TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Jeffrey Yates, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Yamile Nazar, DEI Director, Human Relations Department
DATE: November 13, 2023
RE:
Title
Request to affirm the language on the historical marker at the Market House
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal IV: Desirable place to live, work, and recreate.
Executive Summary:
Update on measures taken to repurpose the Market House/Square, and approaching tasks.
Background:
At the request of the City Manager, Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Director Dr. Anthony Wade was assigned the responsibility of assembling a working group to identify, develop, and prioritize strategic recommendations to the City for the repurposing the Fayetteville Market House as a community asset (Report provided to City Council on April 15, 2021, attached.)
At the request of the City Council (hereon in, “CC”), Human Relations staff, in conjunction with the Human Relations Commission (heron in, “FCHRC”), hosted two City SPIRIT events and received community feedback on how they would like to see the repurposing of the Market House. Following the City SPIRIT events, additional information was gathered from approximately 500+ residents through community engagement.
The Fayetteville historic Market Square has the potential to contribute significantly to local and regional history, positive community race and human relations, residents’ quality of life, municipal tourism, and the regional economy.
Issues/Analysis:
As a result of the City SPIRIT events, a recommendation surfaced that the FCHRC consider altering the language on a plaque written by a committee Chaired by late educator Dr. W.T. Brown and late journalist and historian Roy Parker Jr., which was mounted in 1989 as a prior attempt to address the building’s difficult history. The recommended modification was considered and gained consensus by CC on August 1, 2022.
The plaque’s current wording is: “IN MEMORY AND HONOR OF THOSE INDOMITABLE PEOPLE WHO WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR DIGNITY WHEN SOLD AS SLAVES AT THIS PLACE. THEIR COURAGE IN THAT TIME IS A PROUD HERITAGE OF ALL TIMES. THEY ENDURED THE PAST SO THE FUTURE COULD BE WON FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE. THEIR SUFFERING AND SHAME AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO BE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS. FREE TO LIVE, WORK, AND WORSHIP IN THE PURSUIT OF THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY.
CITY COUNCIL OF FAYETTEVILLE 1989”
The recommended wording for the plaque is: “IN MEMORY AND HONOR OF THOSE INDOMITABLE PEOPLE WHO WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR DIGNITY WHEN ENSLAVED AND SOLD AS SLAVES AT THIS AND OTHER PLACES IN OUR COMMUNITY. THEIR COURAGE IN THAT TIME IS A PROUD HERITAGE OF ALL TIMES. THEY ENDURED THE PAST SO THE FUTURE COULD BE WON FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE. THEIR SUFFERING AND STRENGTH AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO BE RECOGNIZED AS CITIZENS, FREE TO LIVE, WORK AND WORSHIP IN THE PURSUIT OF THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY TO OURSELVES AND POSTERITY. REVISED BY 2023 FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL.
Budget Impact:
Paid from Historical Properties Fund (State Grant) $2,995.
Options:
N/A
Recommended Action:
Affirm the language as presented.
Attachments:
Report provided to Council on April 15, 2021.