title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: As Soma proceeds through the castle, he confronts several characters, each present due to a prophecy related to Dracula's powers. Graham Jones, a missionary that has come to the castle, befriends Soma. Graham explains the nature of the castle and reveals that Dracula, long thought to be immortal, was destroyed for good in 1999, and that his powers will be passed down onto his reincarnation. When Soma proceeds further into the castle, he meets the witch Yoko Belnades, who is present on the orders of the Roman Catholic Church. Yoko is looking for Graham, who she believes is dangerous and the inheritor of Dracula's powers. She clarifies the nature of Soma's powers, revealing that they are not necessarily evil, but inherent to Soma himself. Later, Soma encounters Hammer, a member of the Army ordered to come to the Hakuba shrine. He has forfeited his mission, however, in favor of selling goods. He becomes Soma's vendor, selling numerous goods to aid Soma's mission. A mysterious man then accosts Soma, asking about the nature of Soma's dark power. When Soma continues to converse with him, the man reveals that he has amnesia, and the only thing he remembers is his name starts with "J".


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: Soma meets Graham again, and questions him on Yoko's suspicions. Graham claims he will receive Dracula's powers, believing himself to be Dracula as he was born on the day Dracula was slain. Graham inquires as to the nature of Soma's powers, to which Soma responds that he has "the power to rule," causing Graham to panic and flee. Concerned, Soma confides this incident to Yoko, who recommends that Soma join her in stopping Graham. As Soma proceeds further through the castle, he comes upon a scene of Graham stabbing Yoko with a knife. Graham retreats, and Yoko warns Soma of Graham's power. Arikado arrives, promises Soma he will look after Yoko, and demands that Soma pursue Graham. Soma meets "J" again, who reveals he is Julius Belmont, the man who defeated Dracula in 1999. As he leaves, he remarks that he knows something about the current situation, but does not elaborate.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: Soma ascends to the castle's keep and confronts Graham in the throne room. Although Soma's sole desire is to leave the castle, Graham is convinced that Soma must be killed for absorbing the souls of the castle's monsters. Soma manages to defeat Graham, even after Graham uses his newfound powers to assume a demonic form. As Graham falls in defeat, Soma absorbs his powers, and realizes he is Dracula's reincarnation. Arikado arrives and reveals a way for Soma to save himself by halting the flow of chaos into the castle. Soma proceeds to the Chaotic Realm, but Julius attacks him, believing that Soma is Dracula. Julius allows Soma to defeat him, as he sensed Soma's soul fighting against Dracula's influence. Before he leaves, Soma elicits a promise from Julius to kill him if he fully becomes Dracula. Soma travels through the Chaotic Realm and finally locates the source of chaos. Soma manages to defeat the manifestation of chaos and is sent congratulations by Yoko, Hammer, Julius, and Arikado. Soma awakens back in the Hakuba Shrine with Mina, pleased that the conflict is over.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: "Aria of Sorrow" was unveiled at a press conference in San Francisco by executive producer Koji Igarashi on January 16, 2003. Igarashi had worked on previous "Castlevania" games such as "" and "". "Aria of Sorrow" was placed in production alongside "Harmony of Dissonance", resulting in both games sharing similar programming engines and gameplay elements. "Aria of Sorrow"s Ability souls, for example, provide the protagonist with innate abilities like the Relic items in "Harmony of Dissonance". Nevertheless, Igarashi claimed he wished to try a "different route" for the series with "Aria of Sorrow" via placing the game in a futuristic setting. Ayami Kojima, who had previously collaborated with Igarashi on the character designs of "Symphony of the Night" and "Harmony of Dissonance", was brought into the project. Following the "different route" motif, the character designs were made more contemporary, using modern clothing over the more medieval look of the previous "Castlevania" installments. In developing the game's back story, Igarashi partially based it on Nostradamus's prediction of a "big evil lord in 1999" and the 1999 solar eclipse in Eastern Europe.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: One of Igarashi's prominent concerns during development was addressing the criticism expressed concerning "Harmony of Dissonance". Igarashi noted that the music in "Harmony of Dissonance" had not been well received and Michiru Yamane, who had previously worked on the acclaimed music for "Symphony of the Night", was hired in order to compose for "Aria of Sorrow". The development team worked on the game's audio cycles, as well as delegating more cartridge space and processor cycles for the sound. Maintaining the visual quality of "Harmony of Dissonance" was a chief objective during development, as many reviewers had felt that "Harmony of Dissonance" had excelled in graphics at the cost of the audio quality. Furthermore, the staff tried to improve the series' gameplay system while retaining fan-favorite elements. Certain aspects that were missing in "Harmony of Dissonance", such as hidden rooms and breakable walls, were incorporated into "Aria of Sorrow". Igarashi added Soul trading via a link cable to assist players with collecting every soul in the game, which he believed would be difficult to accomplish alone.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: "Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow" has received critical acclaim from several video game publications, with many comparing it to "", widely considered the best game in the "Castlevania" series. "Famitsu" gave "Aria of Sorrow" a 36/40, the highest score any game in the "Castlevania" series has received from the publication. It was rated by "Nintendo Power" as the 22nd best game made on a Nintendo System in their Top 200 Games list. "Official Nintendo Magazine" called the game "Fang-tastic stuff", placing it 71st on a list of greatest Nintendo games. In Japan, the game sold 27,000 units one month after its release, considered to be a poor showing for a major video game franchise. Conversely, the game was significantly more successful in the United States, with more than 158,000 units in sales three months after its release.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: As the third installment of the "Castlevania" series on the Game Boy Advance, many reviewers made note of the game's differences from its predecessors, "" and "", with many considering it the definitive "Castlevania" game for the Game Boy Advance. GameSpy noted that "Aria of Sorrow" "managed to get just about everything right" as compared to its predecessors, and lauded it as "the best portable "Castlevania" game yet created." RPGFan claimed that "Aria of Sorrow" "[showcased] the true art of game development: to adapt and change as necessary yet remain consistent." RPGamer considered "Aria of Sorrow" one of the best games released for the Game Boy Advance.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: In 2007 IGN ranked it as the second best Game Boy Advance game of all time. "Game Informer"s Tim Turi ranked it among the best "Castlevania" games on the Game Boy Advance. He praised its gameplay and visuals for setting a standard for future "Castlevania" games. GameZone ranked it as the seventh best "Castlevania" title and the best of the Game Boy Advance "Castlevania" titles.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: The gameplay, specifically the Tactical Soul system, was a frequent subject of acclaim among reviewers. RPGFan called the Tactical Soul system "addictively fun", and "GameSpot" lauded the simplicity and depth of the gameplay. RPGamer considered the gameplay "one hundred percent solid," lauding the game's controls and interaction with enemies, as well as the Tactical Soul system. RPGFan asserted that the game had "a chance to be the most revered installment of the series, hardly caught in the shadow of "Symphony of the Night" like its predecessors." The game's length and difficulty were brought into question by several reviewers. "GameSpot" noted that a single play through the game would only last ten hours, and that the player grew "practically unstoppable" over the course of the game. RPGamer echoed this assessment, deriding the fact that the game "never [offered] much of a challenge", but noted that the "simplistic fun" of the gameplay rectified this.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: The game's graphics and audio were widely praised by reviewers. RPGFan extolled the game's environments as "gorgeous and well layered," and noted while the game did not achieve the level of graphical quality set by "Symphony of the Night", it "made a damn good attempt at it." GameSpy called the graphics "crisp, clear and colorful," with "good animation on easily viewable sprites." GameSpy additionally noted that the game's audio, a particularly lambasted feature of "Harmony of Dissonance", was "fitting and well-composed." Prior to the game's release, "IGN" commented that the music was "pretty darn good." GameSpot, although labeling the music as "mostly forgettable," noted that it was far better than the audio of "Harmony of Dissonance", and celebrated the individual audio used for enemies.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: In terms of storyline and characters, RPGamer welcomed the characters' depth, and the emphasis placed into the personalities and development of supporting characters, asserting that previous "Castlevania" games ignored the development of the supporting characters in exchange for concentrating on the protagonist. "IGN" called the game's ending "incredibly unfulfilling and disappointing," but lauded the change from the conventional plot of a "Castlevania" game, in which a member of the Belmont clan defeats Dracula with the aid of a host of supporting characters. GameSpy criticized the presence of a "weak female who needs protection" and an "effeminate-looking man who does all the slaying" as stereotypical "Castlevania" elements, but noted that the "powerful and compelling scenario" the game had was the best in the series since "Symphony of the Night".


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: Owing to the success of "Aria of Sorrow", the production of "", a rare sequel in the "Castlevania" series, was announced on January 6, 2005. In an interview, Koji Igarashi noted that he felt that the Tactical Soul system used in "Aria of Sorrow", as well as the storyline with Soma Cruz, were a waste to use in only one game, and contributed to his desire to make a sequel. As such, the Tactical Soul system was reintroduced in the sequel "Dawn of Sorrow", as well as several new developments, such as an anime character design, as Ayami Kojima was not part of the production staff for "Dawn of Sorrow". Though "Aria of Sorrow" was successful, its sales figures failed to meet expectations and prompted the switch to anime-style designs. In 2005, Igarashi expressed a desire to develop a game centered on the battle between Julius Belmont and Dracula, but commented that the project would be dependent on available production time.


title: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

text: On November 3, 2005, "Aria of Sorrow" was re-released as part of Konami's "Konami the Best" line in Japan. It was re-released, along with "Harmony of Dissonance", in the "Castlevania: Double Pack" in North America on January 11, 2006. A scaled-down version for mobile phones by Glu Mobile was released in 2008 in Europe. It features loading times and reduced animations to accommodate its smaller file size, but retains most of the original game's locations and mechanics.


title: 2021–22 3. Liga

text: The 2021–22 3. Liga was the 14th season of the 3. Liga. It was originally scheduled to start on 23 July 2021 and concluded on 14 May 2022; however, the opening match between VfL Osnabrück and MSV Duisburg had to be postponed after Duisburg was quarantined due to COVID-19 cases, delaying the season start by one day.


title: 2021–22 3. Liga

text: From this season onward, the German Football Association will allow clubs to place a sponsor logo on the back of their shirts.


title: 2021–22 3. Liga

text: Originally, SV Meppen was relegated from the 2020–21 3. Liga. However, KFC Uerdingen could not meet the licensing requirements, sparing Meppen from relegation.


title: 2021–22 3. Liga

text: Viktoria Berlin will play their home matches at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion since their home stadium, the Stadion Lichterfelde, did not meet 3. Liga standards.


title: Yolk sac

text: The yolk sac is a membranous sac attached to an embryo, formed by cells of the hypoblast layer of the bilaminar embryonic disc. This is alternatively called the umbilical vesicle by the Terminologia Embryologica (TE), though "yolk sac" is far more widely used. In humans, the yolk sac is important in early embryonic blood supply, and much of it is incorporated into the primordial gut during the fourth week of embryonic development.


title: Yolk sac

text: The yolk sac is the first element seen within the gestational sac during pregnancy, usually at 3 days gestation.


title: Yolk sac

text: The yolk sac is situated on the front (ventral) part of the embryo; it is lined by extra-embryonic endoderm, outside of which is a layer of extra-embryonic mesenchyme, derived from the epiblast.


title: Yolk sac

text: Blood is conveyed to the wall of the yolk sac by the primitive aorta and after circulating through a wide-meshed capillary plexus, is returned by the vitelline veins to the tubular heart of the embryo. This constitutes the vitelline circulation, which in humans serves as a location of haematopoiesis. Before the placenta is formed and can take over, the yolk sac provides nutrition and gas exchange between the mother and the developing embryo.


title: Yolk sac

text: At the end of the fourth week, the yolk sac presents the appearance of a small pear-shaped opening (traditionally called the "umbilical vesicle"), into the digestive tube by a long narrow tube, the vitelline duct. Rarely, the yolk sac can be seen in the afterbirth as a small, somewhat oval-shaped body whose diameter varies from 1 mm to 5 mm; it is situated between the amnion and the chorion and may lie on or at a varying distance from the placenta. There is no clinical significance to a residual external yolk sac.


title: Yolk sac

text: As a rule the duct undergoes complete obliteration by the 20th week as most of the yolk sac is incorporated into the developing gastrointestinal tract, but in about two percent of cases its proximal part persists as a diverticulum from the small intestine, Meckel's diverticulum, which is situated about 60 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve, and may be attached by a fibrous cord to the abdominal wall at the umbilicus.


title: Yolk sac

text: The yolk sac starts forming during the second week of the embryonic development, at the same time as the shaping of the amniotic sac. The hypoblast starts proliferating laterally and descending. In the meantime Heuser's membrane, located on the opposite pole of the developing vesicle, starts its upward proliferation and meets the hypoblast.


title: Belk

text: Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and wedding registry.


title: Belk

text: Belk was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The store was first called New York Racket and then Belk Brothers, after Belk made his brother, physician Dr. John Belk, his partner. Belk bought in volume to pass savings on and sold at fixed prices, then a relatively unusual practice.


title: Belk

text: By 1909, the company had moved its headquarters to Charlotte and built a huge flagship store on Trade and Tryon Streets in downtown Charlotte, which would remain the company's headquarters until it was closed in 1988 to make way for the construction of what is now Bank of America Corporate Center. The business grew steadily, relying on "bargain sales" and advertising to grow the business and increase its influence throughout the South.


title: Belk

text: Beginning in 1921 with the Leggett Bros. stores of South Boston, Virginia, the Belk company grew by investing in various partnerships with local merchandisers in nearby markets. Belk's growth out of the Southeast was pushed by Earl Jones Sr and the Belk-Jones brand that opened the first Belk west of the Mississippi in 1947. The Jones family and the Belk-Jones brand continued to grow Belk's westward expansion. This complex story is chronicled in a book published by Belk – "Belk, Inc.: The Company and the Family That Built It" – about the evolution of the company.


title: Belk

text: This structure allowed Belk to expand quickly and permitted local variation, but resulted in a diluted brand identity since most stores were co-branded. By the 1990s, the system had become increasingly untenable: stores were held by over 350 separate legal entities, Belk family members disagreed about whether to maintain or sweep away the structure, and some local partners threatened stability by selling their stakes. For example, the heirs of John G. Parks, majority owners of the Parks-Belk chain, sold their interests to Proffitt's, a competitor. The Belks quickly sold their stake as well, although Belk would later purchase the stores back as part of its later acquisition of the entire Proffitt's chain. When Proffitt's made an offer for the Leggett family's stake, which included 42 stores comprising about 20 percent of Belk's revenue, John and Tom Belk were forced to respond by forming a new company in 1996 that bought the Leggetts out. This move accelerated the slow trend of consolidating the store's ownership under the Belks.


title: Belk

text: In April 1997 Belk closed its smallest store located in the smallest town with a Belk—Chesterfield, SC—with a population of less than 1,500. In 1998, the company formed a new entity (Belk, Inc.) that merged the 112 remaining Belk companies, swapping the existing partners' local interests for shares in the combined entity; for example, the Hudson family in Raleigh received almost 5% of the shares. The same year, Belk made a deal to acquire seven Dillard's locations in exchange for nine of theirs so that each could build on regional strengths. Slowly, Belk eliminated the dual brands, completing the process with a chain-wide Belk rebranding in the fall of 2010.


title: Belk

text: On July 5, 2005, Belk completed the purchase of 47 Proffitt's and McRae's department stores from Saks Incorporated, primarily in Tennessee and Mississippi. Belk converted the 39 Proffitt's and McRae's stores to the Belk nameplate on March 8, 2006. Just over a year later, Belk purchased 38 Parisian department stores from Saks on October 2, 2006. Although most Parisian stores were converted to the Belk nameplate since September 12, 2007, some duplicate Parisian stores were closed, as at The Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo, Mississippi, Richland Mall (then known as Midtown at Forest Acres), Columbiana Centre in Columbia, South Carolina, and Citadel Mall in Charleston, South Carolina. Four Parisian stores in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, plus a store under construction at the time in Michigan, were sold by Belk to The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Integrating the larger, more upscale Parisian stores proved a challenge for Belk, and spurred the creation of the company's flagship strategy.


title: Belk

text: During the fourth quarter of 2005, Belk completed the sale of its private-label credit card division, Belk National Bank, to GE MoneyBank, a division of GE Consumer Finance. Consumers were issued new Belk credit cards replacing the old ones issued by BNB. All new Belk cards are now issued by GE MoneyBank, now known as Synchrony Bank.


title: Belk

text: On October 3, 2010, the "News & Observer" reported that Belk planned to update its logo. On October 12 at SouthPark Mall, Belk introduced the new logo, its first since 1967. The chain embarked on a $70 million marketing campaign that replaced the old slogan "All for You!" with a new slogan, "Modern. Southern. Style." Sixty stores got new signs in the first phase, with the remainder getting new signs throughout 2011. Advertisements for Belk & Co. jewelry continue to use a variation of the old logo.


title: Belk

text: By 2014, the chain operated 293 stores in 16 states, generating $4 billion in sales in 2014. The state of North Carolina leads in the number of Belk stores with 65 stores followed by Georgia and South Carolina with 45 and 35 stores respectively. Its typical store covers 100,000 to 180,000 square feet. 50% of its stores are in regional malls, another 40% in open-air community or retail parks, and 10% in open-air lifestyle centers.


title: Belk

text: On April 3, 2015, news reports revealed that Belk was exploring "strategic alternatives," including a possible sale of the company.


title: Belk

text: On August 24, 2015, Belk announced that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by New York-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The acquisition was completed on December 10, 2015.


title: Belk

text: On June 29, 2016, Belk announced that effective as of July 5, Lisa Harper, CEO of Hot Topic (which is another Sycamore Partners-owned company), would replace Tim Belk as CEO of Belk. This would be the first time since the founding of the company that a non-Belk family member would head the company.


title: Belk

text: Even as Belk has made its recent acquisitions, the chain has operated limited electronic commerce on its website, and those websites acquired and redirected to Belk.com. Home furnishings such as bedding, small kitchen appliances, crystal, dinnerware, and china have been offered for several years to online shoppers as a part of the chain's online bridal and gift registry. The chain revamped its website and registry on September 15, 2008. Celebrity-branded product lines are another pursuit, including a partnership with actress Kristin Davis for a ladies apparel and accessories collection which debuted in fall 2008 in 125 store locations and online. However, that product line was discontinued in late 2009.


title: Belk

text: In July 2020, it was announced that Sycamore Partners had made a $1.75 billion offer to acquire department store chain and competitor JCPenney out of bankruptcy. Under the terms of the plan, two hundred fifty JCPenney stores would have been rebranded as Belk in an effort to compete directly with Macy's, while the remaining JCPenney stores would be liquidated. JCPenney was ultimately acquired by Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group instead.


title: Belk

text: On January 20, 2021, it was announced that KKR and other major lenders were in talks with Belk to prevent the chain from declaring bankruptcy, having proposed a deal under which a portion of Belk's $2.6 billion debt would be converted to equity and Sycamore would retain an ownership stake.


title: Belk

text: On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Belk would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, continuing to operate normally through the bankruptcy process, which Sycamore expected to exit by the end of February 2021. Sycamore would retain majority control of Belk, while private equity firms KKR and Blackstone would receive a minority stake in the company following its emergence from bankruptcy. The plan would liquidate about $450 million of debt and raise $225 million in new capital, with no employee layoffs or store closures anticipated.


title: Belk

text: On February 23, 2021, it was announced that Belk had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston which is the first step in an organization plan that would allow Belk's owner Sycamore Partners to cede a large stake in the company to its lenders while it maintains control of the company. If the bankruptcy plan is approved it would give Belk a new infusion of capital while cutting its debt load by about $450 million and giving the company financial breathing room as it continues to grapple with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Belk

text: On February 24, 2021, just one day after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy the company announced that it had successfully completed its financial restructuring, finalizing an expedited pre-packaged, one-day reorganization and emerging well-positioned for long-term growth. As part of the restructuring, Belk received $225 million of new capital, reduced its debt by approximately $450 million, and extended maturities on all term loans until July 2025. The plan received nearly unanimous support from existing lenders, supply providers, and landlords to be paid in full as normal operations continue at all store locations. as well as on Belk's e-commerce platform.


title: Belk

text: On July 6, 2021, Belk announced that Nir Patel has been promoted to CEO from his previous position of President and chief merchandising officer. Patel replaces Lisa Harper who has been the company's CEO since July 2016, but will now serve as executive chair of the Belk Board of Directors. It was not disclosed what prompted the leadership change. Along with the CEO change, Belk also announced that Don Hendricks will be promoted from Chief Operating Officer to president. The company also hired Chris Kolbe as EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer.


title: Belk

text: In December 2010, Belk announced that it would become the title sponsor for the former Meineke Car Care Bowl (played in Charlotte), renamed as the Belk Bowl beginning in 2011. The sponsorship would continue for three years. On July 18, 2013, Belk announced a six-year extension of the bowl partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), beginning in 2014. Under the agreement, the bowl featured teams from the ACC and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). On November 20, 2019, Belk announced that it would no longer be the title sponsor for the bowl game following the 2019 playing. Overall, Belk was the title sponsor for nine editions of the bowl (2011–2019).


title: Belk

text: The chain has multiple "flagship" locations—larger locations in urban and metropolitan centers, and a wider array of merchandise and services including in-store salons. As of 2014, the chain claimed 18 flagship locations, and plans to upgrade more locations.


title: Aathmika

text: Aathmika is an Indian actress and model who works in Tamil cinema. She is known for her debut role in the film "Meesaya Murukku" (2017).


title: Aathmika

text: Aathmika was born in Coimbatore She moved to Chennai to complete her graduation from M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women. Her father died on 26 June 2020.


title: Aathmika

text: Aathmika began her acting career by acting in a short film directed by Rajiv Menon. Her interest in acting began in college where she had been part of few short films and did a couple of modelling assignments. She was then given the female lead role in "Meesaya Murukku" by Adhi of Hiphop Tamizha who found her profile online. Aathmika received a good response for her performance in that film. She signed her second film "Naragasooran", directed by Karthik Naren, in 2017. In the same year she was a judge at the OPPO Chennai Times Fresh Face 2017.


title: Aathmika

text: In 2018, Aathmika replaced Oviya in "Kaatteri" among the three female lead roles. In February 2019, she joined actor Udhayanidhi Stalin in Mu. Maran's "Kannai Nambathey." In September 2020, Aathmika began filming for "Kodiyil Oruvan", directed by Anand Krishnan. The film was released in 2021, becoming her second release due to her previous films' release being delayed.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863,162, making Middlesex the state's third-most populous county. Middlesex County's population in 2020 represented a growth of 53,304 (6.6%) from the 809,858 residents counted at the 2010 census. Middlesex County is part of the New York metropolitan area and many communities within the county serve as commuter towns to and from New York City and other points north.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The county is located in the middle of the Northeast megalopolis of the U.S. Its county seat is the city of New Brunswick, a center for the sciences, arts, and cultural activities, and the headquarters of the state's flagship academic institution, Rutgers University. The center of population of the state of New Jersey is also located within Middlesex County, in East Brunswick, just east of the New Jersey Turnpike. Middlesex County hosts an extensive transportation network, including several rail stations along the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor Line of the New Jersey Transit commuter rail system, as well as the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, the state's two busiest motor vehicle roadways, in Woodbridge Township. Middlesex County holds the nickname, "The Greatest County in the Land". The county is located in the Central Jersey region.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The county was primarily settled due to its optimal location along the Raritan River and was established as of March 7, 1683 as part of the Province of East Jersey and was partitioned as of October 31, 1693 into the townships of Piscataway, Perth Amboy, and Woodbridge. Adjacent Somerset County was established on May 14, 1688, created from portions of Middlesex County. The county's first court met in June 1683 in Piscataway, and held session at alternating sites over the next century in Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Woodbridge before relocating permanently to New Brunswick in 1778. Despite its status as a residential, commercial, and industrial stronghold and a centrally accessible transportation hub, Middlesex is also home to an extensive public park system with expansive greenways, totaling more than . Middlesex County is most demographically notable as the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians, at nearly 20% in 2020, spanning the county's boundaries between Little India, Edison/Iselin in the north and Monroe Township at its southern tip.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Middlesex has a hot-summer humid continental climate ("Dfa") which borders a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa") on Raritan Bay and Arthur Kill. Average monthly temperatures in downtown New Brunswick range from 31.7 °F in January to 75.6 °F in July, while in South Amboy they range from 32.3 °F in January to 75.9 °F in July. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of New Brunswick have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of , including of land (95.7%) and of water (4.3%). The county is named after the historic English county of Middlesex.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Bisected by the Raritan River, the county is topographically typical of Central Jersey in that it is largely flat. The majority of the county is located on the inner coastal plain, with the remainder of the county being located on the Eastern Piedmont. The elevation ranges from sea level to above sea level on a hill scaled by Major Road/ Sand Hill Road near Route 1 in South Brunswick Township.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Middlesex County is prominently known for its significant concentration of Asian Indians. The growing Little India is a South Asian-focused commercial strip in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians. The Oak Tree Road strip runs for about one-and-a-half miles through Edison and neighboring Iselin in Woodbridge Township, near the area's sprawling Chinatown and Koreatown, running along New Jersey Route 27. It is the largest and most diverse South Asian cultural hub in the United States. Monroe Township in Middlesex County has experienced a particularly rapid growth rate in its Indian American population, with an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017, which was 23 times the 256 (0.9%) counted as of the 2000 Census; and Diwali is celebrated by the township as a Hindu holiday. Carteret's Punjabi Sikh community, variously estimated at upwards of 3,000, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in New Jersey. In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: As of 2017 Census estimates, there were 201,243 people of Asian descent in Middlesex County accounting for 24% of the county's total population. At 61.57% of the population of Asian descent, Indian Americans accounted for 12.93% (104,705 people) of the county's total population in 2010, increasing to 127,875 (15.3%, the highest of any U.S. county) by 2017, more than that of the other Asian sub-groups combined.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: As of the Census of 2020, the county had 863,162 people, 285,906 households, and 209,808 families. The population density was . There were 315,521 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 41.9% White, 9.8% African American, 0.53% Native American, 26.5% Asian, and 9.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.4% of the population.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: There were 285,906 households, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 14.2% had a male householder with no wife present and 26.6% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.32.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: About 21.6% of the county's population was under age 18, 9.3% was from age 18 to 24, 40.1% was from age 15 to 44, and 15.5% was age 65 or older. The median age was 39.3 years. The gender makeup of the county was 49.4% male and 50.5% female. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The county's median household income was $93,418, and the median family income was $107,149. About 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Middlesex County is governed by a Board of Commissioners, which is comprised of seven members who are elected at-large on a partisan basis to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held in January, the board selects from among its members a Commissioner Director and deputy director. The Commissioner Director appoints commissioners to serve as chairpersons and members on the various committees which oversee county departments. Middlesex County also elects three "constitutional officers" whose existence is laid out in the New Jersey Constitution. The County Clerk and Surrogate serve five-year terms and the Sheriff serves a three-year term of office. In 2016, freeholders were paid $23,438 and the freeholder director was paid an annual salary of $24,428, though Ronald Rios has accepted a salary of $8,340 as director.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: , Middlesex County's Commissioners (with terms for director and deputy ending every December 31st) are:


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution requires each county in New Jersey have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the County Sheriff (elected for a three-year term). Middlesex county's constitutional officers are:


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The Middlesex County Prosecutor is Chris Kubereit who was sworn in as acting County Prosecutor in September 2019, replacing Andrew C. Carey of Monroe Township. Middlesex County constitutes Vicinage 8 of the New Jersey Superior Court; the vicinage is seated at the Middlesex County Courthouse, at 56 Paterson Street in New Brunswick. The Middlesex Vicinage also has facilities for the Family Part at the Middlesex County Family Courthouse at 120 New Street, also in New Brunswick; there are also other facilities in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy for Probation. The Assignment Judge for Vicinage 8 is Alberto Rivas.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Thomas N. Acken served as the sheriff in 1891. Joseph Spicuzzo served in 2014 and was arrested for bribery. Mildred S. Scott is the current county sheriff, she was sworn in on January 1, 2011, as the first female sheriff of Middlesex County and the first African-American sheriff in the state of New Jersey.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: As of August 1, 2020, there were a total of 545,795 registered voters in Middlesex County, of which 229,982 (42.1%) were registered as Democrats, 84,258 (15.4%) were registered as Republicans and 224,058 (41.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 7,497 (1.4%) voters registered to other parties. After being a Republican stronghold in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middlesex County leaned Democratic for much of the 20th century beginning with Franklin Roosevelt's victory in the county in 1932. Throughout the twentieth century, in close elections, the county would always vote Democratic, sometimes by solid margins, but the county was willing to flip Republican in the midst of nationwide Republican landslides in the 1970s and 1980s. However, since the 1990s, Middlesex County has become a Democratic stronghold at the national level.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: In 2008, Barack Obama carried Middlesex County by a much larger 21.8% margin over John McCain, Obama taking 60.2% of the vote to McCain's 38.4%, while Obama won New Jersey overall by 15.5% over McCain. In 2012, Obama won an even more commanding victory in the county, receiving 63.2% of the vote to Republican Mitt Romney's 35.6%, a Democratic victory margin of 27.6%, while carrying New Jersey overall by 17.8%. Like much of the New York City metropolitan area, Middlesex County was one of the few parts of the country to swing even harder in Obama's favor in 2012 compared to 2008, even as he lost ground nationally. Some credit the swing towards Obama to his response towards Superstorm Sandy, which hit the New York City metro area in late October 2012, just a few days before the election. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton carried Middlesex County by a tighter 21.4% margin over Republican Donald Trump, while Clinton won New Jersey overall by 14.1% over Trump. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden carried Middlesex County by a margin of 22.03%, a slight improvement from 2016, with Biden taking 60.22% of the vote to Donald Trump's 38.19%.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 47% of the vote, defeating incumbent Democrat Corzine, who received around 45%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, incumbent governor Chris Christie improved on his margin in Middlesex County from 2009, carrying the county by about 18% over Democrat Barbara Buono, with Christie receiving 58% of the vote to Buono's 40%. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy won Middlesex County with a wide 17% margin over Republican Kim Guadagno, with Murphy getting 57% of the vote to Guadagno's 40% of the vote. In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli received 43.4% of the vote (90,297 ballots cast) to Democrat Phil Murphy's 55.9% (8116,352 votes).


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Middlesex County hosts various county roads, state routes, US routes, and interstate highways, as well as toll highways. , the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Middlesex County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: County roads include CR 501, CR 514, CR 516 (only in Old Bridge), CR 520 (only in Old Bridge), CR 522, CR 527, CR 529, CR 531, CR 535, and CR 539 (only in Cranbury).


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The state routes are: Route 18, Route 26 (only in North Brunswick – entirely concurrent with Livingston Avenue), Route 27, Route 28, Route 32, Route 33 (only in Monroe Township), Route 34 (only in Old Bridge), Route 35, Route 91 (concurrent with Jersey Avenue in North Brunswick and entering New Brunswick), Route 171, Route 172 (only in New Brunswick), Route 184 and Route 440.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The county also includes some limited access highways and Interstates as well. Middlesex County hosts the southern end of I-287 which turns into Route 440 that connects to the Outerbridge Crossing. The Garden State Parkway passes through the eastern part of the county, which features nine interchanges and the northern start/end of the split-roadways (Express & Local Lanes). The New Jersey Turnpike carries I-95 through the center of the county. The Turnpike has five interchanges in Middlesex County: Exit 12 in Carteret, Exit 11 in Woodbridge, Exit 10 in Edison, Exit 9 in East Brunswick and Exit 8A in Monroe Township.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The New Jersey Department of Transportation is upgrading the Route 18 "avenue" to a freeway between the Route 1 interchange all the way up to the new 18 Extension in Piscataway.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The Turnpike Authority planned to build Route 92, which was to start near the intersection of Ridge Road & Route 1 in South Brunswick to Interchange 8A in Monroe Township. This plan was cancelled on December 1, 2006.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The southern end of the "dual-dual" configuration (inner car lanes and outer truck lanes) used to be one mile south of Interchange 8A at the border of Cranbury and Monroe Township. It was relocated to Exit 6 in Mansfield Township in Burlington County after the Turnpike widening project was completed in early November 2014.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: NJ Transit provides Middlesex County with frequent commuter rail service along the North Jersey Coast Line, Northeast Corridor Line, and Raritan Valley Line. The North Jersey Coast Line runs through the eastern part of the county. The Northeast Corridor Line runs through the northern and central part of the county. The Raritan Valley Line serves Dunellen and is accessible to other communities along the county's northern border with Union and Somerset counties.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Intercity rail service is provided by Amtrak. The routes that run through Middlesex County are the "Acela Express", "Keystone", "Northeast Regional", and "Vermonter" services, although only the "Keystone" and "Northeast Regional" have regular stops within Middlesex County, at either New Brunswick or Metropark station. The "Acela" service also occasionally stops at Metropark.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Bus service in Middlesex County is provided by New Jersey Transit, Coach USA's Suburban Transit, the extensive Rutgers Campus bus network, the MCAT shuttle system, and DASH buses. There are bus routes that serve all townships in the county on weekdays, and studies are being conducted to create the New Brunswick Bus Rapid Transit system.


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: Major non-governmental employers in Middlesex County include the following, grouped by ranges of employees:


title: Middlesex County, New Jersey

text: The 25 municipalities in Middlesex County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area in square miles) are: Other, unincorporated communities in the county are listed next to their parent municipality. Many of these areas are census-designated places that have been defined by the United States Census Bureau for enumeration purposes within a Township and for which 2010 population data is included in parentheses.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., is an American supermarket chain headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie operates more than 546 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi. The company has had its present name since 1955 and can trace its roots back to 1925.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie is known for its private label Chek brand soft drinks, which are produced in over 20 different flavors plus diet and caffeine-free varieties—one of the widest assortments. Winn-Dixie has been known as "The Beef People" throughout its lifetime. In its advertising and print media, Winn-Dixie used slogans such as “We’re Right For You” starting in 1984, “America’s Supermarket” from 1986 until 2001, “The Real Deal” from 2002 to 2004, and since 2018, “It’s a Winn Win!” Winn-Dixie has also been known for its use of the brand promises of "Fresh Checked Every Day" for its Jacksonville, Florida locations, "Getting Better All The Time" in its locations in Central Florida, "El Sabor De Tu País", or "The Flavor Of Your Country", in its Miami area stores, and "Local Flavor Since 1956" in its Louisiana area stores.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie was listed in the S&P 500 and had been traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "WIN" since February 18, 1952, prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005. The company was traded under the symbol "WINN" on the NASDAQ before its purchase. The bankruptcy left the chain with fewer stores than it had in the late 1960s.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On December 19, 2011, BI-LO, another Southeastern supermarket chain, announced plans to purchase Winn-Dixie. On March 9, 2012, Winn-Dixie became a wholly owned subsidiary of Southeastern Grocers and Winn-Dixie's ticker symbol was removed from the NASDAQ. Southeastern Grocers announced at the time of acquisition that the merged company would be based at Winn-Dixie's headquarters in Jacksonville. BI-LO had previously been based in Greenville, South Carolina. In 2015, Bi-Lo Holdings changed their name to Southeastern Grocers and remained in Jacksonville.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie was founded and built up by William Milton Davis and his sons Artemus Darius Davis, James Elsworth Davis, Milton Austin Davis and Tine Wayne Davis. William Davis started in business in Burley, Idaho, where he bought a general store in 1914 that he later renamed Davis Mercantile. As was common then, he sold most goods on credit. The advent of cash-only grocery stores in the 1920s hurt Davis' business as the new stores offered lower prices and larger selections.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1925, William Davis borrowed $10,000 from his father and moved to Miami, Florida, where he purchased the Rockmoor Grocery. In 1927, the company was renamed Table Supply, and four more stores were opened. In 1931, the Davis family bought the Lively Stores chain for $10,000, to create a chain of 33 Table Supply stores across Florida from Miami to Tampa. William Milton Davis died in 1934, leaving his four sons in charge of the company.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1939, the Davis brothers bought 51 percent of Winn & Lovett, a chain of 73 stores. In 1944, the brothers bought the remainder of Winn & Lovett and merged the two chains under the Winn & Lovett name. The company headquarters moved to Jacksonville. Winn & Lovett purchased the Steiden Stores chain of 31 stores in Kentucky in 1945 as well as Margaret Ann Stores, with 46 stores in Florida, in 1949. In 1952, Winn & Lovett became the first industrial corporation based in Florida to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn & Lovett continued to grow by acquiring other chains. Penney Stores in Mississippi, Ballentine Stores and Eden Stores in South Carolina were all acquired in 1955. Winn & Lovett also bought the 117-store Dixie Home chain, and they changed its name to Winn-Dixie.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1956, Winn-Dixie bought Ketner-Milner Stores in North Carolina, H. G. Hill Stores in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as King Stores in Georgia.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1967, Winn-Dixie bought the City Markets chain in the Bahamas, effectively extending their reach into the Caribbean. Operating 12 stores through its domestic subsidiary, W-D (Bahamas) Limited's competitors included the domestic Super Value Food Stores and Grand Union's own Caribbean operations until it sold the chain to Bahamian investors in 2006.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1976, Winn-Dixie purchased the Buddies Supermarket chain, based in Fort Worth, Texas, expanding the Winn-Dixie moniker into Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 1995, Winn-Dixie expanded with the purchase of the Cincinnati-based Thriftway Food Drug. In 2000, it acquired Jitney Jungle.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Although Winn-Dixie Stores (and its predecessor Winn & Lovett) has been publicly traded since 1952, the Davis family has always maintained control of the corporation. As of February 2005, when the company entered bankruptcy, the heirs of William Milton Davis still held about 35 percent of Winn-Dixie stock.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: The Davis brothers also became involved in Florida politics, supporting conservative causes. It is reported that their financial support helped George Smathers beat incumbent U.S. Senator Claude Pepper in 1950. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan is reported to have said of his financial guru, James E. Davis: "When J.E. calls, I listen." It is reported that after reading Booker T. Washington's "Up From Slavery", James E. Davis began a program of Winn-Dixie supporting historically black colleges and universities.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: The Davis brothers endowed the Stetson University School of Business Administration with a building, Davis Hall, which was dedicated in 1967. On the dedicatory plaque inside the building, below the names of the donors, was the inscription, "Learn management that you may produce or distribute goods and services to improve the living for the people and produce a good return on invested capital for investors."


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In the 1990s, Winn Dixie gave a generous contribution to the Boy Scouts of America of the Central Florida Council, resulting in the renaming of Camp La-No-Che to Winn-Dixie Scout Reservation. However, when Winn-Dixie encountered financial difficulties and could not sustain its promised contribution, it released Central Florida Council from its obligation to retain the name, which has since been changed.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie has long been involved in Jacksonville, including a former sponsorship as the official supermarket of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie Stores closed all 76 stores it operated in Texas and Oklahoma at the end of its 2002 fiscal year ending on June 26. In April 2004, Winn-Dixie announced the closure of 156 stores, including all 111 stores located in the Midwest. Included were over 20 stores that had operated under the Thriftway name in and around Cincinnati purchased by Winn-Dixie in 1995. Another 40 stores in the Atlanta area were converted to the Save Rite Grocery Warehouse brand, as an alternative to a store closure. Later that year in October, the company sold 10 stores in North Carolina and Virginia to Salisbury-based Food Lion, with the stores in Clarksville, Danville, Martinsville, South Hill, Stanleytown, and Elizabethtown converting to the Food Lion name.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On February 22, 2005, Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy. On June 21, it announced the sale or closure of 326 stores. As part of the restructuring, the company pulled out of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Once the restructuring was completed, Winn-Dixie's footprint was reduced to the Bahamas and five of the Deep South states—almost all of Florida and Alabama, the southeastern half of Louisiana, the southeast corner of Mississippi, and the southwest and coastal corners of Georgia. With the closures, Winn-Dixie now had fewer stores than it had in the 1950s.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On February 28, 2006, it was announced that 35 more stores were to be sold or closed within the coming months, with the Central and South Florida areas being the most affected. On March 31, 2006, it was announced that the chain would sell its 12 Bahamian locations, which had been operated by a wholly owned subsidiary, W-D Limited, under the names City Market and Winn-Dixie.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On June 29, 2006, Winn-Dixie announced that it had filed a plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The company emerged from Chapter 11 protection on November 21, 2006, in a much stronger financial position. Upon emerging from bankruptcy in 2006, Winn-Dixie made great strides toward success which included a steadfast effort to modernize its existing store base while focusing on new locations for the future.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On December 19, 2011, Winn-Dixie agreed to be sold to BI-LO for $530 million. As part of the deal, Winn-Dixie became a subsidiary of BI-LO although its stores would continue to operate under the Winn-Dixie name.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: As of March 9, 2012, Winn-Dixie became part of Bi-Lo Holdings, the parent company of both BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, ending 67 years of Davis family ownership. The combined company operates 750 stores in seven southeastern states, employing approximately 63,000 team members. The merged company is based at Winn-Dixie's headquarters in Jacksonville.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On October 8, 2013, all remaining Sweetbay Supermarket locations were rebranded as Winn-Dixie. Bi-Lo Holdings changed their name to Southeastern Grocers in 2015.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In May 2017, Southeastern Grocers announced the closing of eight Winn-Dixie stores as part of a corporate-wide closure of 23 locations along with the elimination of some department lead roles at stores. In July 2017, it was announced that Southeastern Grocers would debut the Harveys brand in the Central and West Florida markets with the conversion of 7 Winn-Dixie stores. In October 2017, Southeastern announced that 3 more West Florida Winn-Dixie stores would be converted to the Harveys brand as well as converting an additional 5 South Florida stores to Fresco y Más in November 2017.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In February 2018, it was announced that Southeastern Grocers was selling eight Winn-Dixie locations in south Louisiana to Texas-based, Brookshire Grocery Company as well as an additional three Mississippi and four New Orleans market locations to Baton Rouge-based, Shoppers Value Foods.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On March 15, 2018, Southeastern Grocers announced they would file a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 by the end of March. According to the company, the restructuring would decrease overall debt levels by over $500 million. Under this plan, 35 Winn-Dixie stores would close along with an additional 59 stores across the BI-LO, Harveys, and Fresco y Más brands.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: On March 22, 2018, it was announced that the Orange Beach, Alabama Winn-Dixie location was being sold to Rouses Markets. On March 28, 2018, Southeastern agreed to sell three Winn-Dixie stores in northeast Alabama to wholesaler Mitchell Grocery Corp on behalf of two of its current customers, Johnson's Giant Foods and The D'Alessandro Organization LLC, while the Winn-Dixie location in Atmore, Alabama was being acquired by Ramey's. An additional three BI-LO locations in South Carolina along with three Harveys locations in Georgia would be sold to three independent Piggly Wiggly store owners. The deals are in conjunction with the restructuring support agreement revealed by Southeastern Grocers. On March 31, 2018, it was announced that the Andalusia, Alabama Winn-Dixie location's lease and equipment would be purchased by a Piggly Wiggly franchisee. On May 1, 2018, an independent Piggly Wiggly operator announced that they would reopen the Montgomery, Alabama Winn-Dixie location that closed as part of the original restructuring plan. Subsequently, in 2020, Southeastern Grocers announced its plans to close its Montgomery location on the Eastern Boulevard. This was likely due to a combination of factors, the two biggest being reportedly theft and a remodel of the nearby Sturbridge Village location. Workers affected by the closure of this location were eligible to transfer to either Sturbridge or Carter Hill.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In May 2018, Southeastern Grocers restructuring plan was confirmed by a U.S. Bankruptcy judge in Delaware. At the end of that month, Southeastern Grocers announced that it had completed its financial restructuring and was emerging from bankruptcy. As part of the restructuring, $522 million in debt was exchanged for equity in Southeastern Grocers, though it was not announced who was receiving the equity shares. Southeastern Grocers exited bankruptcy with 575 stores in seven states, down from 704 locations. They also announced a planned remodels of 100 stores in 2018.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In February 2019, Southeastern Grocers announced plans to close 22 locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. This round of closures included 7 Winn-Dixie locations.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: The immediate response began in late March 2020, with every register fitted with a plexiglass shield that separates the cashier and customer from each other. Floor markers were placed 6 feet apart in register lines and at self-checkout in compliance with CDC guidelines for physical distancing between customers. The cash registers were required to be cleaned every hour and the entire front end must be cleaned every 4 hours. The service desk and pharmacy were also fitted with plexiglass to ensure shopper safety. Associates disinfected cart handles as they are returned to the store, and disinfectant wipes are present at the front of stores if customers want additional cleaning. The self-serve wing bar and salad bar were temporarily converted into associate manned stations to reduce the number of people touching the serving utensils. The pharmacy department offered flexible hours and curbside pickup or home delivery to ensure customers could get prescriptions they need in the safest way possible.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In April through June, many stores enacted a “senior hour” to allow senior shoppers time to get their needed goods while limiting the number of people in the store. In addition, in-store occupancy was regulated. Winn Dixie partnered with ShipT in 2018 to provide grocery delivery to customer homes and promotion of this service was augmented at the start of the pandemic. In addition, Winn Dixie offered curbside pickup for grocery orders and prescriptions placed through the app.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Employees have been required to wear masks beginning in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and were encouraged to wear gloves. Hand sanitizer was provided at all cash registers and employees were required to sanitize between customers. Starting July 27, 2020, Winn Dixie began enforcing a mask policy according to Joe Caldwell, the Director of Corporate Communications and Government Affairs in which all customers entering the store were required to wear a mask. Customers who were not compliant, even after offered a mask, were asked to leave the store.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: As of May 2021, customers and employees who have received the two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 are no longer required to wear masks in stores.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Starting in early February 2021, Winn-Dixie locations began receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and continue to offer them to the present day. Initially customers were required to schedule an appointment due to limited supplies, but now most, if not all locations offer walk-in appointments. Additionally, customers and employees are given $10 to $15 off groceries as an incentive to get the vaccine.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: As November 28, 2022, Winn-Dixie operates more than 546 grocery stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi, and there are many more to come.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: Winn-Dixie has run over 60 private label brands over the years. In 2003 the company cut the number down to a three-tier system of brands: the "Prestige" brand for upscale private label products, "Winn-Dixie" for its mainstream items, and "Thrifty Maid" for its value items. In 2007, all three brands received redesigned packaging with plans to replace the "Prestige" brand with "Winn & Lovett". In 2010, Winn-Dixie replaced its value-centered brand Thrifty Maid with "ValueTime". ValueTime was replaced with Clear Value in 2012. The brands of "Clear Value", for the budget-minded shopper, "Winn-Dixie", which is designed to be as good as or better than national brands, and "Winn & Lovett", the premium, top-tier label, are the current private labels the organization uses store-wide. These brands were on numerous products in almost all departments. Beginning in 2016, SE Grocers began to transition to a unified private label brand under the "SE Grocers" brand, with 4 different tiers. Currently, Winn-Dixie's private label brands are as follows:


title: Winn-Dixie

text: "SE Grocers", a mid-market private label brand equivalent to popular, national brands on everyday items


title: Winn-Dixie

text: "SE Grocers Prestige", a higher end line offering more gourmet, exclusive, and health conscious items


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In early 2013, BI-LO phased out its own private label soft drinks in its BI-LO stores in favor of the popular "Chek" brand.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: As of May 2017, Winn-Dixie employs more than 38,000 associates who serve customers in approximately 500 grocery stores, 150 liquor stores, and 280 in-store pharmacies.


title: Winn-Dixie

text: In 2020 Southeast Grocers began the Romay Davis Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity Grant with the goal of funding minority-supporting organizations.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. The BCM represented a social movement for political consciousness.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: [Black Consciousness'] origins were deeply rooted in Christianity. In 1966, the Anglican Church under the incumbent, Archbishop Robert Selby Taylor, convened a meeting which later on led to the foundation of the University Christian Movement (UCM). This was to become the vehicle for Black Consciousness.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The BCM attacked what they saw as traditional white values, especially the "condescending" values of white people of liberal opinion. They refused to engage white liberal opinion on the pros and cons of black consciousness, and emphasised the rejection of white monopoly on truth as a central tenet of their movement. While this philosophy at first generated disagreement amongst black anti-Apartheid activists within South Africa, it was soon adopted by most as a positive development. As a result, there emerged a greater cohesiveness and solidarity amongst black groups in general, which in turn brought black consciousness to the forefront of the anti-Apartheid struggle within South Africa.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The BCM's policy of perpetually challenging the dialectic of Apartheid South Africa as a means of transforming Black thought into rejecting prevailing opinion or mythology to attain a larger comprehension brought it into direct conflict with the full force of the security apparatus of the Apartheid regime. "Black man, you are on your own" became the rallying cry as mushrooming activity committees implemented what was to become a relentless campaign of challenge to what was then referred to by the BCM as "the System". It eventually sparked a confrontation on 16 June 1976 in the Soweto uprising, when 176 people were killed mainly by the South African Security Forces, as students marched to protest the use of the Afrikaans language in African schools. Unrest spread like wildfire throughout the country.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Although it successfully implemented a system of comprehensive local committees to facilitate organised resistance, the BCM itself was decimated by security action taken against its leaders and social programs. By 19 June 1976, 123 key members had been banned and confined to remote rural districts. In 1977 all BCM related organisations were banned, many of its leaders arrested, and their social programs dismantled under provisions of the newly Implemented Internal Security Amendment Act. On 12 September 1977, its banned National Leader, Steve Bantu Biko died from injuries that resulted from brutal assault while in the custody of the South African Security Police.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The Black Consciousness Movement started to develop during the late 1960s, and was led by Steve Biko, Mamphela Ramphele, and Barney Pityana. During this period, which overlapped with Apartheid, the ANC had committed to an armed struggle through its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe, but this small guerrilla army was neither able to seize and hold territory in South Africa nor to win significant concessions through its efforts. The ANC had been banned by Apartheid leaders, and although the famed Freedom Charter remained in circulation in spite of attempts to censor it, for many students, the ANC had disappeared.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The term Black Consciousness stems from American academic W. E. B. DuBois's evaluation of the double consciousness of black Americans, analyzing the internal conflict that black, or subordinated, people experience living in an oppressive society. Du Bois echoed Civil War era black nationalist Martin Delany's insistence that black people take pride in their blackness as an important step in their personal liberation. This line of thought was also reflected in the Pan-Africanist, Marcus Garvey, as well as Harlem Renaissance philosopher Alain Locke and in the salons of the sisters, Paulette and Jane Nardal in Paris. Biko's understanding of these thinkers was further shaped through the lens of postcolonial thinkers such as Frantz Fanon, Léopold Senghor, and Aimé Césaire. Biko reflects the concern for the existential struggle of the black person as a human being, dignified and proud of his blackness, in spite of the oppression of colonialism. The aim of this global movement of black thinkers was to build black consciousness and African consciousness, which they felt had been suppressed under colonialism.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Part of the insight of the Black Consciousness Movement was in understanding that, black liberation would not only come from imagining and fighting for structural political changes, as older movements like the ANC did, but also from psychological transformation in the minds of black people themselves. This analysis suggested that to take power, black people had to believe in the value of their blackness. That is, if black people believed in democracy, but did not believe in their own value, they would not truly be committed to gaining power.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Along these lines, Biko saw the struggle to build African consciousness as having two stages: "Psychological liberation" and "Physical liberation". While at times Biko embraced the non-violent tactics of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., this was not because Biko fully embraced their spiritually-based philosophies of non-violence. Rather, Biko knew that for his struggle to give rise to physical liberation, it was necessary that it exist within the political and military realities of the apartheid regime, in which the armed power of the white government outmatched that of the black majority. Therefore, Biko's non-violence may be seen more as a tactic than a personal conviction. However, along with political action, a major component of the Black Consciousness Movement was its Black Community Programs, which included the organisation of community medical clinics, aiding entrepreneurs, and holding "consciousness" classes and adult education literacy classes.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Another important component of psychological liberation was to embrace blackness by insisting that black people lead movements of black liberation. This meant rejecting the fervent "non-racialism" of the ANC in favour of asking whites to understand and support, but not to take leadership in, the Black Consciousness Movement. A parallel can be seen in the United States, where student leaders of later phases of SNCC, and black nationalists such as Malcolm X, rejected white participation in organisations that intended to build black power. While the ANC viewed white participation in its struggle as part of enacting the non-racial future for which it was fighting, the Black Consciousness view was that even well-intentioned white people often re-enacted the paternalism of the society in which they lived. This view held that in a profoundly racialised society, black people had to first liberate themselves and gain psychological, physical and political power for themselves before "non-racial" organisations could truly be non-racial.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Biko's BCM had much in common with other left-wing African nationalist movements of the time, such as Amílcar Cabral's PAIGC and Huey Newton's Black Panther Party.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: In the year 1959, just leading up to this period, the National Party (N.P.) established universities that were exclusively for black students. This action aligned with the Party's goal of ensuring racial segregation in all educational systems. Although the ANC and others opposed to apartheid had initially focused on non-violent campaigns, the brutality of the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960 caused many black people to embrace the idea of violent resistance to apartheid. However, although the ANC's armed wing started its campaign in 1962, no victory was in sight by the time that Steve Biko was a medical student in the late 1960s. This is because the organization was banned in 1960, preventing it from having a strong influence in South African politics for approximately two decades. During this same time, students of colour "marched out" of the National Union of South African Students organization which, although it was multiracial, was still "dominated" by white students. Even as the nation's leading opposition groups like the ANC proclaimed a commitment to armed struggle, their leaders had failed to organise a credible military effort. If their commitment to revolution had inspired many, the success of the white regime in squashing it had dampened the spirits of many.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: It was in this context that black students, Biko most notable among them, began critiquing the liberal whites with whom they worked in anti-apartheid student groups, as well as the official non-racialism of the ANC. They saw progress towards power as requiring the development of black power distinct from supposedly "non-racial groups".


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: This new Black Consciousness Movement not only called for resistance to the policy of apartheid, freedom of speech, and more rights for South African blacks who were oppressed by the white apartheid regime, but also black pride and a readiness to make blackness, rather than simple liberal democracy, the rallying point of unapologetically black organisations. Importantly, the group defined black to include other "people of color" in South Africa, most notably the large number of South Africans of Indian descent. In this way, the Black Consciousness Movement provided a space for the "unity of South Africa's oppressed" in a way that the students defined for themselves. The movement stirred many blacks to confront not only the legal but also the cultural and psychological realities of Apartheid, seeking "not black visibility but real black participation" in society and in political struggles.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The gains this movement made were widespread across South Africa. Many black people felt a new sense of pride about being black as the movement helped to expose and critique the inferiority complex felt by many blacks at the time. The group formed Formation Schools to provide leadership seminars, and placed a great importance on decentralisation and autonomy, with no person serving as president for more than one year (although Biko was clearly the primary leader of the movement). Early leaders of the movement such as Bennie Khoapa, Barney Pityana, Mapetla Mohapi, and Mamphela Ramphele joined Biko in establishing the Black Community Programmes (BCP) in 1970 as self-help groups for black communities, forming out of the South African Council of Churches and the "Christian Institute". Their approach to development was strongly influenced by Paulo Freire. They also published various journals, including the "Black Review", "Black Voice", "Black Perspective", and "Creativity in Development".


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: On top of building schools and day cares and taking part in other social projects, the BCM through the BCP was involved in the staging of the large-scale protests and workers' strikes that gripped the nation in 1972 and 1973, especially in Durban. Indeed, in 1973 the government of South Africa began to clamp down on the movement, claiming that their ideas of black development were treasonous, and virtually the entire leadership of SASO and BCP were banned. In late August and September 1974, after holding rallies in support of the FRELIMO government which had taken power in Mozambique, many leaders of the BCM were arrested under the Terrorism Act and the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956. Arrests under these laws allowed the suspension of the doctrine of habeas corpus, and many of those arrested were not formally charged until the next year, resulting in the arrest of the "Pretoria Twelve" and conviction of the "SASO nine", which included Aubrey Mokoape and Patrick Lekota. These were the most prominent among various public trials that gave a forum for members of the BCM to explain their philosophy and to describe the abuses that had been inflicted upon them. Far from crushing the movement, this led to its wider support among black and white South Africans.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The Black Consciousness Movement heavily supported the protests against the policies of the apartheid regime which led to the Soweto uprising in June 1976. The protests began when it was decreed that black students be forced to learn Afrikaans, and that many secondary school classes were to be taught in that language. This was another encroachment against the black population, which generally spoke indigenous languages like Zulu and Xhosa at home, and saw English as offering more prospects for mobility and economic self-sufficiency than did Afrikaans. And the notion that Afrikaans was to define the national identity stood directly against the BCM principle of the development of a unique black identity. The protest began as a non-violent demonstration before police responded violently. The protest devolved into a riot. 176 people died mostly killed by the security forces [needs verification].


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The government's efforts to suppress the growing movement led to the imprisonment of Steve Biko, who became a symbol of the struggle. Biko died in police custody on 12 September 1977. Steve Biko was a non-violent activist, even though the movement he helped start eventually took up violent resistance. White newspaper editor Donald Woods supported the movement and Biko, whom he had befriended, by leaving South Africa and exposing the truth behind Biko's death at the hands of police by publishing the book "Biko".


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: One month after Biko's death, on 19 October 1977, now known as "Black Wednesday" the South African government declared 19 groups associated with the Black Consciousness Movement to be illegal. Following this, many members joined more concretely political and tightly structured parties such as the ANC, which used underground cells to maintain their organisational integrity despite banning by the government. And it seemed to some that the key goals of Black Consciousness had been attained, in that black identity and psychological liberation were growing. Nonetheless, in the months following Biko's death, activists continued to hold meetings to discuss resistance. Along with members of the BCM, a new generation of activists who had been inspired by the Soweto riots and Biko's death were present, including Bishop Desmond Tutu. Among the organisations that formed in these meetings to carry the torch of Black Consciousness was the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), which persists to this day.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Almost immediately after the formation of AZAPO in 1978, its chairman, Ishmael Mkhabela, and secretary, Lybon Mabasa were detained under the Terrorism Act. In the following years, other groups sharing Black Consciousness principles formed, including the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), Azanian Student Organisation (AZASO) and the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO).


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: While many of these organisations still exist in some form, some evolved and could no longer be called parts of the Black Consciousness Movement. And as the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement itself waned, the ANC was returning to its role as the clearly leading force in the resistance to white rule. Still more former members of the Black Consciousness Movement continued to join the ANC, including Thozamile Botha from PEBCO.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Others formed new groups. For instance, in 1980, Pityana formed the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA), an avowedly Marxist group which used AZAPO as its political voice. Curtis Nkondo from AZAPO and many members of AZASO and the Black Consciousness Media Workers Association joined the United Democratic Front (UDF). Many groups published important newsletters and journals, such as the "Kwasala" of the Black Consciousness Media Workers and the London-based BCMA journal "Solidarity".


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: And beyond these groups and media outlets, the Black Consciousness Movement had an extremely broad legacy, even as the movement itself was no longer represented by a single organisation.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: While the Black Consciousness Movement itself spawned an array of smaller groups, many people who came of age as activists in the Black Consciousness Movement did not join them. Instead, they joined other organisations, including the ANC, the Unity Movement, the Pan Africanist Congress, the United Democratic Front and trade and civic unions.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The most lasting legacy of the Black Consciousness Movement is as an intellectual movement. The weakness of theory in and of itself to mobilise constituencies can be seen in AZAPO's inability to win significant electoral support in modern-day South Africa. But the strength of the ideas can be seen in the diffusion of Black Consciousness language and strategy into nearly every corner of black South African politics.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: In fact, these ideas helped make the complexity of the South African black political world, which can be so daunting to the newcomer or the casual observer, into a strength. As the government tried to act against this organisation or that one, people in many organisations shared the general ideas of the Black Consciousness Movement, and these ideas helped to organise action beyond any specific organisational agenda. If the leader of this group or that one was thrown into prison, nonetheless, more and more black South Africans agreed on the importance of black leadership and active resistance. Partly as a result, the difficult goal of unity in struggle became more and more realised through the late 1970s and 1980s.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Biko and the legacy of the Black Consciousness movement helped give the resistance a culture of fearlessness. And its emphasis on individual psychological pride helped ordinary people realise they could not wait for distant leaders (who were often exiled or in prison) to liberate them. As the ANC's formal armed wing Umkhonto We Sizwe struggled to make gains, this new fearlessness became the basis of a new battle in the streets, in which larger and larger groups of ordinary and often unarmed people confronted the police and the army more and more aggressively. If the ANC could not defeat the white government's massive army with small bands of professional guerrilla fighters, it was able to eventually win power through ordinary black peoples' determination to make South Africa ungovernable by a white government. What could not be achieved by men with guns was accomplished by teenagers throwing stones. While much of this later phase of the struggle was not undertaken under the formal direction of Black Consciousness groups per se, it was certainly fuelled by the spirit of Black Consciousness.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Even after the end of apartheid, Black Consciousness politics live on in community development projects and "acts of dissent" staged both to bring about change and to further develop a distinct black identity.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: A balanced analysis of the results and legacy of the Black Consciousness Movement would no doubt find a variety of perspectives. A list of research resources is listed at the end of this section including Columbia University's Project on Black Consciousness and Biko's Legacy.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Criticisms of the Movement sometimes mirror similar observations of the Black Consciousness Movement in the United States. On one side, it was argued that the Movement would stagnate into black racialism, aggravate racial tensions and attract repression by the apartheid regime. Further, the objective of the Movement was to perpetuate a racial divide – apartheid for the Blacks, equivalent to that which existed under the National Party rule. Other detractors thought the Movement-based heavily on student idealism, but with little grassroots support among the masses, and few consistent links to the mass trade-union movement.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Assessments of the movement note that it failed to achieve several of its key objectives. It did not bring down the apartheid regime, nor did its appeal to other non-white groups as "people of color" gain much traction. Its focus on blackness as the major organising principle was very much downplayed by Nelson Mandela and his successors who to the contrary emphasised the multi-racial balance needed for the post-apartheid nation. The community programs fostered by the movement were very small in scope and were subordinated to the demands of protest and indoctrination. Its leadership and structure was essentially liquidated, and it failed to bridge the tribal gap in any *large-scale* way, although certainly small groups and individuals collaborated across tribes.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: After much blood shed and property destroyed, critics charged that the Movement did nothing more than raise "awareness" of some issues, while accomplishing little in the way of sustained mass organisation, or of practical benefit for the masses. Some detractors also assert that Black consciousness ideas are out-dated, hindering the new multi-racial South Africa.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: According to Pallo Jordan "The great tragedy of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was that it was never able to gather and retain much support beyond a narrow band of African intellectuals."


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Donald Woods, a white South African liberal, was close friends with Biko and a number of other senior figures in the BCM, but nevertheless expressed concern about what he regarded as "the unavoidably racist aspects of Black Consciousness".


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: The Zimele Trust Fund was a trust fund created through the black consciousness movement to fund black community programmes (BCP's). Many of the community programmes that were funded were located in rural areas in the Eastern Cape and some in Kwa-Zulu Natal.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: In May 1972, the Black Consciousness movement sponsored a church conference which aimed at creating a more "black orientated" perspective of the Christian gospel. Church organizations assisted BCPs and many BCPs assisted religious organisations to run church programmes. This resulted in a collaboration between political activists & religious leaders for the improvement of communities through a multitude of projects. The Trust Fund was officially established in 1975 by Steve Biko on order to fund these projects. The capital for many of these projects came from fundraising done by Father Aelred Stubbs through churches in Europe.The first funding opportunity was to assist newly released political prisoners and the start up costs income gathering families. This assisted in economically restabilising the families of those with "political" criminal records as many communities branded these activists as trouble makers, making it difficult for them to secure employment. The Trust fund also supported families through bursaries and scholarships for activists children as activists struggled to secure bursaries and scholarships for their children due to stigmatisation. The trust, much like the black consciousness movement, aimed at assisting people towards becoming self-sufficient. They presented this to the authorities as a project run by Thenjiwe Mtintso and the Border Council of Churches. The director of the fund was South African Students Organisation (SASO) leader Mapetla Mohapi. The fund succeeded with a brick making scheme in Dimbaza close to King William's Town. Other self-reliance projects included Zanempilo Community Health Care Centre, Njwaxa Leather-Works Project and the Ginsberg Education Fund.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: In comparison with the Black Power movement in the United States, the Black Consciousness movement felt little need to reconstruct any sort of golden cultural heritage. African linguistic and cultural traditions were alive and well in the country. Short stories published predominantly in Drum magazine had led to the 1950s being called the "Drum decade", and future Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer was beginning to become active. The fallout from the Sharpeville massacre led to many of those artists entering exile, but the political oppression of the resistance itself led to a new growth of black South African Literature. In the 1970s, Staffrider magazine became the dominant forum for the publication of BC literature, mostly in the form of poetry and short stories. Book clubs, youth associations, and clandestine street-to-street exchange became popular. Various authors explored the Soweto riots in novels, including Miriam Tlali, Mothobi Mutloatse and Mbulelo Mzamane. But the most compelling force in Black Consciousness prose was the short story, now adapted to teach political morals. Mtutuzeli Matshoba famously wrote, ""Do not say to me that I am a man"." An important theme of Black Consciousness literature was the "rediscovery of the ordinary", which can be used to describe the work of Njabulo Ndebele.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: However, it was in poetry that the Black Consciousness Movement first found its voice. In a sense, this was a modern update of an old tradition, since several of South Africa's African languages had long traditions of performed poetry. Sipho Sempala, Mongane Serote, and Mafika Gwala led the way, although Sempala turned to prose after Soweto. Serote wrote from exile of his internalisation of the struggles, while Gwala's work was informed and inspired by the difficulty of life in his home township of Mpumalanga near Durban. These forerunners inspired a myriad of followers, most notably poet-performance artist Ingoapele Madingoane.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Adam Small is noted as a Coloured South African writer who was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement and wrote works in Afrikaans and English dealing with racial discrimination.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: James Mathews was a part of the "Drum decade" who was especially influential to the Black Consciousness Movement. This poem gives an idea of the frustrations that blacks felt under apartheid:


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Steve Biko the hero of Mandlenkosi Langa's poem: "Banned for Blackness" also calls for black resistance:


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: A main tenet of the Black Consciousness Movement itself was the development of black culture, and thus black literature. The cleavages in South African society were real, and the poets and writers of the BCM saw themselves as spokespersons for blacks in the country. They refused to be beholden to "proper" grammar and style, searching for black aesthetics and black literary values. The attempt to awaken a black cultural identity was thus inextricably tied up with the development of black literature.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: This paper was consisted of an analysis of political trends. It was edited by Steve Biko and published in 1972. The editorial was created for the purposes of protecting the interests of black people. Members of the BCM found that there were very few publications in South Africa that were written, directed and produced by black writers. The articles were juxtaposed to the reality of black peoples lives in order to portray the broad spectrum of problems black people faced. Black Viewpoint was a literature addition to the Black Community Programmes. The editorial wrote reviews and gave feedback on the different black Community Programmes that were taking place such as the Zanempilo Community Health Care Centre. "Black Review" was banned prior to Biko's banning.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: This was a compilation of essays that were written by black people for black people. The author was Njabulo Ndebele and was published in 1972 by the Spros-Cas Black Community Programmes. Steve Biko wrote the introduction. It includes "Black Development Day" written by Njabulo Ndebele, "New Day" written by C. M. C Ndamse, "Kwa-Zulu Development" written by Chief M. G Buthelezi and "The New Black" written by Bennie A. Khoapa.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: Another similar magazine publication was the Frank Talk, it was published in 1984. Several issues of the journal were banned for distribution due to government legislation however, they were later unbanned.


title: Black Consciousness Movement

text: People who were under South African orders were not allowed to write for publication. People were also prohibited from quoting anything that banned people said. People under banning orders were prohibited from entering various buildings such as courts, educational institutions, the offices of newspapers and other publishers offices.


title: Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

text: Nancy Thompson is a fictional character in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. She first appears as the protagonist and final girl in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) as a teenager hunted in her dreams by enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she was portrayed by Heather Langenkamp—who reprises the role in the sequel, "" (1987). Langenkamp later portrayed a fictional version of herself who embodies the role of Nancy in "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994). A reimagined version of her, renamed Nancy Holbrook, is portrayed by Rooney Mara in the 2010 remake.


text: Wes Craven conceptualized Nancy after a conversation with his daughter, Jessica. She questioned him over his clumsy-depiction of the heroine in "Swamp Thing" (1982)—particularly over the scene in which the heroine stereotypically trips and falls over nothing. He wanted Nancy to be a start to depicting a positive portrayal of women in his films. Being Freddy's archenemy, Nancy is the protagonist in the original film, and serves as a supporting character guide for other characters in the third film. The character also appears in spin-off works of the series such as the various novelizations and the canon comic book continuation "Nightmares on Elm Street" (Innovation Publishing) amongst supporting roles in other comics by different publishers.


text: Nancy has been called a significant figure in the horror genre and American pop culture, with depictions in various video games, toy lines, and fan art, and is considered "one of the most progressive female representations in the teen horror genre." She is one of the original examples of the "final girl" theory by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 non-fiction book "Men, Women, and Chainsaws". However, Clover's inclusion of the character in this trope has been agreed upon and challenged due to Nancy's characterization.


text: The origins of Nancy began with a conversation that Wes Craven had with his daughter Jessica, which led to him reevaluating his 1982 film "Swamp Thing" and the way he had portrayed women up until that point. There is a scene in which the heroine Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) is running, and she trips and falls. Upon watching, his daughter remarked, "You know, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm clumsy. You don't have to have them falling down." He attests that this was a common trope in filmmaking and that he wanted Nancy to be a start of young heroines eliminating this concept.


text: Nancy was a highly sought-after role, with many of the actresses having to sit on the floor due to there not being enough chairs. In the winter of 1983, newcomer actress Heather Langenkamp became aware of auditions. Her reading impressed casting director Annette Benson and Craven enough that she received a call back to read with another actress auditioning, Amanda Wyss. During this audition, she improvised a clawing motion with her fingers and a screeching sound. Her natural approach to the character ultimately caught Craven's attention, and she got hired for the part. He wrote Nancy as a "legitimate all-American, girl-next-door" and felt that Langenkamp embodied these qualities.


text: Craven approached Langenkamp in 1986 to ask if he could include her Nancy character in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" script that he was writing. In Craven's script, Nancy was closer to her personality in the first film. While the characteristics of the character change significantly in the final product, her death at the end remains the same. Some significant scenes involving Nancy in "Dream Warriors" were either cut from the film or never filmed; Langenkamp and co-star Craig Wasson both refer to a scene they filmed in which they kissed, with Wasson stating that "No, we didn't have sex, but there was this one real hot kiss that just about melted the camera lens. Too bad they cut it." Another significant scene that does not feature Nancy but mentions her is the cut penultimate scene (before the final scene with the model house lighting up while Neil sleeps) in the shooting script between survivors Kristen Parker and Neil Gordon in which Neil hint that she's visiting him in his dreams post-mortem, similarly to Freddy but benevolent; this was carried over from the original script but was not ultimately included in the film.


text: With regard to "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors", Heather Langenkamp stated her viewpoints about Nancy Thompson's characterization:


text: Rooney Mara was confirmed to portray a reimagined Nancy in 2011; Mara signed on for a sequel if it were to ever be made. Director Samuel Bayer describes this version of the character as "the loneliest girl in the world". Mara stated her portrayal is different than the original, performed by Langenkamp, and refers to her as "socially awkward and timid and really doesn't know how to connect with people". She stated to "Vogue" that she disliked the experience of portraying the character so much, that she contemplated quitting acting.


text: Nancy's appearance is recognizable for her gray streak in her hair and her emblematic pajamas. The character's hair was supposed to be entirely gray and white, and Wes Craven had a wig made but was ultimately unsatisfied; deciding for Nancy to have a streak of gray—which would remain in both "Dream Warriors" and "New Nightmare". For the 1984 film, costume designer Dana Lyman conceptualized Nancy's white pajamas that the character wore during her encounters with Freddy. Lyman described the outfit as "her armor as she went into battle." The details of her white top include blue trim and a pattern of roses. Jolene Richardson of "Fangoria" interprets these details as combining masculine and feminine traits of Nancy.