists. Lucas then hosted a Q&A discussion with three of the artists in the format of a talk show which was entitled “#trusttheprocess.” Isaiah Lucas: What does your art mean to you and your identity? Robyn Bess: Me as an artist, my identity is me as a Black woman. As a dark skinned woman I saw experiences where I wasn’t being seen on camera. Jason Franklin: [My art] is about these quiet moments… When we talk about the Black Lives Matter movement we think about death and these bad moments. I want to flip that and talk about the future. Britney Symone: I enjoy creating something out of nothing. [My work] is about celebrating emotional release and vulnerability, especially with Black women. IL: What does the show name, #trusttheprocess, mean to you in terms of your art and your experiences? BS: It means taking everything day by day and making slow and steady progress. Everything takes time no matter what it is and what you’re trying to achieve. It just comes down to having faith in yourself and knowing that you’ll get there as long as you’re doing the work to get there.
year student in Art & Design, and Katrina Franklin, the Chief Operations Officer of Triangle Cultural Art Gallery. Here are two questions from the several they asked. Katrina Franklin: Where do you see yourself going in the future? How will you grow as artists? BS: I want to go freelance. I’m still figuring out what works for me. I am a graphic designer and I still want to be. I’ll just follow whatever comes to me.
Emily Peedin/Correspondent Biographies of each artist are displayed on the wall on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 at the African American Cultural Center Gallery inside the Witherspoon Student Center.
RB: Between the pandemic and 2021, I’ve done a lot of self work and made a lot of [personal] goals. [#trusttheprocess] is trusting in yourself and the work that you do. As long as the intention is there you can get a long way. It is understanding that you need support in the beginning and getting to that place of confidence.
RB: All of my models are dark skinned Black people. I am inspired by those people and their personalities. I want Black people and dark skinned people to feel seen and that they matter. The biggest thing I want is to not be ignored.
JF: It is the God in me that allows me to have remnants of Him in the things I created. It’s learning from the failure and getting back up and acknowledging that it didn’t work… The whole process of failing miserably can be the birth of something beautiful.
BS: If you are already creating things, then you are an artist. If one person likes your art, that’s enough. Even if that one person is you.
IL: How does your work center the Black experience? BS: I do this by putting us at the forefront. Expressing the feeling of Black women having to be strong all the time and not being allowed to express our needs or our emotions in a healthy way. [My art] pushes us to try to allow those emotions and what we feel about the society we’re in. JF: That’s all I tell. I’m a Black man, how can I not tell the Black experience. I explore this in my piece “Free.” How often do you see images of young Black boys unbound and happy and they can just be? There is a lot of pain and suffering in the Black experience but there is also a lot of peace and grace. I want to show that as well.
IL: Do you have any advice for students who want to be artists?
RB: The importance of building community and asking for help. You have people around you that want to support you and that makes things go by so much easier. It’s nothing to drop people who aren’t for you. If something is not serving you, you can leave it. Be sure to trust yourself at the beginning of it all. JF: Be authentic. Find your visual and creative voice. At some point you’ll have to leave the mimicking and dive into the unknown, dive into the core of who you are. There’s only one you and you only have one authentic voice. Make it beautiful. Make it unique. At this point of the event, Lucas opened up the questions to the audience. Questions were asked by Amaya Abraham, a third
RB: I want to get out of service photography. I want more print worthy fine art where people can put these in their house. I’m getting into film photography. I want to feel something when I look at my art. JF: I see myself mixing more difficult mediums together to create different layers, like with drawing and painting. I’m also taking a larger interest in Black women for my next series. Amaya Abraham: It has been said that an artist’s duty is to reflect the times. Is that something you accept.? If you have questioned your duty as an artist how do you reassure yourself? JF: I accept that. I want to have my imprint on what’s happening in the world. BS: I reflect on the times of my own life. I think artists reflect how they feel about what’s going on in their lives and what’s going on in the world. RB: I’m inspired by the people around me so my work is more personal. For example, my series was called “Isolation” and while it was during the pandemic, it was not about being in a pandemic. I want to create timeless pieces that resonate with people. The opening reception seemed to leave space for introspection as the artists revealed truths about themselves and their work, especially as it related to Blackness. Kurudi Nyumbani will run through Dec. 3, 2021 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the AACC Gallery at Witherspoon.
Opinion
The Classics
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 5
Accountability I should not have to run through my trauma
playlist by Nubian Message Staff Black classics just in time for Red & White week.
Tell you the details of my horrors Tell you about the abuse or the death threats Tell you about the numerous assaults
Graphic by Kyle howe
Tell you about the suicide attempts or disorders Tell you about the medications and addiction
Aben Wo Aha
Daddy Lumba
Doo Wop (That Thing) Rock The Boat Candy Yori Yori Lovely Day Got To Give It Up pt.1 Cupid Shuffle Bronya 1er Gaou Party Return of the Mack Before I Let Go Just Fine Pakurumo
Ms. Lauryn Hill Aaliyah Cameo
Bracket Bill Withers
Marvin Gaye Cupid
Wutah Magic System BeyoncÉ, AndrÉ 3000 Mark Morrison Maze, Frankie Beverly Mary j. Blige WizKid
Tell you about the bodies I’ve seen Tell you about the burdens I’ve taken on Tell you about the struggles and pain I’ve acquired in these 21 years on this earth To be respected and treated as a human To not want to endure bullshit to acquire titles. You see, the issue was never me The issue was never that I needed tougher skin Or that I needed to roll with the punches Or that I was weak and just couldn’t handle what was being thrown at me The issue was always you And that is between you and your maker Whether you want to grapple with the horrors and trauma you’ve inflicted on others, it is not my concern But you can’t run from the consequences forever And so be it God, they’ll catch you soon enough.
-Elikem
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 6
Opinion
PAckHowl: a night of contagious fun PackHOWL was a concert featuring artists Duckwrth and Yung Gravy. The concert was held on Thursday, Oct.14 in Reynolds Coliseum. I have mixed feelings about the event. Before PackHOWL, Milan Hall there was Primetime with Correspondent the Pack, an event that guests could choose to come to before the concert. Primetime with the Pack was mainly the women’s and men’s basketball teams doing some harmless competitions while music played in the background. Nothing necessarily groundbreaking happened during Primetime with the Pack, so if someone were to skip that portion and go straight to the concert, they would not have missed much. The crowd seemed to be more excited for the concert, not really fully paying attention to what was going on during Primetime, which was evident by the random cheers for nothing. The event was mainly to raise the crowds' energy, making them somewhat antsy for the actual concert. The crowd's readiness for the actual concert was showcased more by how quickly they flooded the floor area. Now if I had paid an extra 5 dollars for an unguaranteed spot close to the stage, I would also be sprinting as if my life depended on it. The value of the floor tickets is debatable. On one hand, you're paying 5 extra dollars to see an artist you enjoy up close. On the other hand, unless you are a literal track star you’re paying 5 more dollars to be crammed in with other people, have a bad view of the stage, and have a bonus risk of catching COVID. I am glad that I did not have floor seats because to give a very generous estimate, 25% to 50% of the students did not seem to have masks on. There were no temperature checks or mask enforcement by event staff. I genuinely started to wonder if I just did not know the COVID regulations for this event. But even if that was the case, it is still incredibly irresponsible to not have masks be enforced in an indoor space with no social distancing during a pandemic. The concert which had everyone forgetting Coronavirus was a thing started with a performance from Duckwrth. Duckwrth is a rapper from California whose genre is described as chill hip hop
Sarah Cochran/Correspondent Duckwrth looks out into the crowd during the annual packHOWL concert hosted by the University Activities Board (UAB) on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2021 in Reynolds Coliseum.
and R&B by various music publications but based on this performance, he doesn’t seem to have a specific genre. I had first heard of Duckwrth from his song on the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, “Start a Riot”. That song was the only song I knew by him which is a lot more than the rest of the audience who were very clearly there for Yung Gravy. Before Duckwrth’s performance, the crowd was disrespectfully chanting Gravy over and over again, but he seemed to win them back in the end. The performance was heavy with live instruments and vocals. Duckwrth engaged the audience in the performance with his energy and talent, it was hard not to dance along or sway to the music regardless of if you knew it or not. He also interacted a lot with the audience during his performance, some of his interactions brought a comedic aspect to it.
After Duckwrth’s performance, a lot of audience members spent the break between performances talking about how surprisingly nice his performance was. Duckwrth may have been a lesserknown artist but he definitely left a strong impression on the audience. The final and more anticipated artist of the night was the rapper, Yung Gravy. A lot of Yung Gravy’s music has gone viral on platforms like YouTube and Tiktok. I knew about 1-3 songs by him so unlike Duckwrth I already had some expectations for the performance. Before Yung Gravy’s actual performance started his DJ and hypeman played some songs, I assume to get the audience's mood up. Some of the choices were nostalgic and others comedic, which I think set the tone for Yung Gravy’s performance which was carefree and hyper. When Yung Gravy came out the crowd
lost it, he was clearly who they were excited for. He came out to his viral 2017 song “Mr. Clean”, which the audience rapped the entirety of. The relationship between Yung Gravy and the audience is what made the performance unique and entertaining. The audience was incredibly energetic, yelling and rapping along to every single song which only made Yung Gravy up his energy levels more. It was difficult to not jump and yell along with everyone else even though I had no idea what the majority of the lyrics were. The audience really did not have a care in the world during Yung Gravy’s performance, just having fun and doing whatever, which contributes to the main problem with PackHOWL. While it is nice to have a stress-free night, it does not suddenly mean that real-world issues are not occurring. Coronavirus is still a very present threat in the world right now and if events like these still are going to happen they need to have clear and enforced safety regulations. These events are apparently for students but they put students at risk. It raises a genuine question: who is actually responsible for the student’s safety at these events? Should we place the blame on the staff who do not set and enforce clear safety regulations? Or should we blame the students who willfully ignore said regulations?
“These events are
apparently for students but they put students at risk.“ I couldn’t help but consider my own safety at this event. There was no way of telling who's been vaccinated or if anyone has experienced symptoms, you really just had to trust the responsibility of a lot of strangers. PackHOWL provided a nice distraction from the stress of school with entertaining performances. However, there are just some things that cannot be ignored. It was nice to forget about a lot of stressful things going on in the world but that also could have happened without actively contributing to those things.
Opinion
Students Gain Voting Knowledge Tim Havens Correspondent
The Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated recently hosted their Voting Knowledge program. The program was one of many the sorority hosted during the Fall ‘21 SKEE week. This year’s Voting Knowledge event was forced to go online due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was still able to put on an informative event on an issue that affects all US citizens. Awards and Amenities Chairman Erin Carter kicked off the program by welcoming participants before sharing the history and mission of the sorority. Recording Secretary Ashley Witherspoon and Hostess Michaela Steele hosted interactive icebreakers and introduced key issues like why voting is important, the differences between major U.S political parties, the role of politicians, what to know before you vote and how to get registered. The Nubian Message was able to talk to the current President of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., Jada Jant, about the event.
person events. In-person we get to be more interactive with our audience, peers, and community. We have tried to adjust our program to still be interactive and fun while still being online. NM: Did you get feedback on the event? JJ: Yes! Through our feedback forms we have gotten really good feedback especially on the interactive nature and the welcoming environment we bring to such important topics. Voting is a key way to making sure not only national issues like health care, security, and economy but also local issues like environmental quality, transportation, and local budgeting are decided how the people see fit - that’s why the event’s like Alpha Kappa Alpha’s voting knowledge are key to making sure voters know how to inform themselves in order to make those key decisions.
Nubian Message: What is SKEE week? Jada Jant: A reoccuring week of programs that starts on Sunday with a church gathering and other events like the Making Strides breast cancer walk. There are 5 national programming targets and each day we just try to reach those targets while educating people and telling them what we are about. NM: Why did you decide to host a program focused on Voting Knowledge? JJ: To help us reach our global impact target, our age group (college) is really important when it comes to voting, we’re a huge demographic and we know that in the past it has been hard to get younger adults to vote but when they do we can make a really big difference. We thought it was important to educate our peers who either lack the information or just turned old enough to vote. NM: How did the COVID-19 Pandemic affect the event? JJ: We weren’t able to plan as we usually do… a big way we’ve been affected is in-
the Kappa omicron chapter of kappa alpha kappa sorority inC./Instagram
Flyer for The Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.'s Voting Knowledge event.
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 7
My Demons got HAnds It’s Mental Health Awareness week and it was Oct. 3-9, 2021. With winter break and the end of the semester coming, seasonal depression has been showing out. Things haven’t been easy, and Austin honestly is it just me or modlin has seasonal depression Correspondent been hitting harder since the pandemic started? To be transparent, I’m tired of this s**t. I’ve been looking at only the top half of people’s faces for the past two years. The act of looking at someone, one the most basic acts of intimacy, has become a thing of the past. Social media has been a constant in people’s everyday lives for a while now. It’s one of the main ways people can see what others around the world are doing. COVID forcing people to limit their in person interactions has caused people’s reliance on social media to significantly increase. Due to COVID causing a schedule shift in schools, NC State has integrated a fast paced semester to cope with said shift, which hasn’t helped. NC State provides free counseling but there's only so much that it can do for me, especially considering that NC State has a history of not retaining Black therapists. To be quite frank, I find it hard to open up to someone who doesn’t look like me and will never be able to relate to some of the many issues I have while being a Black man, added on to the fact that I attend a PWI. This has led me on a wild goose chase looking for Black therapists outside of NC State’s domain that are in the Raleigh area. According to the APA (American Psychology Association), Black therapists account for only 4% of therapists in the US. Looking through “Therapy for Black Girls”, among the many sites dedicated to finding Black therapists in your area, the options were viable but the prices were up to $190 per 50 minute session. Therapy is already expensive, even if you do have insurance, now you add on to the rare commodity that Black therapists are? Forget student loans, you’re going to be going into debt trying to maintain your mental stability. Sounds kind of counter-intuitive doesn’t it? Which leads to me one of the many things that has been getting on my nerves since COVID started.
The amount of “mental health” advocates that have appeared out the woodworks has not only been irritating but as performative as the “mental health check-ins” I have been getting from NC State. You can’t just tell people to “get therapy” when they have an issue. I have been seeing this being told to Black people whenever they have any sort of mental health issues. While therapy is one of the more effective options, I feel that there’s some lack of understanding in the “seek therapy” statement being pushed out to Black people.
“Forget student loans,
you’re going to be going into debt trying to maintain your mental stability.” For one, therapy (specifically Black therapists), are spread out and few in number as well as expensive. This can be a barrier for many Black people considering some of the socioeconomic barriers that Black people deal with. Everyone doesn’t have the financial leeway to throw $80+ for an hour of dealing with their problems, and a lot of problems that Black people deal with aren’t gonna be solved in an hour. Is it possible to solve decades of systematic oppression and terrorism in a world that constantly finds a way to attack you due to your skin? You tell me, cause I’ve been trying to figure that out for years now. With that being said, it’s not like I don’t think that anything positive has come from this sudden shift in collective awareness in mental health. It’s just that I feel that there’s more that can be done instead of just posting a instagram slideshow and slapping “get therapy.” on every grievance that Black people have stated, whether that be from there day-today, or even racial issues. I believe that things such as adequate healthcare, education, among many other things is another way to help with Black people's mental health. Therapy doesn't work for everyone, and that's okay. Mental health is not a one size fits all apporach, especially when it comes to Black people.