From slave owner to civil rights icon: Chambers High officially gets a new name Anna Maria Della Costa, The Charlotte Observer
Josh Vaughn sat quietly near the back of the auditorium at Charlotte’s Julius L. Chambers High School, a new football helmet with a new logo on his lap.
“I feel good about this,” said the 17-year-old football player for the Cougars. “My senior year, and a school name change to someone who fought for us in North Carolina. It’s really good.”
Vaughn was one of dozens of people who attended the official renaming ceremony Wednesday for Julius L. Chambers High School. The event drew dignitaries from across the city and state, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board and City Council members, CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams.
Emergence Oubah Osman, “Periphery”
I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of emerging writers and artists how it’s vital to make space for new creators and marginalized voices. They are the artists who are shaping the way we see the world and the writers who are changing our literary landscape. We need these fresh perspectives to shake us out of complacency and sameness.
Narratives of renewal and transformation, both internal and external, permeate this issue. A grandmother’s death prompts a writer to reflect on loss and the power of stories, a visit to a hairdresser triggers complex memories, and a bus driver’s trip through a speculative, future Vancouver is familiar in unsettling ways. Our 2018 contest winners explore new horizons in creative non-fiction and short forms. And in the feature interview, Ayana Mathis discuses how her novel evolved from her initial idea into a book that caught Oprah’s attention.