In celebration and recognition of Black History Month in February two years ago, Coach Tasha Williams and 6th-grade girls presented a very special chapel presentation to the Secondary campus on Feb. 15, 2022. Tasha and her back up of 6th-grade voices performed "Stand Up" — written by Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Brian Campbell, originally performed by Cynthia Erivo, and theme song from the movie "Harriett." Tasha teaches P.E. to 6th grade girls, and she first played the song for them during one of their workouts.

“We were all just screaming and singing," Tasha said. "It wasn’t just the African American girls — it was everybody. I was like, 'Okay, that music brought us together, so let’s pump that up in chapel!'” 

So I'm gonna stand up
Take my people with me
Together we are going
To a brand new home
Far across the river
Can you hear freedom calling?
Calling me to answer
Gonna keep on keepin' on

"Some people might hear it and take it, because it was from the movie, ‘Harriet,’ as ‘my people’ being African Americans," Tasha said. "But I took ‘my people’ as 'God’s people' because if you know the history behind Harriet, then you know everything she did was directed by God, and that’s how she was led. So when it says ‘my people,’ it’s not just speaking of one race — it’s us as Christians standing up for the words that God is speaking to us in the Bible and moving forward regardless of who doesn’t like it, race, creed, whatever — just standing up for God’s word."

Just in case you want to play this song on repeat, click here for an audio-only file of the song to play on your phone.

CAC alumni, DJ Williams (2007 CAC graduate), is known for his many talents as a high school football player and later a professional player for the NFL. He says that he’s grateful for going through this journey, although “ …it [was] a very hard and lonely path. By that I mean, trying to achieve something great is extremely hard. A lot of people are not willing to do what it takes to make it to that level and fail and not give up. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

He said he appreciates all the people that stood by him, such as a former head coach, Tim Perry, who taught him “...how football was much more than a group of guys throwing a football around and hitting each other — showing me how it was a brotherhood of people from all backgrounds putting their individual goals aside to focus on a unanimous goal.” 

The greatest lesson he has learned was from failure. He said, “I've tried many things in my life like sports, music and even relationships and have experienced failure. I've taken those opportunities to learn, grow and become a better person from it. I believe that combining those lessons with my faith, every failure was a blessing in disguise.”

After his football career he became a news anchor for KARK4 Today, as well as a spokesperson for The Buzz, speaking to the community on topics spanning from education and sports to entertainment and politics. He was introduced to this profession from his friend Aaron Nolan, who was the morning anchor at the time, and he found this job to be a perfect match for him as a people person. He is also a Real Estate agent — he was introduced to this profession again by another friend and fell in love with the job after.

“I sold a family their first home and saw the excitement on their face that it reminded me of the first time my family moved into our first home and out of a shelter. I thought it was great to be a part of such a huge moment in people's lives.”

Written by Emma Milam and Lilly Gardner

For this week's edition of Speak Up, Coach D shares about his side business, Whitney Visuals. Learn more below!

 

Photo by Peyton Baker

Photo by Peyton Baker

Izzy Hovater, a junior and member of the CAC student body, has been wrestling for more than two years. In third year, she took home the State Championship, defeating Mena's top female wrestler, Emery Anderson, who two weeks before defeated Izzy at a home match. In addition to her achievement of becoming the best wrestler in her weight class, she is also the first female wrestler at CAC to win a state championship. She said she's thankful to “all of the coaches; Coach Nick, Coach Zane, Pat Smith, Coach Burton, Coach D, And HK." She tied with Emery in regular time but dominated after three overtimes with a score of 6-4.

Written by Lilly Gardner and Emma Milam

The Varsity Boys Basketball team takes on Booneville in the first round of the State Tournament. You can watch live at the link below.

On this week´s edition of The People´s Poll we wanted to know if you like the replacement of family chapel with club chapel. Click the button below to vote.

Aplomb 

Definition: Self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation.

Example: She performed the task with great Aplomb.

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Thursday, Feb 29nd

Boys BKB State Tournament 

Varsity T&F @ Harding

BSB @ Robinson

BSOC vs Harding Academy

Friday, March 1st

Boys BKB State Tournament

Saturday, March 2nd

Boys BKB State Tournament

 

Tuesday, March 5th

Jr High Track & Field @ Greenbrier

V & JV BSB vs Slyvan Hills

GSOC vs Whitehall

BSOC vs Whitehall

Wednesday, March 6th

Career Day

Thursday, March 7th

3A State Final(If we win 29th, 1st, and 2nd)

Varsity T&F @ Greenbrier

V & JV BSB vs Catholic

SB @ LRCA

BSOC @ LR Southwest

GSOC @ LR Southwest

The Mustang Yearbook | The Pony Press | Sports Media

Editor-in-Chief: Solomon Barnes
Assistant Editor: Naomi Hyatt
Writers: Lilly Gardner & Emma Milam
Videographers: Peyton Baker & Jordan Kasinger
Advisers: Hannah Owens & DeArius Whitney