A Country, A People

“A Country, A People” began in Goldsboro in January 2011. Its feature event was an exhibit of photographs taken by U.S. military troops recently deployed in Afghanistan. The month-long project coincided with Wayne County Reads 2011, featuring Greg Mortenson’s Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School At A Time. The project included veteran-led storytelling sessions, an exhibit of the artwork and letters of children whose parents served in Afghanistan, a panel discussion on Afghanistan’s history, culture, and society, an interactive map, and Internet question-and-answer with military still actively serving. The project ended with an Afghanistan Food and Music Festival. “A Country, A People” is the brainchild of Sarah Merritt, executive director of the Arts Council of Wayne County, who was amazed by the photos her husband and his fellow airmen brought back from a recent deployment.