Poetry organization hosting community cookout in Fayetteville on Oct.1

A Fayetteville poetry group is hosting a community cookout next month at Brentwood Elementary School.

Lost Voices Empire, a local mentorship organization established in 2015, is holding the cookout from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 1.

Andre Sansbury Jr., who grew up in Fayetteville, said he founded the group in order to share his love of writing poetry with others.

“It was really just a mentorship organization, to utilize our poetry for a bigger purpose,” he said.

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Lost Voices Empire works with the Purpose Through Poetry program, which is sponsored by the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County.

The arts council supports individual creativity, cultural preservation, economic development, and lifelong learning through art. Lost Voices Empire recently performed at Fayetteville State University through the program.

Sansbury said before he found poetry, he felt as though he didn't have a voice.

“I was trying to give a message, but I was losing my voice,” he said. “I wanted people to know that their voice truly has a purpose and power.”

The poems are centered around social justice, history, and the Black community.

Sansbury said that the only news shared on social media are instances of murder, gun violence and drug abuse. He wants uplifting events like the cookout to be shared.

“I just wanted to do something positive, to be honest, so I put together this cookout to just give people the time to come to one place,” he said.

Sanbury said he hopes the cookout encourages the community to strive for more. It is sponsored by Kimora’s Places, Kinlaws Supermarket, Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Sonic Drive-In on Skibo Road, Kourtney's Things, Nelson Orthodontics, the Felton J. Capel Arena, Food Lion on Fayeteville Road in Raeford, Leecm0 cutz at One Stop Barbershop and The Insurance Lady.

“Just know that somebody cares about you and somebody out here trying to do something positive, and hopefully being able to give some influence to others to kind of follow suit so that we can do better as a community,” he said.

The event is free and there will be music, food and activities.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Lost Voices Empire community cookout Brentwood Elementary