TCB Aug. 3, 2016 — Vacancy

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point triad-city-beat.com August 3 – 9, 2016

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Vacancy Behind the empty storefronts on South Elm Street’s 300 block

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Not a real law

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Little whiskey barrels Single motherhood

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August 3 — 9, 2016

Echoes from the old neighborhood

by Brian Clarey

UP FRONT 3 Editor’s Notebook 4 City Life 6 Commentariat 6 The List 7 Barometer 7 Unsolicited Endorsement

NEWS 8 State lawyers: It’s not a real law 10 Museum unforgiven 12 HPJ: Al Heggins’ mixtape

OPINION 14 Editorial: Ain’t nobody got time

for that 14 Citizen Green: Black and blue lives in our fragile democracy 15 It Just Might Work: A gigantic squirt-gun fight 15 Fresh Eyes: Not quite a single mom

COVER 16 Vacant: Behind the empty storefronts on South Elm Street’s 300 block

CULTURE

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21 Barstool: Cocktails by the liter 22 Music: The Luthier’s Craft 24 Art: And they danced

FUN & GAMES 26 Masters of empty halls

GAMES 27 Jonesin’ Crossword

SHOT IN THE TRIAD 28 Old Salem Rd, Winston-Salem

ALL SHE WROTE

20 Food: Real Chinese

30 Blame it on Rio

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Even though you clearly know that it’s a lie. But okay, Angela. If that’s your work ethic, that’s your work ethic.

– Al Heggins, in High Point Journal, page 12

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 • Office: 336-256-9320 BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey

ART ART DIRECTOR Jorge Maturino

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach

SALES DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Dick Gray

brian@triad-city-beat.com allen@triad-city-beat.com

jorge@triad-city-beat.com

dick@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Eric Ginsburg

SALES EXECUTIVE Stephen Cuccio

SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

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eric@triad-city-beat.com

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL INTERNS Naari Honor

Jesse Morales intern@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS Carolyn de Berry Nicole Crews Anthony Harrison Matt Jones Alex Klein Amanda Salter

Cover photography by Alex Klein of 300 S. Elm St. at a prominent intersection downtown

steve@triad-city-beat.com

SALES EXECUTIVE Lamar Gibson SALES EXECUTIVE Cheryl Green cheryl@triad-city-beat.com

TCB IN A FLASH DAILY @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. ©2015 Beat Media Inc.

I spent the weekend tackling the lawn, chasing Pokémon, catching up on Netflix and attending several performances of my son’s play, King Henry IV, a City Arts deal that ran for three nights at Greensboro’s Barber Park — where, by the way, there are several fine pokéstops and a seldom-used fighting gym.

Through it all, my mind kept going back to Danny.

He died just before the weekend set in: 41 years old, married just a few years ago and with a 2-year-old daughter.

Some sort of heart condition.

I’m thinking about Danny even though I never thought of Danny, not really, in the 30 years or so since I left my hometown on Long Island, just like I rarely though about his sister Laura or his brother Steve, who was my best friend when I was a kid.

We played a lot of baseball and soccer, a little football and hockey with the other kids in the neighborhood. That’s what it was like back then, just these tribes of children roaming through the streets after school, playing sports without the benefit of parental input and making shortcuts through backyards as if they were our own.

They lived just down the street, a relationship of geographic convenience and timing — Laura was the same age as my older sister, Danny just a year behind my younger sister. Steve and I were in the same grade, though not often in the same class because, our parents told us, the potential for disruption was too great.

Danny was the little brother, a sweet kid from what I remember, but the five-year gap in our ages was much wider back then, so I don’t remember many things about him at all.

I remember the day his parents brought him home from the hospital. It was the first time I had ever seen a newborn baby with a thick head of black hair.

And there was the time about nine years later when I stood him up in the goal and peppered him with hockey shots while we were waiting for his brother to come home. I sent a fine wrist shot spinning over his head that afternoon, and when it crashed through the window of the garage door, he bolted inside to tell on me.

That’s all I’ve got for poor Danny, who undoubtedly left this world too soon. Yet I keep thinking about him, his family and our time, so many years ago, on Avalon Road. And I mourn for someone I never really knew.

triad-city-beat.com

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

CONTENTS

Through it all, my mind kept going back to Danny.

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August 3 — 9, 2016

ALL WEEKEND

CITY LIFE August 3 – 9

by Naari Honor

2-day, back-issues sale @ Ssalefish Comics, (W-S) Brace yourself. These dudes bought a crap-load of comic books and want the public to sort through their stash of goodness. The comics will be sold for a special price with a sweet deal attached. Sale starts on Friday and ends Saturday. Visit the Ssalefish Comics event page on Facebook for the juicy comic dirt.

WEDNESDAY Angel Bear Yoga @ Children’s Museum of Winston Salem (W-S), 11 a.m.

Do you think Angel is a yoga-practicing bear? Who knows.

But apparently the Children’s Museum of Winston will have a special animal guest, the kiddies will be privy to some “hushhush” animal secrets and will get to exercise animal-kingdom style. For more information, check out the organization’s Facebook page.

THURSDAY

Cards Against Humanity night @ Pig Pounder Brewery (GSO), 6 p.m.

If you aren’t able to visit the Cards Against Humanity LLC privately owned island, Hawaii 2, located on St. George Lake, Pig Pounder’s Brewery plans on having a friendly game of Cards Against Humanity for your playing pleasure right here in Greensboro. Fresh-made brew, an obnoxious card game, and all in a local setting. Sounds like a perfect date night! More information can be found on Pig Pounder Brewery’s Facebook page.

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A Celebration of Southern Sirens @ Muddy Creek Music Hall (W-S), 8 p.m.

Southerners know that behind every trash-talking, moonshine-drinking, honky-tonk man was a true spit-fire Southern belle. Join the folks at Muddy Creek Music Hall as they pay homage to some of those great women that have accompanied themselves on acoustic guitar. Local singers and songwriters will cover songs from such artists as Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Bobbie Gentry and June Carter. For detailed information see Muddy Creek’s Facebook page.

triad-city-beat.com

FRIDAY Barks & Brews “pop-up” dog park @ Natty Greene’s pub & Brewing Co (GSO), 5:30 p.m.

Why should people have all the fun. Grab a brew and meet up at the pop-up dog park on the property, not in the Natty Greene’s restaurant, with your furry friend. There will be an opportunity to grab some cool swag while the pups mingle and bask in the shade. More info can be found on the Triad Area Dog Park Play Days Meet-up group page.

Cinema Under the Stars: The Goonies @ Reynolda House Museum of American Art (W-S), 7:30 p.m.

Reasons why you should go see the Goonies as told by Chuck, an original Goonie: “… The worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.”

More info can be found on the Reynolda House event Facebook page.

Hitchcock’s

Sabotage

SATURDAY

Food for Fines @ High Point Public Library (HP), 9 a.m.

You can finally stop hiding those overdue library books in the trunk of your car or using them to hold up your coffee table. High Point Library has decided to call off the feds and start a forgiveness program. For a mere donation of a non-perishable human or animal food item, the library will forgive one dollar in overdue fines. For more information, mosey on over to the city of High Point webpage.

Suicide Squad movie premiere @ Stumble Stilskins (GSO), 6 p.m.

Stumble Stilskins will be holding the most epic of all movie premiere parties.

We’re talking round-trip transportation on Pat’s Party Bus, pre-movie appetizers, drink specials, prizes, and a Harley Quinn costume contest. Side note: While partying it up at Stilskins, take heed to the lyrics of “Heathen” by 21 Pilots, from the movie soundtrack: “You’ll never know the freak show sitting next to you.” More details can be found on the venue’s Facebook page.

MONDAY

Ribbon cutting at LeBauer Park @ LeBauer Park (GSO), 10:30 a.m.

Carolyn Weill LeBauer wanted Greensboro families to have a park that would provide exceptional enjoyment unlike anything ever seen. After years of planning and development her dream has come to fruition. The week of opening celebrations begins on Aug. 8. More information can be found on the LeBauer Park Facebook page and the Lebauer Park page on the Community Foundation website.

TUESDAY Monkeys Taste Like Chocolate book signing @ Barnes & Noble (GSO), 11 a.m.

Do monkeys taste like chocolate? Is there an alternative universe where there are other flavors of animals? If the animals come in flavors does that mean that their homes are savory, too? Inquiring minds want to know. Author Melissa Henry Stover reveals all during story time as she reads her new book. More info can be found on Friendly Center Barnes and Nobles’ website.

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

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Kudos Congratulations! [“Editor’s Notebook: Upwards and onwards”; by Brian Clarey; July 27, 2016] Glad to see you guys re-upping your commitment to this worthy enterprise!

Jeff SanGeorge, Greensboro J&J speaketh I own J&J Food Mart and I was the cook/ cashier that served you yesterday [“How Slappy’s Chicken stacks up”; by Eric Ginsburg; July 27, 2016]. While you are entitled to your opinion in regards to taste, I would like to point out a couple glaring errors which I took some offense to. First, our chicken is never delivered nor stored frozen. Everything is cooked fresh and in small batches in order to maintain flavor and moistness as best we can. Secondly, while some of our offerings are cooked in advance, half the menu is not, such as shrimp (those were nuggets in the glass display by the way and not shrimp, and they are hand cut and seasoned from fresh chicken tenders), livers, gizzards and fish.

George Barghout, Winston-Salem Eric Ginsburg responds: Your point is duly noted. It should say that it tasted like freezer-to-fryer rather than the way I wrote it, which makes it sound as if this is a fact rather than our impression. I apologize for not being more clear, and I will fix it.

I would be interested to try the other offerings at some point, but obviously in this case my focus was the chicken, which is clearly J&J’s selling point based on the outdoor advertising.

Again, I think Slappy’s and J&J are doing very different things, and while I preferred Slappy’s, I did enjoy your food and think it’s good that the neighborhood has more than one option that is, as I put it, solid.

Also just as a small aside, we didn’t come in yesterday, but actually on July 20, though I assume that doesn’t make any difference.

Make a four-legged friend I would like to commend everyone who participated in the Clear the Shelters Day. If you would like to make a friend and save a life you should go to your local animal shelter today.

Chuck Mann, Greensboro

9 things Eric Ginsburg has never heard of

by Brian Clarey 1. “Where’s the beef?”

I’ve noticed a real generation gap going on these days between the shrinking pool of Baby Boomers, the up-and-coming class of Millennials and my own Generation X, sandwiched between them like off-brand cookie filling. It’s exemplified in the interactions between Managing Editor Eric Ginsburg, a genuine Millennial born in 1987, and myself, who came into the world in 1970. Every week I discover something of which Ginsburg has never heard, including the phrase, “Where’s the beef?” made famous by Clara Peller in a 1984 Wendy’s commercial (and unsuccessfully recycled by Vice President Walter Mondale in his White House run).

2. “The Partridge Family” Ginsburg says he has heard of the 1970s TV show “The Partridge Family,” part of the canon of 1970s sitcom fare about a family rock band and its creepy manager Reuben Kincaid. But he’s never seen an episode. He’s also never heard of “CHiPS,” “Chico and the Man,” “BJ and the Bear” and a dozen or so more of my favorite shows from childhood.

3. Scott Baio Ginsburg says he has definitely watched “Happy Days,” but had never heard of Scott Baio, teen heartthrob from that show and also “Joanie Loves Chachi” and the strange film Bugsy Malone, until he spoke at the Republican National Convention last month. He’s never heard of Shaun Cassidy either.

4. Fotomat While he’s familiar with the concept of developing film for pictures, Ginsburg had never heard of Fotomat, the chain of film developers that existed in parking-lot kiosks in every strip mall in the country until the 1980s, when one-hour photo technology put them out of business.

5. Dial-a-Joke Ginsburg never heard of any of the “976 numbers,” as they were called: 10-digit phone numbers that, for a price, told you the time or the weather or the horoscope or, in this case, a dirty joke.

6. The Crying Game Ginsburg was only 5 years old when this film, the first main-

stream movie about trans people with an actual transwoman as the star, came out.

7. The USFL The short-lived football league, imagined as a summer rival to the NFL, lasted from 1983 to 1985. It was noteworthy because one of the teams, the New Jersey Generals owned by none other than Donald Trump, signed Heisman Trophy winners Herschel Walker and Doug Flutie. He may have never heard of those guys either. [Editor’s note: Ginsburg has actually met Doug Flutie, and knows full well who he is. But he draws a blank at Walker’s name.]

8. Spuds MacKenzie The Ultimate Party Animal made his last Bud Light commercial in 1989, when Ginsburg was 2.

9. Little Feat Among the bands of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that Ginsburg has never heard of, Little Feat seems to me the most egregious. Before this newspaper goes to print he will at least have heard the song “Dixie Chicken.” [Editor’s note: Ginsburg did in fact recognize “Dixie Chicken” upon hearing it, but didn’t recognize it by name.]

Eric Ginsburg: Absolutely. Renaming the school isn’t erasing history — something I wouldn’t advocate — but correcting for a past mistake. Putting up a plaque as Brian mentioned, a move employed elsewhere, that explains the complex history should satisfy that concern. Keeping the name may seem like a non-stance, but it actually continues to bestow honor on the legacy of a horribly racist man.

70 60 50 40 30 20 10

79%

Yes, finally!

19% No

2%

Unsure/ maybe Fun & Games

High Point’s Open Door Ministries

All She Wrote

by looking at them. You dont know their circumstances,” Graham said.

For the ecumenical organization, preparedness to serve those in need prevails as a way of life and a matter of creed. But rather than treating clients simply as “needy folks,”Open Door Ministries considers each client and High Point community member’s human dignity first. In fact, that phrase could serve as Open Door Ministries’ working mantra.

Graham asked that Guilford County residents consider contributing to the group’s people focused work by donating time, items and finances to the group’s operations.

“We can work with every single entity,” she said, from businesses to faith groups to individuals.

As for me, my partner and I are planning to schlep down to High Point very soon to share dinner at Open Door Ministries and hear some unexpected stories.

Shot in the Triad

House — last week, Graham’s office was piled up with a fresh delivery of actual toothbrushes. Graham’s real-estate license, colorful mementos of Open Door’s past events and a bustling hallway augmented the vivid, lively space.

Scrunched in the jumbled office corner, I sensed a familiar down-to-the-nubbins chill of reality cascading through my body. During my childhood, when my father worked at a similar nonprofit, I recall peering over my father’s shoulder as he conversed with homeless folks on Fayetteville, NC’s downtown redlight district. One client’s story from that period has stuck with me in vivid detail: While gingerly handling a white billiards cue ball, a Vietnam vet and former math professor described his descent from prominence in academia into homelessness.

That memory returned to my mind when Graham discussed her staff’s strategy to “find out what led to [clients’] homelessness. “You cannot identify a homeless person just

Games

by Jesse Morales Leslie Graham likes to say that Open Door Ministries is as reliable as the post office and busier than McDonald’s.

As of last year, the High Point-based nonprofit had served over a million meals to, in Graham’s words, “anyone and everyone in the community” of High Point and surrounding areas.

“There are no restrictions, limits or qualifications,” Graham said. “You just have to be hungry.”

Besides serving meals out of their on-site kitchen 365 days a year, Open Door Ministries confronts clients’ needs relating to poverty, housing and homelessness all year round. Graham, the organization’s director of development and donor services, declared that “nothing in this building is sold. If you need a toothbrush, I will find it and give it to you.”

When I visited the organizations’ main campus — they also serve homeless male veterans at the 14-bed Cassell

Culture

New question: Did the addition of Tim Kaine (who will

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Cover Story

Readers: Former Guilford County School Board candidate John Bradley Nosek said no, explaining on our Facebook page that isn’t because of who Aycock was, “but because we shouldn’t scrub history due to blemishes.” Mark Johnson agreed, saying “Or everyone could stop getting so offended and grow up. There’s a thought.” But the vast majority of our readers who responded said, “Yes, finally!” by a margin of 79 percent to 19 percent “No.” The remaining 2 percent said “Unsure/maybe.” Terry Austin, who voted with the majority, wrote: “Given the demographics of the school and the gender imbalance in schools’ names, how about renaming it for an African-American woman?

I would pick Greensboro’s first African-American mayor, Yvonne Johnson, but there are many local, regional, and national figures to choose from.”

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Opinion

Jordan Green: Yes. I might be open to arguments about keeping the name Aycock on a street or a neighborhood — there are both in Greensboro. Streets and neighborhoods serve residents over a lifetime, and there’s ample opportunity to discuss their namesake’s complicated legacy of promoting education on one hand while also advancing white supremacy. Children’s exposure to

speak in Greensboro on Wednesday) to Hillary Clinton’s ticket in any way change your perspective on voting for the Democrat in November? Weigh in at triad-city-beat. com!

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Brian Clarey: Yes, we should rename Aycock Middle School, the neighborhood surrounding it and the street that runs alongside UNCG. I’m not one for sandblasting unpleasant events in our history, but the point of naming things after people is to demonstrate the best of our culture. And while Aycock did do some useful things in his time, his overarching attitude of white supremacy is not only absolutely irrelevant to the way we live today — or, the way we hope to live today — but also anathema to the society we are trying to build. Take down his name, and put up a plaque reminding us of the shortsightedness of past generations.

a school is only five or six years, which happen to be the most formative of their lives. They don’t need to be subjected to the demeaning notion that a white supremacist is a hero deserving of having a school named after him.

Up Front

Aycock Middle School, located in Greensboro’s historic Aycock neighborhood just northeast of downtown, is named for former North Carolina governor Charles B. Aycock, an education reformer and vocal white supremacist. UNCG recently renamed its Aycock Auditorium, and a street in Greensboro also bears the name. The Guilford County School Board recently held a community meeting to gather feedback about whether to rename the middle school because of Aycock’s white supremacist legacy.

Now it’s your turn.

triad-city-beat.com

Rename Aycock Middle School?

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August 3 — 9, 2016

NEWS

State lawyers: Court shouldn’t block HB 2 because it’s not a real law

by Jordan Green

All She Wrote

Shot in the Triad

Games

Fun & Games

Culture

Cover Story

Opinion

News

Up Front

A federal judge struggled to understand the point of North Carolina’s HB 2.

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Attempting to lay out the case for why transgender people should use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex, Gov. Pat McCrory’s lawyer lost control of his argument before he’d even begun.

US District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, was trying to understand how HB 2 makes bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms safer during a hearing in federal court in Winston-Salem on Monday.

“If a transgender female goes into a women’s public restroom, there’s a risk of public exposure,” argued Butch Bowers, the lawyer for Pat McCrory, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit in his capacity as governor.

“How can there be public exposure?” an incredulous Judge Schroeder asked.

“There are no urinals in a women’s bathroom.”

It went downhill from there as Bowers and two other attorneys for the defendants, representing the state General Assembly and the University of North Carolina, argued against a preliminary injunction that would temporarily block the bathroom provision of HB 2 to prevent irreparable harm to plaintiffs. The ACLU of North Carolina has filed suit against the state, along with a transgender man employed by UNC-Chapel Hill, two transgender students at UNCG and UNC School of the Arts respectively, and three lesbian women. The federal government has filed a separate lawsuit against the state, alleging that HB 2 constitutes a pattern and practice of discrimination and that the law violates the sex discrimination provisions of Title IX. The two lawsuits are expected to be consolidated for a trial scheduled for Nov. 14.

After Bowers’ scenario about a women’s bathroom fell flat, he tried again with a hypothetical scenario involving military facilities where soldiers are

separated by sex, but had to acknowledge that he couldn’t think of a situation where that would apply under the provisions of HB 2, which covers public agencies under the authority of the state of North Carolina.

“A transgender female who dresses as a female, lives life as a female and to all outward appearances is female is now supposed to use a men’s bathroom,” Schroeder mused. “How on earth is that supposed to work?”

Attempting an answer, Bowers responded, “Partially by single-occupancy bathrooms, which admittedly are not available in all instances. And this would be purely speculation on my part: Some transgender individuals will continue to use the bathrooms they always have.”

“They would be violating the law,” Schroeder shot back.

“There’s no enforcement,” Bowers replied.

“Then why have a law?” the judge asked, as barely suppressed laughter erupted from the gallery.

Representing the University of North Carolina, Noel Francisco didn’t defend the law as much as argue that his client should be dropped from the lawsuit.

“I get the impression that you don’t want to be here,” Schroeder needled.

“I also get the impression your client doesn’t like this law.”

Taking aim at statements by Joaquín Carcaño, a 28-year-old employee of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill, along with Payton McGarry and Hunter Schafer — who respectively attend UNCG and UNC School of the Arts High School — that they would be harmed by having HB 2 on the books, Francisco said, “One thing these declarations don’t say is that any administrator has threatened to take any action against them based on using a bathroom consistent with their gender identity.”

Schroeder seemed puzzled by Francisco’s position.

“Why didn’t the university file a onepage response saying, ‘We don’t like the law and go ahead and enforce an injunction?’” he asked.

Joaquín Carcaño, an employee of UNC-Chapel Hill, denounced HB 2 outside the federal courthouse in Winston-Salem on Monday.

Paul Smith, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, challenged Francisco’s statement that employees and student have not been harmed.

“As to Mr. Francisco’s contention that there is no irreparable harm, Mr. Carcaño was directed by his supervisor to stop using the bathroom where he worked, and go down the service elevator to use the bathroom with the housekeeping staff. He is stigmatized by having to wait by the elevator in front of his coworkers to go to the bathroom and has stated that he avoids going to the bathroom as much as possible.”

A lawyer at the Washington, DC law firm Jenner & Block, Smith argued the historic Lawrence v. Texas case, resulting in a 2003 ruling by the Supreme Court striking down laws criminalizing sodomy.

Francisco countered that Carcaño’s statement indicated that administrative staff told the plaintiff about the location of a single-use bathroom and there’s no reference in the statement to a supervisor ordering him to not use the men’s restroom.

“If that did happen it would not be authorized by the university,” Francisco

JORDAN GREEN

said.

Smith also cited an email blast from UNCG Chancellor Frank Gilliam acknowledging that HB 2 “has generated and will continue to generate concern and concrete consequences” as evidence of the law’s harm.

Schroeder seemed to question the point of the law if public agencies like the University of North Carolina and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools don’t feel obligated to comply with it.

“Presumably your law had some importance because the legislature passed it on an expedited basis,” he told Kyle Duncan, the lawyer for the General Assembly. “But you have important institutions saying, ‘We’re not going to follow it. I haven’t seen any threat letters coming from the state to these institutions.”

When it was the plaintiffs’ turn to make their case, Schroeder asked Smith to explain why separate bathrooms for males and females exist in the first place.

“It goes to a feeling that men and women should be separate except in marriage,” Smith said.

Schroeder asked Smith whether gender-designated bathrooms constitute sex

injunction be “narrowly tailored” to the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and to Title IX requirements that school systems receiving federal funds not engage in discrimination. He also asked that it only apply to bathrooms, consistent with the Grimm decision.

“I’m going to endeavor to get you a decision as soon as I can,” Schroeder promised. “I know that school is about to crank up for some unfortunate or fortunate students.”

Lily Carollo contributed reporting to this story.

ary’s Gourmet Diner

(336) 723-7239

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Frank Slate Brooks 336.708.0479 cell 336.274.1717 office FrankSlate.Brooks@trmhomes.com 1401 Sunset Dr., Suite 100 Greensboro, NC 27408 trm.info

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Selling Lindley Park

Opinion

in San Diego, Calif. who represented 30 school administrators in a friend-of-thecourt brief in support of the plaintiffs, told Schroeder: “There are concerns that are raised and fears that are raised by parents and not by students.

“The transgender students are very discreet about their bodies,” he added.

“They’re trying to blend in rather than stand out. The perception of transgender students wanting to expose themselves is very far from the mark.”

Schroeder’s decision is likely to be guided by a ruling made by a divided panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in April finding that Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school student in rural Virginia, has the right to use the bathroom of his gender preference. Any appeal of Schroeder’s decision would go to the Fourth Circuit.

Duncan, the lawyer assigned to represent the General Assembly, represented defendant Gloucester County in the Fourth Circuit case.

Bowers, McCrory’s lawyer, seemed to hedge his bets, recognizing that the odds are stacked against the state.

Bowers requested that any preliminary

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discrimination.

“There’s a distinction,” Smith replied.

“There’s not a stigma attached to it. Everyone’s comfortable with that. There’s not a need for heightened scrutiny.”

Schroeder asked Smith to consider whether there might be a case for HB 2 protecting the privacy rights of people who don’t want to be exposed to a transgender person stripping down in the middle of a bathroom.

“I think that would be illegal in any bathroom,” Smith responded. “There’s no purpose in stripping naked in a bathroom.” He added that such behavior would likely be covered by North Carolina’s law against indecent exposure.

“Transgender people are the last ones you need to worry about with that,” Smith continued, “but if they were loitering, harassing people or engaging in predatory behavior in a sensitive area like a locker room, they would be subject to the law just like anyone else.

The idea that this law is going to help law enforcement address other problems is simply a fantasy.”

Nathaniel Smith, a lawyer with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm

Broker/Realtor®

Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

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City, civil rights museum discuss loan details

by Eric Ginsburg

A special Greensboro City Council meeting to discuss the city’s loan to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum and to consider a resolution to alter the loan agreement results in several testy exchanges and the decision to postpone the matter until Aug. 16.

As far as Councilwoman Sharon Hightower was concerned, there was no reason to have a meeting to discuss the city’s $1.5 million loan to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum on Monday.

“I don’t understand why we’re even here today to discuss this and what is owed,” Hightower said, arguing that direct communication between the city and the museum seemed to be going well and that a public meeting only served as “basically just a media witchhunt discussion” and unnecessarily dragged down the museum.

“I feel we don’t do it with other entities that we do business with as a city,” she said, adding that she’d like to give the museum an opportunity to have the entire balance of the loan forgiven.

At question is the city’s $1.5 million loan to the civil rights museum and how much of it is forgivable according to the initial agreement and whether the city should reconsider the framework of the loan or take further action before the museum’s New Market Tax Credits are completed on Aug. 18.

The city paid out the loan in chunks, the first for $750,000, and as part of the agreement the museum needed to match the loan dollar-for-dollar with independent fundraising for it to be forgiven, City Manager Jim Westmoreland said at the meeting on Monday. The city recently told the museum it would owe more than $144,000 of the initial $750,000 this June 30, but after regular communication with the museum’s lawyer and other spokespersons, the city determined the museum would owe less than a tenth of that figure, Westmoreland told council, adding that more would be due on the remainder of the $1.5 million loan in future years.

Councilman Jamal Fox said he’d like the city to forgive the entirety of the loan, forgoing the condition of the original agreement that required matching

ERIC GINSBURG Museum lawyer Douglas Harris (left) and City Attorney Tom Carruthers chat before the Greensboro City Council meeting on Monday.

fundraising. Later in the meeting, his motion that Hightower had seconded went to a vote, but nobody else on council supported the move, with several others calling it premature.

There were several terse exchanges at the special council meeting as Councilman Mike Barber and Mayor Nancy Vaughan challenged museum lawyer and board member Douglas Harris’ characterization of several financial matters, Hightower and Fox criticized city staff, and Councilman Justin Outling and Fox butted heads over Fox’s proposal. A few council members challenged Hightower’s characterization of an adversarial relationship between the city and museum, with Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann — who called into the meeting — saying that the city helped save the museum with the loan, the terms of which she called quite reasonable.

The fact that the vast majority of the first half of the loan is forgivable is “amazing,” Hoffmann said, adding that council could consider making the remaining $750,000 forgivable by extending the fundraising timeline set out in the initial agreement but said that would require “lots of discussion” first.

Council will revisit a complex proposal by City Attorney Tom Carruthers regarding the loan on Aug. 16 prior to the termination of the museum’s New Market Tax Credits, in part because council members didn’t have a copy of the proposal in front of them and two

members had called into the meeting.

The postponement will also enable the International Civil Rights Center & Museum’s board to meet next week prior to the discussion and could make it easier for more museum representatives to attend.

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

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HIGH POINT JOURNAL

Reaction to police-community dialogue preceded director’s firing

by Jordan Green

When older citizens complained about the human relations department facilitating a conversation about institutional racism in the wake of high-profile national incidents of police violence, High Point city administrators sprang into action, setting in motion a chain of events that ended with the human relations director’s firing.

The human relations department held the status of a kind of Siberia within the city of High Point, its activities remote from the most pressing priorities of the city manager and its operations largely a mystery to most of upper-level management.

That would all change when Councilman Jim Davis raised concerns about the department during a discussion about race in an April 2015 city council retreat shortly after a “Black and Blue” public forum on police-community relations. By July 24, Human Relations Director Al Heggins would be meeting with Deputy City Manager Randy McCaslin, her direct supervisor, and Human Resources Director Angela Kirkwood to discuss her work plans going back two years.

In contrast to a letter setting out reasons for Heggins’ suspension by McCaslin five weeks later citing Heggins’ alleged failure to revise her “existing 2-3-page plan from previous years,” an audio recording of the 40-minute meeting that was obtained by Triad City Beat includes no instance of McCaslin requesting revised work plans.

The audio recordings reveal that McCaslin, working through an agenda, requested extensive documentation to understand Heggins’ job and the kinds of programs that her department, including her sole employee — Human Relations Specialist Tony Lowe — facilitated. McCaslin also wanted to know how Heggins and Lowe interacted with the volunteer citizen committees that operated under their department’s auspices.

“What does this office do for these committees?” McCaslin asked. “And then if there’s any printed material that you have that either of y’all have put

together or the commission has put together that you can give out if someone comes in and requests it or if you give it to the members of these committees in the way of orientation or something like that. Just as backup so I know — I’m trying to figure out what each of these committees do.”

McCaslin asked for a PowerPoint on the Student Human Relations Commission. Heggins responded that she would be happy to provide the document while noting that it was posted on the department website.

McCaslin requested agendas for retreats and community trainings; materials for harassment, bullying and discrimination trainings in local High Point schools; materials for racial equity and diversity trainings; and handouts on Title VI federal civil rights policy.

“So now everything that you’ve talked to me about and asked for, I’ll get that information to you, but this is information that I have provided consistently in emails to keep everyone informed of what I’m doing,” Heggins told McCaslin during the meeting. “And now all of a sudden there’s an interest. And so I’m glad there’s an interest. But it also disappoints me because there was never an interest before. And no one has been paying any attention to the information that I’ve been sending to people over me, Randy. That’s a concern for me.”

McCaslin replied, “At this point we’re trying to pull it together so we’ll have some information, and that’s why I’d like you to pull it together as a packet and send it to me.”

Heggins pointedly asked McCaslin why he had never looked at any of the materials she had emailed to him in the past.

“You know, Al, it’s one of many things that I’ve got responsibility for, and that’s the only thing I could tell you.

At the time it wasn’t a hot-button issue for me.”

McCaslin quickly walked back his characterization of the department as “hot-button,” but there’s little doubt as to why the department suddenly became a priority for administrators.

Councilman Jim Davis (second from right) voiced concerns about a community dialogue hosted by the human relations department.

And while city officials have since attempted to play down the significance of a flier that included the text “dismantling white supremacy,” it was the first in a string of alleged offenses that led to Heggins’ firing for “poor judgment, inefficiency, negligence and/or incompetence in your job performance duties and discourteous treatment of others.”

As previously reported in TCB, then Mayor Pro Tem Jim Davis raised concerns about the wording in the “Black and Blue” forum, which included the phrase “dismantling white supremacy” during an April 2015 city council retreat. Minutes from the meeting reflect that Davis’ colleague, Councilman Jason Ewing said “residents were questioning why city government was putting stuff like this out and driving conversation and controversial racial topics,” and that Davis “pointed out this was not the first time this department has sponsored events that promoted racial divisiveness and felt it should not be allowed to continue.”

Davis, a conservative Republican on council who works in the building trades, characterized his role in the controversy in a recent interview with TCB as largely a matter of passing along concerns from constituents to the city manager.

“Citizens across the city… tend to call city council,” Davis said. “They

JORDAN GREEN

felt like it’s discriminatory and divisive.

They called me. Any time citizens have issues, we’re supposed to take it to the city manager. I took it to the manager.

What he did was beyond me. I never really heard the term ‘dismantling white supremacy’ until I saw that flier. A lot of the concerns came from the older generation. They’ve been through a lot of history I haven’t.”

While also downplaying the significance of the flier controversy in Heggins’ firing, Davis indicated that he found the language to be contrary to the spirit of the human relations department.

“Especially with human relations, just the title of human relations is talking about bringing people together,” Davis said.

Barbara Lawrence, a professor at Guilford College who gave the presentation with the offending language at the “Black and Blue” forum, said in an interview that the title came from a previous presentation she had given at the White Privilege Conference in Louisville, Ky. She described white supremacy in an email to TCB as “a systemic willful way in which people are treated differently in every aspect of society in US communities.

“It is empirically proven that police engage people of color differently (often more aggressively) than white people

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the city will “defend against it vigorously.” Kirkwood also declined to comment.

Lawrence, the Guilford College professor, suggested in an email that Heggins’ firing was a reaction to the challenge to white supremacy posed by the community dialogue she facilitated.

“Al Heggins, as the director of human relations, was in a key position of power and influence to have open, honest and courageous conversations about racial matters, particularly relating to police and community relations,” Lawrence wrote. “The fact that Al Heggins is an African-American woman is a political challenge to the white supremacy that exists in the High Point government structure.

“On the back end of events involving police violence occurring nationally, police and community dialogues were occurring all over the country to reconcile current practices with historical practices of the past against African Americans,” Lawrence continued. “A conversation such as this would be troubling to white members of the community as well as some members within both police department leadership and patrol force. As you can see, there is still resistance to the discourse and civil protests occurring throughout the country.”

Fun & Games

work plan, Angela, and you know that.”

Kirkwood responded by encouraging Heggins to go ahead and file a grievance if she felt she had grounds to do so.

“But in terms of going back and forth and in terms of a discussion on different parts of the acts that were considered and in terms of a final recommendation, I’m not going to do that,” she said.

“I’m not. I have a lot of stuff to get done today. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Even though you clearly know that it’s a lie,” Heggins interrupted. “But okay, Angela. If that’s your work ethic, that’s your work ethic.”

Kirkwood’s fury was barely contained in the even tone of her reply.

“In terms of my work ethic,” she said, “do not sit here and disrespect me, Al.” The human resources director quickly declared the conversation over and escorted her fellow department head to the door.

The incident was duly noted in Heggins’ termination letter.

“Twenty-four hours after your return from the suspension, during a meeting with the human resources director on September 16, 2015, you again displayed unprofessional and discourteous behavior,” McCaslin wrote.

McCaslin declined to comment for this story, except to say that Heggins lawsuit is “without merit,” adding that

JORDAN GREEN

Culture

submitted a two-inch binder with information and approximately 15 emails.

Your collection of emails, along with the binder, does not constitute a work plan and is inconsistent with my directions and displays poor job performance and poor judgment on your part.”

After returning to work, Heggins met with Kirkwood in an attempt to gain some clarity about the proper format to use in filing a grievance. At the end of the meeting, she confronted Kirkwood on why she had gone along with the suspension.

“Clearly, Randy consulted with you about what he was going to come downstairs and talk with me about in terms of that suspension,” Heggins told Kirkwood in a conversation captured on an audio recording obtained by TCB. “And with that third item that was in that suspension letter, you never once spoke up, you never said a word, you never talked about the fact that you were in that meeting when he gave me that directive, and I gave him what he asked for. He asked for supporting documentation for the 2013-2014 work plan. He wanted agendas. He wanted contact information. He wanted agendas. He wanted program materials. He asked for a lot of stuff. And I gave that to him. That’s what he asked for. And I gave him my 2015-2016 work plan. He did not simply ask for a revised 2-3-page

Councilman Jason Ewing said residents were questioning why staff was promoting dialogue about “controversial racial topics.”

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when operating under the same and/ or similar circumstances,” Lawrence, a former New York City transit officer who went on to obtain a law degree from Indiana University, wrote. “School children/college students of color are treated differently or less favorably under the same or similar circumstances.

It ranges from how they are spoken to as well as sanctions being meted out for similar behaviors.”

Heggins’ troubles would compound over the next six months after the “Black and Blue” forum, beginning with a verbal warning for “poor judgment” in the wording on the flier, which McCaslin cited as causing offense to “the public, city council and many others.”

The four other infractions cited in Heggins’ Oct. 2 termination letter all in some way spawned from the fallout from the “Black and Blue” forum.

In early September, McCaslin placed Heggins on a six-day suspension.

Included in the grounds for disciplinary action, McCaslin wrote, “Finally, I instructed you to complete a work plan, in order to effectively assess your job performance and manage your department. I gave you unambiguous and explicit instructions on the work plan’s format and substance. Primarily, I asked that you revise your existing 2-3-page plan from previous years. Instead of complying with my instructions, you

JORDAN GREEN

Opinion

City Manager Greg Demko (second from left) inherited a fraught relationship with Al Heggins from his predecessor, Strib Boynton.

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

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OPINION EDITORIAL

Ain’t nobody got time for that We send representatives to Raleigh to pass laws.

Whether we like these laws or not is a moot point, for now; what matters is that we all agree that the primary purpose for a lawmaker is to actually make laws.

We all do still agree on this, don’t we?

And if we agree on this, we should also agree that, as of late, our state legislature sucks at it.

Last week, another effort by our General Assembly got bounced back by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals — the very same court that nullified the marriage amendment to our state constitution in 2014.

This go-round the court found that our massive election law — the most restrictive in the country — which among other things curtailed early voting days and required an ID to exercise the most basic right of our republic, systemically targeted African-American voters and actively worked to reduce their input into the election.

Seriously: Before writing the bill, North Carolina lawmakers had a report made up of weaknesses in the African-American voting game and then crafted the law to exploit those weaknesses, like a really good game plan. Only in this case, the judges’ opinion called it “one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history.”

It’s the third piece of major legislation — along with the marriage amendment and a Congressional redistricting map — that has been overturned since 2014. HB2 could soon make four.

And it makes us the fourth state to have our voter ID laws scrapped: The Fifth Circuit overturned Texas’ law last month, while a county judge in Kansas reinstated the votes of about 50,000 voters and a federal judge in Wisconsin upheld portions of the voter ID bill but ordered the state to issue free identification to those who lacked it.

As it turns out, you really can’t do that to people.

Meanwhile, in our state, we’ve already held a primary under these false pretenses, and our lawmakers — many of whom, it should be noted, are lawyers — have spent a term or two getting these illegal laws passed. And our real problems such as hunger, joblessness and lack of industry continue to go unaddressed.

So, to reiterate: We send our reps to Raleigh to make laws, but not the kind that don’t stand up in court.

CITIZEN GREEN

Black and blue lives in our fragile democracy One of the biggest applause Winston-Salem Police Department. lines at the Republican National James Perry, president and CEO of the Urban League, Convention was Milwaukee told me police-community relations are both colored by naCounty Sheriff David Clarke’s tional events and charged on their own by local interactions. declaration that “blue lives Perry said some of the young, black men in the agency’s matter in America.” summer employment program have told him “very harrowIt reverberated out of ing stories about experiences with the police.

Cleveland on the first day the “They felt like they were on the right side of the law,”

by Jordan Green Republican nominee took his Perry said. “They felt like they were treated unfairly. That campaign on the road after the convention, at a stop in shapes their view of law enforcement and makes it hard for Winston-Salem. College student Bryce Williams elicited them to trust the police.” whoops of approval as he flashed a sign with the slogan at He knew he had to convene the “Black & Blue” conversasupporters in the stands at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds tions after the killing of Alton Sterling.

Annex while they waited for the candidate, and Pastor Mark “Alton Sterling’s death was different,” Perry said. “The Burns, a frequent speaker at Trump’s rallies, interrupted thing that made it different was it appeared on social media. himself during his opening statement to say, “And yes, blue People saw the police officer’s gun in Alton Sterling’s chest. lives matter.”

They saw him pull the trigger, and they saw Sterling die The subtext of much of the rhetoric in the Trump and the blood gush out of his chest. With Philando Castile, campaign — crafted for a white audience — is that black his girlfriend started recording after he was shot. That’s lives don’t matter. And whether he wins or different from Trayvon Martin, where you loses in November, Trump’s takeover of the just read about it. There’s a way that affects Republican Party has already unleashed ugly ‘I have proudly your psyche. Part of the reason there was forces of intolerance and repression. In an violence against police officers is people saw worn blue for op-ed published in the Hill on the same day it happen.” of his address to the Republican National At this first forum, citizens did most of nearly 23 years...

Convention, Sheriff Clarke argued that not the talking, and the police listened. Really but I’ve been black only do the claims of Black Lives Matter lack listened. validity, but that indeed the movement must all my life.’

And thankfully their participation rejected be crushed. the all-or-nothing proposition that the – Catrina Thompson “We have several forces internal and claims of black and blue lives are mutually external attacking our rule of law: ISIS, Black exclusive.

Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street — just to the most recent “I have proudly worn blue for nearly 23 years,” Assistant iterations of the elements who brand themselves as unique Chief Catrina Thompson told the audience, “but I’ve been but seek the same revolutionary aim: take down the West, black all my life.” the philosophy of equality before the law, and replace it I asked Thompson whether she thought the murder of with their authority, their rules, their hate,” Clarke wrote in police officers in Baton Rouge and Dallas has caused a a piece entitled “This is a war, and Black Lives Matter is the setback in the dialogue between police and the community enemy.” over institutional racism. She took a deep breath and chose Violence begins where dialogue ends, and down the her words carefully, but her answer made me think there slippery slope of violence our cherished democracy also may yet be a chance for democracy, especially if we tend to goes. Democracy, the most precious and fragile of our it thoughtfully in our local communities. public goods, depends on people with different interests “When these incidents happen across the country, and viewpoints being willing to stick with the conversation, whether it’s deaths of citizens by police of deaths of police no matter how difficult, and work things out. The scorchedby citizens, it gives pause,” Thompson said. “We’re trained earth tactic of vanquishing all opponents, embodied by to be vigilant, both for our own safety and for the safety of Trump — and, frankly, by Fox News and the loudest voices others. I’m an optimist by nature, and while there are very in the Republican Party — makes democracy increasingly unsettling things going on around us, I believe that, like tenuous. tonight, it has created an opportunity for dialogue.”

Given the national context of rising intolerance, it feels We may not agree on everything, but at least we’re still like a small wonder that the Winston-Salem Urban League talking. hosted the first in a series of “Black & Blue Community-Police” town halls last week, with a racially mixed group of 140 people attending and with the active participation of the

IT JUST MIGHT WORK

A gigantic squirt-gun fight

Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

Gwen Frisbie-Fulton is a writer and mother living and working in Greensboro.

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complete family — just us two. We moved to a ragtag neighborhood, where no one raised an eyebrow or asked where we came from.

Instead, they just showed up.

My friends have helped me remove the stoic mask that so many tired mothers have to put on. Christina and Glenn clap wildly at my son’s violin recitals when I am at work. Scott makes videos of him performing to show me later. Brian sends him postcards from every stop on his travels; bits of news from all corners of the world. Ling Sue, Susan and Larkin send me texts from the car-rider lane telling me they are bringing him home with them, sparing him another long evening in childcare.

Elizabeth, Cricket and Amethy send pictures of him at lunch when they drop by the school, so that I can peek at them on my phone under the conference room table. Liz and Mercer will take him countless nights so that I can work, go on a date, drink a little whiskey or just sleep in. Patricia picks up little things for him on her travels, leaving them as special, secret presents on the porch. Alabama leaves him letters on the bookshelf that he isn’t to open until he is 18. Aisha opens his drawers, helps him fold his laundry, whispering “Shhhh... we will surprise your mama.” Katie and Monica march into his birthday parties chanting wildly and brandishing his name on homemade flags. John and Becky show up to everything he ever does and cheer for him like no one has ever danced/played/run better ever before. Justin calls him “Little Man” and hugs him with big, warm hugs just like a man should a growing boy. Karly and Jason travel across time zones to pick him up, wearing futuristic space costumes and take him on top-secret missions that end, inevitably, at Yum Yums. Catherine and Heather take him for entire weeks during the summer when I can’t afford camps, smooching the top of his head when he arrives and making him eat his vegetables, just like he was their own.

Because he has become theirs.

I didn’t know that when I was making the decision to “go it alone” as a mother, I wasn’t going to be alone at all.

I cannot wait for the day I return the favors I have been given.

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Before my son was 2, he had lived in three states and traveled through many more in the back of my station wagon. Indiana, Rhode Island, New

by Gwen Frisbie-Fulton York, Ohio, Virginia — I was trying to make a living working when he slept and be a mama when he was awake. Those were the longest two years of my life and only the first two years of his.

I came to Greensboro as a resting place, a nesting place and to find a place to call home.

Two days after I arrived in town, my friend Liz decorated a tiny Christmas tree and helped me hold my son’s first real Christmas in her living room. He ripped up wrapping paper and tried to eat the ribbons.

A week later, Cakalak Thunder — Greensboro’s radical marching band— invited all the children they collectively knew to celebrate my son’s second birthday. A tiny birthday boy drum major, for two blocks he led Cakalak and a gaggle of parents and kids banging on oatmeal containers, grinning wildly the whole way. The families we met that day still make up the core of our community seven years later. The kids are getting taller, their feet get bigger, their vocabularies have grown to include syllables and, more recently, cuss words and bad jokes. They all wear each other’s hand-me-downs. Like a makeshift extended family, they are growing up together.

When I held a yard sale, packed up a U-haul and drove my infant son and four cats out of the patchwork of soybeans and cornfields that make up the middle of America, I put on a brave face. I knew what the world held for a young, single mother. I knew that my choice was, in essence, an agreement to walk a thin line, balancing work and parenting, providing for and caring for, and that this line was going to run right through poverty, exhaustion and, frankly, the middle of me. I knew that becoming a single parent meant that I would endure the raised eyebrows of those suspicious of my ability as a mother and my worth as a woman; that we would be marginalized from what is considered a “real” family; and that somehow my choice had rendered us incomplete.

But I bought a run-down house, planted a weedy garden and declared Greensboro our home. We insisted that we were a full and

Up Front

It’s hot out. Too hot. The kind of heat and humidity that makes me wonder why I ever moved to the South, the kind that makes me almost miss winter, the kind that keeps me inside even when it’s gorgeous out.

On top of that I’m stressed, not just from work but from our national political climate, exhausted from running through doomsday post-election

by Eric Ginsburg scenarios in my head when I should be falling asleep and from the recurring sadness from national tragedies playing like a 7-second Vine video on loop.

You’re feeling it, too. At least some of it.

What if there were a way to break the tension, to beat the heat while releasing some pent-up aggression, something more than just a few trips down one of the massive slides at Wet n’ Wild or unplugging from social media?

Something like a massive, open-invite water-gun battle.

I totally nicked this concept from our publisher, Brian Clarey, who mentioned something about how he’s been casually talking up the idea of the Triad hosting the world’s largest squirt-gun fight. And I’m shamelessly boosting his concept.

It’d be nice to do something where nobody loses, especially after what feels like a monumentally suck-ass year. The bad guys appear to be winning in 2016 (the Super Bowl, March Madness, the election) and there’s all too much death (from Prince and Bowie to Orlando to Baton Rouge and far beyond), and while there are glimmers of progress amid the doom, some lighthearted fun would really boost my morale.

I’m guessing yours, too.

I’d like to see the sort of all-ages event that draws a healthy cross-section of our cities, where politicians, activists, internet trolls and teenage athletes run around carefree.

Yes, fellow Guilford College grads, this idea would require a lot of water and be pretty wasteful. Maybe you can come up with a way to turn this into a fundraiser for the food bank or a similarly worthy cause. But regardless, I don’t think we can overlook the importance of lifting everyone’s spirits, of providing free and harmless entertainment and of bringing neighbors together who would otherwise never interact.

We could scale it back and do something like Congressman Mark Walker did while campaigning, having folks like him volunteer to sit for one of those dunk tanks and raise money for something by charging to throw a ball at the target. It would involve water and allow for the friendly release of some aggression. But that doesn’t sound like as much fun.

Not quite a single mom

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FRESH EYES

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August 3 — 9, 2016

Vacancy Behind the empty storefronts on South Elm Street’s 300 block

Cover Story

by Jordan Green

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The Depression-era building at the southwest corner of South make 300 S. Elm St.’s deficiencies stand out more. Charlie GroElm and Washington streets is by no means the oldest or grandest cery, a narrow bodega-style store occupies half of 306 S. Elm St., on the block; many of the two-story buildings on the 300 block of but the plate glass in the building’s adjacent bay is cracked and South Elm date back to the turn of the century and feature decono one can quite remember the last time the business advertised rative cornices, arched windows and other architectural flourishes. as Computer & Electronic Services was open. The glass window The entry of Glitters, a novelty story stuffed with concrete in the building next door — occupied by Da Beat CD store busts and gargoyles, Disney figurines and board games recesses circa 2009 — is clean and displays an “open” sign, but the space from the corner of the downtown Greensboro building. The is empty and the door is locked. The historic Newell Building brown paper that once covered the glass storefront of the buildstill bears the signage of the long-closed Miller Furniture Co.; ing’s left bay has come down, replaced by a “coming soon” poster gadfly entrepreneur and unsuccessful political candidate Tigress announcing Glam N Glitz Fashion. The uneven brickwork above McDaniel made a short-lived effort to operate an art gallery the plate-glass windows fronting the city’s main street shows the and performance space out of one of its bays around 2012. The trace of a long-past retired awning. Above, on the second floor storefront next door, at 318 S. Elm St. — also owned by the Grays and false third floor, the windows are covered with Hardieplank, — has been vacant since Blu Martini closed about six months ago a fiber cement siding product that is hardier and more protective after a multi-year run. than plywood. The 135-foot length of the building running along The vacancies are a source of aggravation for Brian Lampkin, Washington Street back to the alley co-owner of Scuppernong Books, presents an expanse of unbroken which is sandwiched between the barrenness.

Grays’ building at the corner of A sign posted on the Washington Washington and Elm and the defunct Street side explains the tentative, Computer & Electronic Services provisional state of the building: storefront. Lampkin took his concerns “Available for development by lease, public with an op-ed in the News & joint venture or offer to purchase.”

Record last month in which he named And in quotes: “The right place — “the continued presence of vacant the right time.” storefronts on Elm Street” as “the There are other buildings on the biggest obstacle to the reality of a 300 block of South Elm Street with thriving city center.” vacant storefronts — all of them, Sitting down at a table near the incidentally, on the same side of the front of his store on a recent Friday, street — but 300 S. Elm, owned by Lampkin laid out his case in the Sidney and Ricki Gray, has become earnest manner of someone wary of a focal point for frustrations about antagonizing a neighbor yet also adablight and real-estate speculation. mant about speaking his convictions.

With 14,000 square feet, according To illustrate the challenge posed by JORDAN GREEN A window on the first floor of the to local tax records, it’s among the 300 S. Elm St. and the other vacant Washington Street side largest on the block. And more and partially vacant storefronts on the importantly, the building occupies a key location — almost at the block, Lampkin mentioned a phone call fielded from a customer midpoint of the crucial South Elm Street corridor from Center the day before.

City Park to the north to Gate City Boulevard on the south end “She told me: ‘I don’t walk down your side of the street,’” Lampthat functions as the heart of downtown Greensboro. And holding kin recounted. “That’s ridiculous. The empty storefronts make down a corner of the intersection, future investment in the buildpeople feel ill at ease. I want to be dismissive, and yet I can’t deny ing could potentially help downtown bust out of its current linear that reality. These are my customers.” orientation by providing a vital pedestrian conduit to connect Hopping up from his chair, he led a brief tour down the block, Melvin Municipal Office Building, the Carolina Theatre, the pointing out the derelict storefronts, all of which have been Biltmore hotel and the Depot on Washington Street. vacant with the exception of the former Blu Martini since before The other dormant properties on the block, if anything, only Scuppernong Books opened in December 2013. Waiting until he’d

The Depression-era building at 300 S. Elm St., whic

passed one of the empty arcades Lampkin jerked his head sharply in its direction, making it clear he wanted to focus attention on the entire block rather than a specific property, he said, “One morning I came by and saw a guy s***ing in a bucket in that entryway.”

Code compliance officers with the city of Greensboro have made similar observations.

In August 2015, the owner of the Newell Building was cited when a homeless person’s

triad-city-beat.com

ch occupies a critical corner in downtown Greensboro, has only been sporadically and partially occupied.

belongings accumulated in the entrance.

Lampkin said he doesn’t want to demonize investors who let their properties languish, but at the same time he believes they should recognize that the vitality of the larger community is at stake.

“I know it’s not an easy thing to turn around an old building,” he said. “I do see a responsibility. I don’t want to oversimplify it. I don’t want to create a sense of evil, but it needs to be addressed. After 10 to 20 years it’s time to put some pressure on.”

Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Zack Matheny said he shares Lampkin’s concern about vacancies on the 300 block of South Elm Street.

“Why should commercial real estate be treated any different than residential?” he asked in an interview. “For your house, if you’re not maintaining your house in an orderly fashion, if your yard is overgrown, if there’s mold in the house — any situations that would be deemed inappropriate, the thought process is that you would be required to take care of it.”

JORDAN GREEN

Highlighting the importance of the 300 block, Matheny rattled off a list of businesses owners that have made significant investments or worked hard to create thriving concerns, including the recent expansion by Cheesecakes

by Alex, the opening of the 1618 Downtown restaurant in 2014 and façade improvements by Natty Greene’s brewpub in the JW Jones Building.

“Do those who have invested so much into buildings on South Elm feel used by those owners who sit back and take advantage of the hard work of others?” Lampkin wrote in

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Cover Story

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his News & Record op-ed. “How about a fund that the Vacant properties have long been recognized as an owners of vacant storefronts would pay into to support urban challenge. the businesses and buildings that are making their properAs David T. Kraut wrote in a 1999 New York University ties more valuable?”

Law Review article, “Every day, in urban communities Lampkin described the idea as “Swiftian” in an interview, across the country, vacant buildings haunt neighborhoods, acknowledging that it’s not fully fleshed out. blighting the city landscape, lowering surrounding proper“Think about all they’re getting for doing nothing,” he ty values, increasing crime and the risk of fire, and posing said. “There are so many people trying to re-create downhazards to children. Often, owners hold these buildings town. I know it’s improving their property values.” for speculative purposes, ignoring maintenance with the It’s an unavoidable fact that Lampkin’s landlord is Nancy hope that property values in the surrounding community Hoffmann, a Greensboro City Council representative who will rise. While cities can use their tax authority to seize purchased the building in 2012. Her investment resulted abandoned buildings because of tax delinquency, cities in an increase of valuation from $247,700 to $495,800 have no such financial claim on vacant buildings and thus between 2014 and 2015. cannot intervene until the property poses a health or One of the important factors in a business’ ability to succeed is its landlord, Lampkin said.

“What are they willing to invest?” he asked. “Clearly, Nancy is committed to our business. I hope that doesn’t sound like a political endorsement. But it’s true. It’s a two-way street. Instead of just throwing whatever will make the most money in the shortest amount of time, a partnership is the best way to go.”

Contacted for this story, Sidney Gray offered to field questions by email but said he was out of town and was unlikely to respond before he returns to Greensboro later this month.

The Grays’ building at Elm and Washington has nearly tripled in value since 2003, from $102,600 to $393,700, while two buildings acquired A derelict computer-services store might be the most unsightly storefront on the by developer Dawn Chaney 300 block of South Elm Street. in the past two years housing 1618 and soon Jerusalem Market have respectively appreciated by 907 percent safety threat to the community.” and 503 percent over the same period. Even the value Matheny, who meets periodically with the Grays and of the dormant Newell Building has leapt dramatically their sons — he describes them as “great, solid people, from $91,300 to $571,800. As an indicator of the block’s nice people” — said he doesn’t think they’re inclined to sell increasing desirability, the two-story building built at 324 the building at Elm and Washington, notwithstanding the S. Elm St. in 2011 that houses the W on Elm is valued at offer of availability “to purchase” posted on the wall. But $2.8 million. speaking generally about the inordinate number of vacant Two buildings owned by Chestnut Associates Inc. — the properties on the 300 block of South Elm Street, Matheny one with the defunct Computer & Electronic Services pointed to a mismatch between property owners’ expecand its neighbor, which formerly housed Da Beat — have tations and the realities of the market. doubled in value.

“I know what it is,” he said. “I think for property owners What sets the Grays’ building at Elm and Washington throughout Greensboro and particularly in downtown and the two buildings owned by Chestnut Associates — does anyone really understand what their buildings are apart from the others on the west side of the 300 block of worth, what is the true value and what can actually happen South Elm Street is that they’re the only ones where the there? I still dabble in real estate, and valuations and what buildings are worth less than the land they sit on. is reality are often different.”

As to the property at Elm and Washington, Matheny said there was a period “that Sidney was considering going in with partners, with someone who is a distant cousin, and potentially doing something with the building.”

Sidney Gray is distantly related to the Samet family, whose Greensboro general contracting company was recently ranked by Triad Business Journal as the second largest in the Triad. Members of the Samet family have given a total of $2,000 to Greensboro City Council candidates in the most recent election cycle — a relatively insignificant amount compared to large-scale donors such as developer Marty Kotis.

Adding to the complicated set of family relationships surrounding property ownership on the block, Sidney Gray is the uncle of George Scheer III, executive director of Elsewhere artist collaborative down the street on South Elm. Scheer and Elsewhere have made a pronounced impact on activating the arts and community development in downtown over the past 10 years.

In the meantime, Matheny said he’s concerned by rumors that Glitters — the only tenant of the Elm and Washington building — might be moving to a new location; owner Gary Barskey declined to comment on the matter.

Barskey, who has rented the outside bay on the first floor since around 1990, said 2 Art Chicks was looking at the adjacent bay for about a year. The studio and gallery eventually opened further down South Elm Street but then closed when that space was turned over to Mellow Mushroom.

Ben Saperstein, an artist and printer, later approached Gray about renting the rear section behind the vacant storefront to operate a small letterpress and potentially expand into a small gallery. Negotiations between the two JORDAN GREEN parties fell through after about two months.

“The condition of the section I wanted to rent was definitely in disrepair,” Saperstein said in an email. “It would have needed a lot of work, all of which I was willing to do either myself or coordinate with the building owner to get done. The amount of the rent seemed expensive but we negotiated over a two-month period. It lasted that long because of the building owner posturing about being ‘pro arts’ while refusing to settle on an actual monthly rental agreement.”

In contrast, Saperstein said, “The storefront it was directly behind looked like it had been renovated and was in great shape, including a huge, clean basement.”

Saperstein ended up moving his letterpress into a different space further down South Elm Street and later out to Oakland, Calif., where he now lives and works as an artist and furniture maker. He said his frustrated effort to rent space in the Elm and Washington building was

triad-city-beat.com

contributing factor to his decision to leave Greensboro. to open and resume any civil penalties. Work has been involve modifications to regulations and standards that are While the future of the Elm and Washington building completed on front of building. Do not know what is to be very minor in nature.” and other properties like it remains uncertain or the closedone on Washington Street.”

Jones said the wooden window frames in the building ly guarded secret of their owners, Matheny is working on A second case was opened in July 2015 when the buildare considered historic features, and the Grays are covsome stop-gap measures to at least improve their appearing was found to be violation for boarded windows on the ering them with Hardieplank “until such time as a historic ance in the immediate future. second story, and again Fields received the assignment. renovation of the building can be completed.”

“With the computer store with the dilapidated awning, Following an Aug. 23 inspection, Fields wrote that he Jones said the city was also concerned with deterioratthat was condemned at one point,” Matheny said. “That’s was waiting on a decision from Schwartz and Kirkman. ing awning poles, which the Grays addressed. not fair to the adjacent property owners. Just like a house In early September his notes indicated that Kirkman told “Because these windows are not on the first story and — if you were taking care of a house, you wouldn’t just let him the department was waiting on a response from City the city’s objective is encouraging historic preservation, it rot.”

Attorney Tom Carruthers. In early October, the situation the city decided not to pursue further enforcement at this He’d like to see the façade fixed on the derelict was much the same, with Fields noting that he spoke with time,” she wrote. “Should the Good Repair Ordinance be computer store, but has had difficulty tracking down Kirkman, and enforcement was still on hold until Schwartz amended in the future, the zoning administrator will revisit the owner. The last annual report filed by the ownership made a decision. Then, in November, Fields wrote that the enforcement determination at that time.” entity, Chestnut Associates, with the state Jones went on to say the purpose of the Corporations Division in 1993 names the Type 1 modification “is to provide equal or company’s president as Lee D. Andrews. better performance in furtherance of the The company receives its mail through a purposes of the [Land Development OrGreensboro post-office box. dinance] through use of means other than Matheny said he thinks some pop-up those specified in the LDO. Therefore, it retail could help at the Newell Building — was within the planning director’s authority short-term leases with relatively inexpento close the enforcement case given the sive rent that would require minimal space potentially competing city interests in and create activity in the storefronts. the Good Repair Ordinance and historic “I’m talking to a person right now that preservation.” wants to do a temporary, higher-end Matheny said Councilman Justin Outwomen’s consignment shop who’s looking ling has been working on a draft revision at some property that’s been vacant for of the city’s Good Repair Ordinance. some time,” Matheny said. “That’s the Matheny said he thinks the ordinance kind of thing that could work in a place needs to be strengthened, adding that like that.” commercial properties are held to a lower Matheny said the biggest challenge standard than residential properties. He with the Elm and Washington building is said he’s encouraged Outling to engage the second floor. the Grays on the front end of the drafting “Sidney and I have had conversations process this time. about the windows on the second floor Outling confirmed that the draft revithat are boarded up,” Matheny said. sion is still in the early stages, adding that “The reason he did that is he’s protecting he thinks it’s important to get input from actual windows that have some historical stakeholders on the front end. value. He’s agreed to allow us to cover the As with revisions to the city’s Minimum boards with artwork.”

Housing Standards Ordinance that were JORDAN GREEN Despite remaining vacant for an extended period, the value of the The Grays’ building has racked up two approved by city council last year, Outling Newell Building has increased handsomely over the past 13 years. violations of the city’s Good Repair Ordisaid he envisions making the enforcement nance since 2013. mechanism in a non-residential building The first case was opened by Inspector Ron Fields in he was closing the case until the ordinance was revised ordinance less cumbersome. Instead of the city taking November 2013, and civil penalties escalated from $100 “or someone makes an interpretation on windows being property owners to court to collect fines that because of to $500 from early April of the next year through May. covered for protection.” a quirk in state law are required to be turned over to the Then, in late May, Fields wrote in his remarks: “Case on The Good Repair Ordinance is fairly explicit on the local school system, Outling said under the new system hold as per [Planning Director] Sue Schwartz and [Zoning matter of boarded-up windows: “A structure shall not have the city would have the authority to make repairs and then Administrator] Mike Kirkman in discussion with owner.” windows or doors with glass that is broken, missing or place liens on derelict properties.

Two weeks later, Fields noted that Sidney Gray was covered.”

“We protect our investment because we’ll be the priorispeaking with the planning director and staff about the orBut in an email responding to Triad City Beat’s inquiry ty lienholder,” Outling said. “It’s a win-win-win because we dinance, adding, “Will hold off on civil penalties to further into the compliance history on the property, Assistant also repair the property and improve the building stock.” notice working on plan of action.”

City Attorney Terri Jones pointed to a loophole tucked Matheny was serving on city council at the time the And then on June 23: “Case on hold per Planning into the city’s building regulations, allowing property owncurrent Good Repair Ordinance was enacted, and he said Director Sue Schwartz.” ers to request something called a “Type 1 modification”. he and his colleagues could have done a better job.

And July 7: “Waiting on planning director to resume Elsewhere in the city’s Land Development Ordinance, “The Good Repair Ordinance that was created civil penalties.” another provision sets forth that “final decision-making ultimately got watered down and it may have been too Finally, on Aug. 25, Fields wrote that he was closing authority on Type 1 modifications rests with the departfar-reaching,” he said. “The goal this year is to come up the case “until notified by planning zoning administrator ment director” while noting that “Type 1 modifications with something more effective.”

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

20

CULTURE Salivating for Sichuan-style spice

by Eric Ginsburg

I

t’s so difficult to find good Chinese food around like red pepper flakes here that I pretty much gave up. and Sichuan peppercorn I’ve got my two go-to spots in Greensboro delivering a numbing — Golden Wok for the fast-food, take-out style of sort of sensation to our American Chinese food and China Kitchen for a more tongues but an otherwise refined vibe — and Sampan Chinese in Winston-Salem. mild heat. Katie and Erin But unlike divvy Mexican joints and taco trucks, which looked on, somewhat I’ll eagerly try and rarely feel wronged, hitting up an bewildered by our gleeful unknown Chinese restaurant around here seems to be sadism. The broth of the more of a gamble than just about any cuisine in the beef noodle soup wasn’t area. for the spice averse, but So when a reader that I really only vaguely knew the fish came hot enough swore by a Chinese place I’d never heard of, I leapt at to really slow us down. the opportunity to try it, eager to find another venue We tried other things to add to the list of even passable options. too, including the pork “Let’s go,” I told Sam, a relatively recent transplant belly with mashed garlic to Greensboro. and the cucumber with Not long after I found myself sitting with him and mashed garlic appetizers, his girlfriend Katie and our mutual friend Erin at Capboth of which we enjoyed tain Chen’s Gourmet China, a restaurant marked by a but if you had to pick one, “Go. China” sign out front and that played the Doors it’d be impossible not to as we ate. go with the pork belly.

Captain Chen’s is a Sichuan-style Chinese restaurant, We savored the green meaning no General Tso’s chicken here — instead, there beans, which served as are dished with the numbing heat of signature Sichuan a counterweight to the peppercorn and the flare of Chongqing, a sprawling gelatinous and also-hot ERIC GINSBURG The spicy braised-beef noodle soup is very hot, but the shredded inland metropolis that was considered part of the mapo tofu. pork with garlic sauce (background) helps balance out the heat.

Sichuan province until about 20 years ago.

We skipped the fried The food from this area of central-southwest China pork bungs — that’s pig didn’t order the pork bung, Captain Chen’s makes it is known first for its heat, but also lighter dishes for rectum, y’all — with red chili peppers, figuring it’d easy to sample high quality, Sichuan-style fare without balance, pork, more beef than in other parts of the be too much for a getting-to-know-you meal, but straying too far out of your comfort zone unless that’s country and ingredients like star anise and garlic. wondered aloud how the other Chongqing-style meals what you want.

China’s largest river, the Yangtze, runs through the including two chicken dishes and boiled pork might Captain Chen’s doesn’t just stand out among someprovince, so fish is prevalent as well. compare. Pork proliferates on the menu, which also what dismal Chinese food options in the Triad — it’s We ordered family style, trying to sample a variety includes duck, shrimp, a few other tilapia entrees, fried one of my new favorite restaurants, easily in the top of the cuisine and trusting Sam’s recommendations chicken gizzards and at least one item recognizable to tier of high quality and unique venues of any stripe. It as the only returning customer at the table. Trying to average American consumers: egg drop soup. proves once again that there’s plenty of overlooked accommodate a vegetarian in our midst, we ordered Sam said he enjoyed the pork ear in red chili oil last but worthwhile places in the Triad, and that even after the classic mapo tofu that is known for its chili paste, time through, and after thoroughly enjoying Captain covering places like it for a few years, sometimes the but discovered it came with ground pork sprinkled Chen’s at his recommendation, I’m inclined to trust his readers still know best. on top. The rest of the items under judgment. I loved Chen’s, and not the vegetable section weren’t much just because I had low expectations Pick of the Week more promising — two explicitly or enjoy trying new things. The good Visit Captain Chen’s say they come with minced pork, company helped, and I definiteIn memory of Chef William Webster Gourmet China at 3709 the restaurant was temporarily out ly recommend coming here with All-star chef tailgate to celebrate the life of William Battleground Ave. (GSO) enough people to order a few dishes of the lotus roots we tried to order Webster (W-S), Sunday, 4 p.m. and the stir-fried green beans came to share, but the real high point was or find it on Facebook.

Top chefs Harrison Littel, Alan Romano, Don straight up without the benefit of the food.

McMillan, Jeff Bacon, Tim Grandinetti and John other vegetables.

Bombastic flavor and strong exMilner, along with several others, come together to But Captain Chen’s excelled marvelously elsewhere. ecution helped me fall for a subset of Chinese cuisine celebrate the life of Winston-Salem chef William The shredded pork with home-style garlic sauce prothat I’ve never experienced before and might not have Webster in the Serendipity Room of Providence vided a much-needed counterbalance to several of the been inclined to like on first taste given its particularly Restaurant & Catering at the Winston-Salem spicier dishes we ordered, including a delicious noodle strong and distinct characteristics. I’m sure some of Doubletree. What better way to celebrate Websoup with spicy braised beef and what we took for star you won’t, especially if you aren’t into spicy food. ster’s passion than by gathering a collection of anise making for a distinct flavor.

Most of the items we ordered aren’t molded to great minds passionate about the culinary works Sam and I dove into the Chongqing-style hot and white America’s palates in the same way that the they create? More information can be found on the spicy fish — tilapia, our server said, with what looked Chinese dishes I grew up eating are. And while we event’s Facebook page.

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News Opinion Cover Story Chef Travis Myers pours some honey out of the small, five-liter countertop barrel at Willow’s Bistro. ERIC GINSBURG

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process, they’re going for normal cocktail price, in part a lot of information about the process online, he said, because Myers said it’s their first so he’s learning as he goes, and run and also because it’s a draw occasionally reaching out to his Visit Willow’s Bistro at 300 S. to get people in the door. friend and Topo owner Esteban Liberty St. #125 (W-S) or folThe barrel will last for about McMahan for advice. three more infusions, Myers But given the miniscule low Travis Myers on Instagram said. He clearly enjoys tinkering amount of ingredients he adds at @chef_myers. with it, but given the limited and the minimal amount of lifespan and wait time for each labor required, Myers said it’s a batch, he’s cautious too, avoiding bitters in the first fun way to experiment without much of a risk. batch that might’ve turned the flavor too much and testing the mix continuously throughout. There isn’t

Culture

Chapel Hill.

Adding orange zest, a little pith, some vanilla beans and some Bordeaux cherries to Topo’s un-aged Carolina Whiskey, Myers created a hot and delightfully good Old Fashioned. Myers and the crew at the Winston-Salem restaurant released the infusion — which had to be approved by the state before sale — in mid July. Now the small, new American oak barrel is filled with honey and some more orange zest, which Myers will use in various recipes when it’s done aging in about a week and which will give the next liquor in the toddler-sized barrel a sweet inflection.

Anyone can buy the whiskey-aging kit, which is available at some ABC stores and which is listed on Topo’s website, and the barrel can be used to age rum, tequila, beer and plenty of other things. Myers is thinking about a smoky, roasted pineapple mezcal at some point, and he plans to make a Manhattan infusion as well.

There are at least a few other bars in the Triad that are playing around with the DIY set, as far as Myers knows, including the Tavern at Old Salem and Marshall Free House in Greensboro. For now, Willow’s is only using one — moving it around the restaurant to hit different temperatures and make the wood of the barrel expand and contract — but they’ll soon add a couple more to their arsenal, Myers said.

There’s still some of the Old Fashioned — which includes a little of Topo’s Eight Oak Whiskey, an aged wheat spirit — available at Willow’s, and likely will be for about another week. Despite the drawn-out aging

Up Front

by Eric Ginsburg

Travis Myers is one of the area’s best chefs, but you can totally do this at home.

About four months ago, Willow’s Bistro kitchen boss started the process of aging whiskey and several other ingredients in a five-liter countertop barrel from Topo, an organic distillery based in

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

22

CULTURE High Point Museum exhibit honors luthiery

by Jesse Morales

G

leaming beneath the High Point Museum’s golden ceiling spotlights, one hand-fashioned cigar box guitar dangles from a hook without so much as a glass barrier to protect it.

With three spare strings stretched across a roughhewn neck and a Brick House brand cigar box for a body, the guitar blares out hands-on history when touched with a strum.

Its quirky, found-object character and freewheeling, anyone-can-play vibe is one of the key appeals of The Luthier’s Craft: Instrument Making Traditions of the Blue Ridge exhibit at the museum. at the museum.

Like the hardscrabble instrument, The Luthier’s Craft display expresses a luthier’s vision of Appalachian music through a virtuosic catalog of history and instrumentation. While the traveling exhibit — on loan from Mount Airy’s Museum of Regional History — finds its temporary home in a single room at the High Point Museum, to peruse that small space is to experience full immersion in the form.

Luthiery refers to the precise art of crafting stringed instruments — from wooden blocks to silky musical mediums. Besides the cruder cigar box piece, the labyrinthine display houses many forms of Blue Ridge string instrument — banjo, fiddle, guitar — in varying stages of construction and deconstruction.

While angular display panels mirror the mathematical precision required in expert luthiery, attendees can sojourn through melding streams of sonic bliss emanating from assorted corners. Rather than creating a cacophony of clashing sounds, this multi-speaker JESSE MORALES The Luthier’s Craft shines in a solitary room richly inlaid with Blue Ridge musical culture. approach to sound presentation fosters an atmosphere of bustle and exuberance. It’s easy to imagine both the luthier’s vision and their means of knowledge ments. After a stint in a torpedo manufacturing plant a barn-raising and contra dance spilling into the quiet transmission.

True to traditional music’s preservational during the war, Hash settled in Lansing, NC to work as afternoon. ethos, an individual luthier learns a blue-collar machinist for Sprague Electric Co. In his At a listening station honoring the artistry of instrument-making spare time, though, Hash fashioned his daughter AuMount Airy radio personality from an elder luthier and hands drey’s tender hands into the expert tools of a luthier.

For more information about Ralph Epperson, patrons can down that wealth of knowledge Now a master luthier in her own right, Audrey Hash hear the kind of authentic roots upcoming live performances to an apprentice of their own.

Ham boasts her own prodigy of an apprentice, Chris music that Epperson played on and luthiery demonstrations Master luthier Albert Hash’s Testerman, with whom she founded the Albert Hash his WPAQ radio show “Merry by Johnny Gentry (banjo), story inaugurates a close-up view Memorial Band. Their initiative serves to teach and Go-Round” from 1948 until the of the zeal and joy that become a encourage school-age kids in the art of traditional Blue Wayne Henderson (guitar), early 2000s. Around the corner, a part of learning the skillset.

The push-button mechanism allows and Chris Testerman (fiddle), exhibit quotes Hash relating an Pick of the Week listeners to order up examples of visit www.highpointmuseanecdote about his path toward four traditional musical styles: Communing with friends the profession. um.org. The Luthier’s Craft old-time, bluegrass, ballads, and Music Festival for our Homeless Friends @ Gateway “My fiddlemaking began back religious music. Still another loops exhibit runs through Dec 17 Commons Park (W-S), Saturday, 2 p.m. in the depression days when there footage of master Blue Ridge luthKimberly Hinton Robinson has brought together at the High Point Museum. wasn’t any money to buy one ier Audrey Hash Ham conversing an all-star team of individuals to bring music and with. I was just a lad, 10-years old, with North Carolina native and festivities to those experiencing homelessness. Roband I had to have me a fiddle. So I PBS “Folkways” host David Holt. inson, along with entertainers such as the Tim Miller had to make it or do without,” Hash remembers.

Yet the focus of The Luthier’s Craft remains firmly on Band, the Piedmont Jazz Project and “God’s Comic” After Hash turned out his first hand-hewn fiddle prithe human faces of Appalachian music-making — the Dionne Fowler plan to rock the day away. Additionalor to World War II, he made more than 50 more fiddles luthiers themselves. ly, the day will include a food and clothing giveaway during his lifetime, as well as dozens of mandolins, The Luthier’s Craft weaves a narrative of personal and gifts for the kids in attendance. For an extensive banjos and other traditional Blue Ridge musical instrupassion and connection that serves as a conduit for list of details, visit the event’s Facebook page.

exhibit’s historical photographs. This void strikes a note of discord with the written story the exhibit tells by way of its display panels — the text describing Blue Ridge musical history repeatedly acknowledges the debt Appalachian rhythm and song owe to African-American musicicians’ tuneful influences.

For example, the clawhammer style of banjo playing — a strike-and-strum, rather than a picking, method — traces its early roots to African musical techniques.

As a medley of North Carolina and Virginia skills, sounds, and music-mak-

ing traditions, The Luthier’s Craft approaches profundity — but leaves much to be desired in terms of profiling non-white cultural influencers. Perhaps that unevenness reflects the state of Blue Ridge traditional music in 2016, but the existence of organizations like the Music Maker Relief Foundation leaves that proposition in doubt.

As for the music itself, and the luthier-crafted instruments that play it, the result of The Luthier’s Craft is unalloyed beauty.

Up Front

pointed out that“we are not that far outside the Round Peak region of music here in the Triad.” That’s why the High Point Museum takes pride in featuring a traveling exhibit that highlights “the growth in our appreciation of North Carolina’s musical heritage,” he said, citing the distinctive Piedmont Blues style as Triad iteration of the very lineage that the exhibit seeks to document.

There’s a glaring absence in the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History’s take on The Luthier’s Craft — only one person of color features in the

triad-city-beat.com

Ridge regional music.

Both Albert Hash and his daughter Audrey, as well as Testerman, hail from the Round Peak area of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which spans towns and counties across the North Carolina and Virginia border. Guitar maker Wayne Henderson, whose work figures prominently in The Luthier’s Craft, lives in Grayson County, in Virginia, while banjo craftsman Johnny Gentry makes his home across the state line in Surry County.

Michael Scott, the curator of education for the High Point Museum,

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August 3 — 9, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

24

CULTURE Summer camp kids impress with drumming, dance

by Jesse Morales

E

ven without a heavy velvet curtain rolling back to reveal the scene, audience members at an African dancing and drumming performance held on July 29 registered visible surprise as a father-andson duo opened the show with thunderous, intricate beats — the young boy wasn’t older than four.

Gathered at Studio 327 in downtown Greensboro’s Cultural Arts Center, about 50 families, friends and community members absorbed a story scene rendered in dance and music by about a dozen of Wesley Williams’ students. From running triplet steps to an armswide-open motif, the dance vocabulary echoed the energy and power inherent to the elemental human story their dance composition sought to tell.

For the past few summers, Williams — who is the founding director of Greensboro’s Suah African Dance Theatre — has volunteered his afternoons to teach a four-week, intensive West African dance program to school-age participants at various city-run summer camps. This year, Brown Community Recreation Center in Greensboro hosted Williams’ initiative throughout the month of July.

Williams aimed for the performance to tell “a story about a village in West Africa where it doesn’t rain ANNE MORRIS Students of Suah African Dance Theatre’s Wesley Williams end their July 29 performance with but once a year.” He said that in West African cultural arms wide open. traditions, villagers “prepare the ground, and when it rains there is a big celebration.” At the July 29 perforgrowing!” he exclaimed. “They are digging. I see them have discovered yet.” mance, Williams and his group of young dancers atscratching. Nothing. What are we going to do? We Recalling an anecdote from this summer, Williams temped “to tell that story through our bodies, through have no food to eat!” said that “one of the young ladies” who participated dance.”

Three of Williams’ female colleagues, each affiliated in the Brown Recreation Center dance camp “was By the time this summer’s group of young performwith Suah African Dance Theatre, led the young girls in bullied badly as a child.” Williams said that for the first ers reached their final public show, Williams’ daily drumstick sequences and movement phrases. Williams week of camp, “every time I’d ask her to sing, she’d mentorship was clearly having an effect. As each young directed the boys in showing their dancing prowess cry, because her peers picked on her for trying to sing. dancer leaped, drummed and chanted in call-and-reand physical strength.

Whenever she’d visit that place inside, she’d get the sponse with the drums, they displayed confident and As the narrative dance crescendoed, a full drumming hiccups. But by the second week, those went away.” jubilant faces. With passionate skill, about a dozen chorus composed of boys, girls and teachers reached Williams attributed that transformation, as well as campers from Brown Recreation Center turned out full volume, accentuated by claps from the audience. similar ones he’s witnessed in other children who learn exquisite drum cadences on instruments adorned with Then — after swift vocal falls and a patter of hands West African fine arts at his camps, to “building the colorful cloth bands and fringe. mimicking rain — the children joined in a final jubilant program around the talent we have.”

The performers’ command of intricate dance steps dance that finished in a convivial, open-armed posture.

“All of them have a gift, and we try to find that gift — plus their ability to speak and sing in the Ghanaian and use it,” he said, “whether it’s poetry, reading, language of Twi — rivaled the multitasking required of Anne Morris, co-director of sponsor organization the memory, or anything.” professional dance and theater company members.

Dance Project, closed the performance by offering each Audience members could feel luschild, in her words, “a certificate cious drumbeats vibrating through to symbolize how much these kids Pick of the Week the floor, and augmented the visuDance Project is online at have accomplished.”

Artistic adventures in the animal kingdom ally complex dance performance danceproject.org, while Williams agreed with Morris’ esAnimal Kingdom art exhibit @ the DeBeen Espresso, with simple claps of their own.

Suah African Dance Theatre timation of his students’ growth.

(HP), Friday, 7 p.m.

Boys and girls proved their danBut he added that “dance and has a Facebook page.

Josh Hendry, the official pet-portrait artist of the cerly mettle by twisting into circudrumming is just a vehicle to get Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball team, uses the lar and diagonal group formations. to some more important things effervescent colors of the rainbow to capture the The dancers simulated walking, the children may be dealing with.” personality of pets on canvas. There is talk in the traveling, searching, settling, nodding and waiting for Williams said that the dance camp — which his oranimal kingdom that Josh will be creating alligators the rain to shower their makeshift village. ganization and the city offer to summer camp attendand lions. Maybe, if you are real nice, he will paint Williams’ strong voice accompanied the children’s ees who may not otherwise learn about West African tigers and bears as well. More info can be found on movements. dancing and drumming — works with a goal of finding the artist’s Facebook page.

“The young people are looking to see if any food is and enhancing “individual skills that the kids may not

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FUN & GAMES

U

nder the late July evening sky, spectators slowly filled Greensboro’s White Oak Amphitheatre. The Sleeping Booty Band was about to go on. They’re a cover outfit out of Raleigh, playing ’70s funk and disco

by Anthony Harrison favorites with the G-rated charm, flair and virtuosic cleanliness of a very good wedding band.

But before that — before the crowd received what they really came for — USA Masters Games CEO Hill Carrow had a few words for the closing ceremonies.

“There’s never been a USA Masters Games before,” he told everyone. “There’ve been others around the world, but never one in the United States. Give yourselves a round of applause, ’cause y’all are the founders of this event.”

Did you know the inaugural USA Masters Games — the amateur Olympics, in three words — was coming to Greensboro from July 21 to July 31? I did, because I received a press release back in April 2015. That was right after I began my tenure as Triad City Beat’s sports columnist. Many of us were still laughing at the concept of Donald Trump running for president back then.

But I wonder how many civilians knew about the competition, comprised of more than 2,500 amateur athletes from 45 states and 12 countries vying for medals in 24 different sports in more than 20 venues across the Triad. There was hardly any news coverage, despite the News and Record and WXII-12 News sponsoring the events. The only real promotion I ever saw consisted of a few discrete vertical banners around the coliseum and other host venues, like UNCG and NC A&T University.

Time Warner Cable News actually published a piece on June 6 urging people to register as athletes.

I’d gone to the Greensboro Aquatic Center to check out diving on July 31, the last day of the games. The age bracket wasn’t listed on the printout schedule I’d received when I got my credential; according to the volunteer who helped me out, I would’ve had to buy an official program. I guessed the divers were from the 45-and-over contingent.

Attendance was paltry. A few stragglers and competitors cheered on their fellow athletes.

The Games Village in the Special Events Center was a wasteland completely devoid of activity.

I meandered over to Halls B and C, where table tennis and 3-on-3 basketball games were supposed to be underway. A few pickup games were wrapping up, but, again, no one sat in the stands. Many athletes were back in plain clothes.

“Y’all too cute to hoop now, man!” one guy yelled at a trio of players in Tommy Hilfiger polos.

I peeked into Hall B. A row of probably a dozen pingpong tables hosted a round-robin singles tournament with athletes of all ages swiping and serving. But,

Masters of empty halls again, no one watched them. The only sounds came Masters Games exuded passion for their sports. But from the refrigerated hum of the air conditioner and the community around them seemed unaware, maybe the polyrhythmic clicky-clack, clickety-clack of the little showing up to the ceremonies because they heard white spheres against table and paddle. about a concert at the White Oak. I went back to the courts and approached a member After Sleeping Booty played their renditions of of the Neese’s Sausage team, center Dupree Hall from “Roller Coaster” and “Brick House,” Carrow took the Greensboro. stage again to reveal that San Diego would host the “There was a nice crowd yesterday,” Hall said. “[The 2018 games. games] were early today, so it may be a bit better this Let’s hope America’s Finest City shows a warmer afternoon.” welcome.

“What’s going on then?” I asked.

“The 5-on-5 championship,” Hall said. “Starts at 4.”

This event wasn’t listed on the schedule. It wasn’t on the program either, which I nabbed for free later that night.

After leaving the Special Events Center, I drove by UNCG Baseball Stadium to see if the 21+ bronze medal game was still going on or if teams vying for the gold medal were warming up, but the stadium was barren. The vertical banners still waved in the breeze.

Another disconnect between schedule and reality.

Before Sleeping Booty took the White Oak Amphitheatre, Hill Carrow personally awarded gold medals to event organizers Jim Belk and Scott Johnson.

That afternoon, I’d run into three women wearing legitimate gold medals outside the Games Village.

They were part of an 11-woman team from Seattle who’d won the 40-49 age bracket in synchronized swimming. They’d first heard of the games last October at a national meet in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Some of our team had gone to the World Masters,” Melissa Johnson said. “We heard about the USA Masters and thought, Could be fun.” Playing to an empty room: Only a few curious ANTHONY HARRISON spectators watched these ping-pongers duke it out in The three women had been to a round-robin tournament. socials every night.

“They were all local bands we’d nevPick of the Week er heard of, so that was a treat,” Debbie Stewart said.

Yoga, yoga, YOGA, YOGA! “I’ve been posting on Facebook about the competiWooing Nature Yoga Party @ HQ Greensboro (GSO), tions, and people have said, ‘I could probably do that,’” Friday, 6 p.m.

Kelly Lawyer said. “I tell them, ‘Yeah, you probably Wanna get downward-facing dog to some world, could!’ The worse you are, the more people you can get house, hip­hop and neo­soul music before hitting to support you.” downtown for First Friday? HQ Greensboro hosts Sitting on the amphitheater’s grassy berm waiting a yoga party with lifestyle-enhancement company for Sleeping Booty to begin, I figured the 200-odd peoWooing Nature for On Swiss Running Shoes’ East ple milling about outnumbered the complete attenCoast Tour.

There’s an hour of yoga before the dance on the games’ closing day. And many of them after-party, when you’ll be fitted with a pair of On’s were probably athletes. shoes.

Visit wooingnature.com for details.

The athletes who competed in the inaugural USA

‘Restaurant Battle!’ three dishes try to outdo each other.

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1 Rook’s representation 2 Big name in bleach 3 Former Chevrolet model named after an element 4 Guide on the dance floor 5 Agra garments 6 Saturn’s Greek counterpart 7 “Here Come the ___” (They Might Be Giants kids’ album) 8 Soldier in 1950s news 9 Where hotel guests check in 10 Spotlighted section 11 Indonesian volcano that erupted in 1883 12 End of a belief?

13 Info one might keep private on Face-

Friday, August 5

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News

Down

book, for short 19 Supporting 21 Pass 25 Fisheye, e.g.

27 Horse height measure 28 “In this day and ___ ...”

30 Pay boost 32 Rowdy crowd 33 Supernatural being inhabiting the air 35 They’re downed to keep you up 37 Like some fishhooks 38 George, George, and George, to George Foreman 39 Adorable one, quaintly (and why does this always invoke sugary foods?)

40 “Magnum, P.I.” setting 41 Self-described self-defense expert on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” 45 Play an ace?

47 Inn, in Istanbul 48 Aslan’s land 49 In a plucky manner 51 “... ___ gloom of night” 53 Covered in body art 56 Disinfectant’s target 57 “What Not to ___” 58 Aficionados 59 Omega’s preceder 60 Verizon rival, initially 61 Dodeca- halved, then halved again

Open Mic Night

Up Front

1 Cato’s 350 5 Stadiumgoer’s wrap 10 Have braking problems 14 Sunburn remedy 15 Wooded shelter 16 “... ___ I’ve been told” 17 Buckwheat noodles 18 Meaty entree that beats 38-Across in reviews?

20 Parts of some car deals 22 Breakfast corner 23 “I get the joke and it’s funny but I have no time to write all this” 24 Baton Rouge coll.

25 8 1/2” x 11” size, for short 26 “Told you so!”

29 Piece thrown into the regular package 31 Threw off 33 Male deer 34 “George of the Jungle” creature 36 Singly 38 Leafy entree that beats 59-Across in reviews?

41 Computer user’s customizable accessory 42 Winger of Winger 43 “I’m in” indicator 44 Perlman of “Matilda” 46 “Wheel of Fortune” category 50 Show with a short-lived “Cyber” spinoff 51 Fresh, in Frankfurt

52 Contend (for) 54 Baby goat sound 55 Psychoanalytic subjects 57 Energy-producing row of turbines 59 Beefy stir-fry entree that beats 18-Across in reviews?

62 Duncan of Obama’s cabinet 63 “___ Crazy” (Wilder/Pryor movie) 64 Speak eloquently 65 Astrophysicist deGrasse Tyson 66 Tabloid pair, maybe 67 Fathered, as a foal 68 Don’t budge

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Blame it on Rio

O

n Friday, the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games commence. This year, the summer games of the XXXI Olympiad will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with 207 nations participating and

by Nicole Crews more than 10,500 athletes expected to take part. The Maracanã Stadium-based event will serve as home base to the extravaganza, and some 306 events in 28 sports will take place there and at 33 venues in the host city and five venues in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasilia and Manaus. The XXXI Olympiad will close on August 21.

New to Rio 2016 are the games of golf and rugby — added by the Olympic Committee in 2009 — and the nations of South Sudan and Kosovo will be participating for the first time.

Rio is the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics and the first Portuguese-speaking country to host.

Due to the novelty of the country’s culture as well

• The “real” world: Here athletes compete to bribe as controversies that include a Russian doping scandal, officials with real — the Brazilian currency — in homage pollution of Guanabara Bay, safety issues involving the Zika virus and instability and corruption of the to the federal government. Russian competitors were favored here but disqualified due to the doping scancountry’s economy and federal government, several dal. last-minute games have been added to the roster.

• Diving for doodie: In lieu of “going for the gold,” Here is a guide to the latest: athletes participating in this Guanabara Bay event are • Extreme waxing: Athletes competing in water polo, beach volleyball and swimming competiencouraged to “be down with the brown.”

Much like cadaver dodging, athletes are tions have been drafted to participate in this encouraged to clean up as much as possible test of pain endurance that is a Brazilian cul- Much like tural tradition. Michael Phelps of Team USA ice dancing, during their plunges.

• Thong discus throw: Known colloquially is slated to take the gold in this competition costuming is as the “disco David & Goliath” — throwers due to his experimentation in homeopathic pain remedies. factored into will use Brazilian swimwear to propel the discus. Much like ice dancing, costuming is • Cadaver dodging: Guanabara Bay — Rio’s scoring. factored into scoring. Bearded Benn HarraEast River — will host this event for sailing dine of Australia is to be watched if only teams and the course will remain buoyfor his refusal to participate in the Extreme free with the exception of floating dead Waxing event. bodies. “It’s kind of like jazz sailing,” said one athlete • Bossa nova boxing: Rythmic dance combined with who chose to remain anonymous. Cadavers dodged boxing to Brazilian sounds including bossa nova, samwill be marked from judge’s boats manned by archery ba, pagode, tropicalia, choro, maracatu, embolada, athletes. “It’s really cool. It’s like two events in one mangue beat, funk, frevo, forro, axe, brega, lambada and doing something for the environment,” said the and more. athlete.

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