TCB Aug. 24, 2016 — Rogue Detectives by Triad City Beat

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point triad-city-beat.com August 24 – 30, 2016

How a local filmmaker, an area college grad and an inmate power MTV’s ‘Unlocking the Truth’ PAGE 16

FREE

Revolutionary motherhood PAGE 10

Is summer over? PAGE 17, 22 and 23

Crossword puzzle! PAGE 21

August 24 — 30, 2016

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

CONTENTS

Ironing it out

UP FRONT 2 Editor’s Notebook 3 City Life 4 Commentariat 4 The List 5 Barometer 5 Unsolicited Endorsement

by Brian Clarey

NEWS 6 Lawsuit: Indifference by jail medical staff led to woman’s death 8 Former cop accuses activist of cyberstalking, lawyer hits back 9 HPJ: Outdoor children’s area nearing completion

OPINION 10 Editorial: Not talking about Trump 10 Fresh Eyes: A revolutionary motherhood 11 It Just Might Work: Public art’s more mobile cousin 11 Citizen Green: State cites ‘anti-LGBT hate group’ for support in HB 2 case

COVER 12 Rogue Detectives: How a local filmmaker, an area college grad and an inmate power MTV’s ‘Unlocking the Truth’

CULTURE 16 Food: Indian independence with a picnic

17 Barstool: Boozy summer Popsicles 18 Music: Teardrops on his letters: Josh Kimbrough’s last blast of youth 19 Art: Organic film

FUN & GAMES 20 Bursting the bubble

GAMES

21 Jonesin’ Crossword

SHOT IN THE TRIAD 22 Pinetop Rd, Greensboro

ALL SHE WROTE 23 On golden blonde

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

I think Darryl Hunt is one of the largest factors in getting Kalvin Michael Smith support. In [Winston-Salem], there are certainly racial tensions, racial issues.... It all begins with Darryl Hunt with his incredible efforts as a human being and what he experienced. — Ryan Ferguson, in the Cover, 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

dick@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Eric Ginsburg

SALES EXECUTIVE Stephen Cuccio

SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

lamar@triad-city-beat.com

eric@triad-city-beat.com

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

jorge@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL INTERNS Naari Honor Jesse Morales intern@triad-city-beat.com

steve@triad-city-beat.com

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

Cover photography courtesy of MTV. Thanks, folks!

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

It began with a mundane household chore: the ironing of a shirt that looked like someone had twisted it into a thong. So I fired up the iron and got to smoothing out wrinkles while my 11-year-old daughter looked on. “You know,” I said, “there was a time when women used to sit in front of the television and iron the entire load of laundry — pants, underwear, the whole deal.” “Really?” she asked. “My Grandma Betty used to iron the sheets.” My wife added from across the room. I remember my own mother, before she went back to work when I was 13, would set up in the den with the channel set to the daytime soap operas, which proliferated in the days when women were expected to stay home tending house. There she’d knock out the whole thing, including my father’s shirts and three kids’ worth of togs. I don’t think my mother ironed the sheets — I know for a fact she detested ironing, and she gleefully abandoned the chore after returning to her career. Grandma Betty had an entire room on the farm in Kansas devoted to ironing and sewing, separate from the laundry room itself, where she’d grimly patch clothes, reaffix buttons and, perhaps, sew herself a dress once in a while. My own grandmother, in suburban New Jersey, had a version of that same room, right off her bedroom: countertops lined with fabric scraps and drawers full of thread, the ironing board dominating the center of the room. I myself learned to iron in eighth grade during a mandatory home economics class, where our first task — before venturing into basic cookery and rudimentary sewing — was to iron a handkerchief into a neat, crisp triangle… so it would look on point, I suppose, for that second in between the ‘My Grandma Betty moment the user pulls it used to iron the sheets,’ from a pocket and when my wife added from he fills it with wet boogers. across the room. Handkerchiefs— the functional kind, as opposed to the pocket square — are so very last century, right up there with daytime soap operas and ironing the sheets. Part of my daughter’s deal is that she likes to act as if she already knows something. So she took these stories of forced domesticity in stride. “Oh yeah,” she said. “I know.” And then my daughter, though I am positive she has never done this thing in her entire life, gave me, an experienced smoother, some ironing advice. “If you put a piece of foil underneath it you don’t have to iron the back,” she said. “I saw it on YouTube.” Where was she, I wondered, when Grandma Betty needed her?

ALL WEEKEND

Up Front

Street Food and Wine Pairing @ the Public House (HP) Chef Steve Hollingsworth creatively blends street cuisine with a worldly gourmet flair to elevate your taste buds to uncharted heights. This two-plating weekend extravaganza will take place on Friday and Saturday, and is accompanied by wine specially chosen for his five plate presentation. More information can be found on the event’s Facebook page and tickets purchased at squareup.com/store/chef-steve.com

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SUNDAY

OTAKU Speed Dating and Mixer @ Little Akihabara anime Shop (GSO), 4:30 p.m. Speed dating in an anime shop. *Drops mic and walks off stage*. RSVP via Facebook. com/LilAkihabara.

All She Wrote

Magic PPTQ Dublin @ Gaming Underground LLC (HP), 11 a.m. All you players out there looking for an in-store preliminary pro tour qualifier event, Gaming Underground has you covered. The Underground is offering a chance for you to start your competitive play journey in their gaming metropolis. Detailed gaming information can be found on the Gaming Underground LLC Facebook event page.

Shot in the Triad

Montagnard cuisine tasting @ Greensboro Farmers Curb Market (GSO), 9 a.m. The herbs and vegetables used in this demonstration are available to the public for purchase. For more information, check out the Fresh Flavors of Montagnard Cuisine Tasting Facebook Page.

Games

SATURDAY

Fun & Games

Two-year anniversary @ the Artist Bloc (GSO), 9 p.m. The Artist Bloc celebrates its 2-year anniversary with the merry band of artists, musicians and performers that helped to make it all possible, red-carpet style. The hybrid artist supply store, performance venue and coffee shop also provides a sneak-peak of its current renovations and plans for the future. For more information, reach out to the venue through the Artist Block LLC Facebook page.

Culture

Pokémon the Movie 2000 @ Marketplace Cinemas (W-S), 8:20 p.m. Marketplace Cinemas goes old school with a free viewing of the Pokémon the Movie 2000 on its giant drive-in screen. Teams Mystic, Valor and Instinct, grab your “go-bags”! The Cinemas is a Pokémon stop and rumor has it that a Snorlax has been spotted on the grounds. Pertinent information can be found on Marketplace Cinemas Facebook page.

Cover Story

Photo walk @ the Narnia House (HP), 6:30 p.m. Despite there not being a lion, magical wardrobe closet or witch on this excursion, this photo walk claims to offer some exciting scenes that amateur and professional photographers alike will enjoy. The walk starts at the Narnia House in High Point. Sponsored by the North Carolina Photography Group, the tour plans to include many sites only a camera junkie could appreciate. For more information, check out meetup. com/triadstrobist or the Facebook event page.

Opinion

SoCa Groove @ LeBauer Park’s Bryan Stage (GSO), 6 p.m. Do you like to “Move it, move it”? Jenna McMillan shows up at LeBauer Park to help you sweat your hair out and gyrate those pounds away to the island sounds of reggae, soca and dancehall. Detailed information can be found on LeBauer Park’s Facebook event page.

News

WEDNESDAY Glow and Flow @ Paz Studios (W-S), 8:30 p.m. Ladies and gents, Paz studios will host glow-in-the-dark yoga. Drape your body in white or other black-light friendly colors and they will provide the glow sticks, body paint, and instructions on how to channel your inner pretzel. More information can be found on pazboutique. com and Paz Studios Facebook event page.

triad-city-beat.com

CITY LIFE August 24 – 30

by Naari Honor

August 24 — 30, 2016

3 tactical urbanism interventions in Greensboro

All She Wrote

Shot in the Triad

Games

Fun & Games

Culture

Cover Story

Opinion

News

Up Front

by Jordan Green

315 South Elm Street Greensboro, NC 27401

336-273-0970

orders@cheesecakesbyalex.com

Closure of Davie Street/Summit Avenue The new LeBauer Park — covered previously in these pages by my colleagues, Brian Clarey and Eric Ginsburg — is magnificent in its own right. What I’m noticing, in addition to how instantaneously enthusiastic cohorts of all age groups have taken to the foosball tables and cornhole boards, is how the park points to future developments in the activation of the urban landscape. Specifically, the area at the east end of the park where the concession buildings and stage are located fronts to the origin of Summit Avenue, opening towards the future Tanger Performing Arts Center. The city of Greensboro’s decision to keep Davie Street and Summit Avenue closed to vehicular traffic might be more of a practical consideration of safety, but on a recent run I noticed a salutary effect of pedestrians feeling safe to cross from LeBauer to Center City Park in a relaxed and unhurried manner. In the short time it took me to run up Davie Street, past LeBauer Park and then cut across on Summit Avenue to get to Elm Street, I noticed two families using the closed streets to push baby strollers. This might be an unintentional tactical urbanism intervention, but the temporary closure of these streets sets an early pattern of pedestrian primacy and conditions drivers to choose alternate routes well before the performing arts center opens. To anyone in the Greensboro Transportation Department: If you did this intentionally, my hat is off to you. Refinery Vaping Co. On the same run, I happily observed some life on the rest of Davie Street, which south of Friendly Avenue tends to be defined by parking lots that serve the primary corridor of South Elm Street. From a utilitarian perspective it’s friendly to pedestrians with wide sidewalks and ample space, but aesthetically, not so much. Incredibly, 104 S. Davie St., a one-story brick commercial storefront,

is the only building that fronts the west side of the street. The building casts a generous length of shade over the wide sidewalk in the evening, and the sight of two people seated at a café table deep in conversation and enjoying their vapes presented a jarring contrast to the otherwise barren view. That’s almost the very definition of a tactical urbanism intervention: Throw some chairs and a small table onto a sidewalk in a setting where such comforts were never intended. Jake’s Billiards Similarly, I applaud Jake’s Billiards, the bar on Spring Garden Street that is renowned for its extensive craft beer selection and fair employment practices. In late 2013, the management closed off the parking lot in front of their establishment and replaced it with a large, partially covered deck. Spring Garden Street is a lovable hodgepodge of traditional storefronts and suburban-style buildings with parking in front. By eliminating the front parking lot, Jake’s urbanized its property and reoriented it to the street, creating a vital interface for pedestrians. The ample parking lot in the back is nearly always full, but they compensate by making their establishment more appealing to students and others who live and work around UNCG, who can walk or bike to meet friends for a late-afternoon drink. The deck has a democratic feel, with service-industry humps, professors and students, and members of the creative underclass jostling elbow to elbow at the long tables.

Last week we asked about traditional four-year institutions, so this time around we’re talking about local community colleges.

20 10

GTCC

42%

Forsyth Tech

Other

All She Wrote

50%

Shot in the Triad

Games

Fun & Games

Culture

Cover Story

New question: Read this week’s cover story and then tell us : What’s the best historic MTV show? Vote at triad-citybeat.com.

Opinion

Readers: GTCC barely won this low voter-turnout race, notching a couple percentage points above Forsyth Tech with 50 percent vs. 42 percent. That’s thanks to the remaining 8 going for “Other,” which really doesn’t make sense because there aren’t other community colleges here. In other words, this is the equivalent of the so-called “Bernie or Bust” / third party crowd wrecking the results and gaining nothing. Nice one, folks.

by Brian Clarey I’ve always been an avid reader, from the time I was about 3 years old. Seriously. By the time I was in kindergarten, my teacher allowed me to go free-range in the library while my booger-eating peers were fumbling their way through the alphabet. As a kid, I’d hole up in my room and knock out whole volumes, read by flashlight into the late hours when I should have been sleeping. When I was 13 I read Stephen King’s The Stand in a single binge that lasted almost a week. I was a little too young to be reading that one. I still love to read — a pretty good thing for a man in my business — but most of the printed words that I consume these days are on a screen, usually journalism and, often, under a tight deadline. When it comes time to read for pleasure, these days I generally fall asleep after a page or two, the book propped on my face like a dead bird. And really, I don’t have the time anyway. I fell into audiobooks in much the same way crack cocaine users find their way into their habit: The first one was free with the download of an app on my phone. I nabbed Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s and listened to it on a solo drive down to Louisiana. Nobody understands the semicolon like Capote, and the text was such that I could almost hear that wonderful piece of punctuation as I sped through the Deep South. More followed: A couple Jonathan Franzen novels, a couple bestsellers, a full theatrical reading of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, a bunch of sci-fi. I listen while I’m cooking, working in the yard or exercising, sometimes when I’m in the car — the whole family burned through The Martian on a drive to Florida. And I get something out of it that I don’t from listening to music or podcasts, though I still do both of those things. The audiobooks keep me connected to the written word, a love that has driven my life and career from the beginning. All writers know that the only way to get better at the craft is to read great writing. And though I’m busy AF, I can still knock out a book a week. But if I’m laying down, I still fall asleep after a couple of minutes.

News

Jordan Green: Other. Seriously, how can you choose? Since the time of my stint as education reporter at the Rio Grande Sun in northern New Mexico I’ve been convinced that community colleges are the most essential institution of most communities. They compensate for the deficiencies of K-12 education by providing remedial classes for students who aren’t prepared for the rigor of a four-year college, and they calibrate curriculum to the workforce needs of employers to ensure that young people from the community can pursue decently compensated careers. To make the choice even more

Eric Ginsburg: Like Brian, I know that GTCC is responsible for some high quality chefs and some of the best graphic designers I know in Greensboro. But that’s probably just a byproduct of living in Greensboro, so I don’t know how to pull the lever here. Just to be arbitrary, I’ll vote for Forsyth Tech. Go Tech Tigers.

Audio books

Up Front

Brian Clarey: I’m gonna have to go with GTCC on this one, in part because of my relative ignorance of Forsyth Tech, but also because I have more than a passing familiarity with GTCC. I know for a fact that its culinary program is in part responsible for the serious upgrade in restaurants we’ve experienced around here in the last decade or so — it’s one of the things that gave me hope when I moved here in 2000 — and the fact that its entertainment school is named for one of the Gatlin brothers is just cool.

difficult, President Obama has visited both Forsyth Tech and GTCC. National politicians choose these settings because they make them look good, so that says a lot about the caliber of both of our community colleges.

triad-city-beat.com

Best Triad community college?

August 24 — 30, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

NEWS

Lawsuit: Indifference by jail medical staff led to woman’s death by Jordan Green

A lawsuit filed in Forsyth County court alleges that a private healthcare company and medical staff at the local jail displayed deliberate indifference, causing the death of a woman awaiting trial in 2014. A lawsuit filed in Forsyth County court last week alleges that medical staff at Forsyth County jail acted with deliberate indifference, causing the death of a pregnant woman who was undergoing withdrawal from opiates while awaiting a hearing on charges of prescription drug fraud in 2014. The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 17 by the estate of Jen McCormack, names Correct Care Solutions — a Tennessee-based healthcare company with extensive contracts in detention facilities across the country — as defendant. McCormack’s unexpected death at Baptist Hospital after being found unresponsive in the jail in downtown Winston-Salem first came to light in a series of articles published by Triad City Beat in 2015 that included details of her deteriorating health during the 16 days of her detention while calling into question an official narrative suggesting she died as a result of a hunger strike. McCormack’s death certificate, which is cited in the lawsuit, notes an “uncertain contributory role of reported intent to starve self v. deficient pre-emptive custodial intervention.” Meanwhile, on Aug. 18, the US Justice Department announced that it will gradually phase out contracts with private prison providers, noting among other factors that “they do not provide the same level of safety and security” as those directly administered by the government. A review of inmate medical records by the Nation that focused on 11 immigrant-only contract prisons, including one in west Texas where Correct Care Solutions was the medical provider, found “prison medical units repeatedly failing to diagnose patients correctly despite obvious and painful symptoms, as well as the use of under-qualified workers pressed to operate at the borders of their legal scope of practice.” The investigative report,

controlled nausea, decedent was unable to take many of the medications that were prescribed for her symptoms of opioid withdrawal, anxiety disorder, depression, and prenatal vitamins for her unborn baby.” The lawsuit alleges that Registered Nurse Miriam Cornatzer Hauser and Nurse Practitioner Emma Aycoth, who worked in the medical unit at the jail at the time of McCorCOURTESY PHOTO Jen McCormack mack’s detention and who are named as individual published in February, also said the files defendants in the lawsuit, showed “men dying of treatable diseases and other members of the nursing staff — men who very likely would have “failed to properly and adequately assess survived had they been given access to decedent’s signs, symptoms and her adequate care.” severely deteriorated condition.” The lawsuit filed in Forsyth County The complaint alleges that Cornatzer court last week by McCormack’s estate and Aycoth violated McCormack’s fills in critical gaps about her access constitutional rights “by intentionally, to medication in the jail and about willfully, maliciously and with conscious concerns raised by an obstetrics nurse and deliberate indifference, failing to at an off-site clinic as to whether her secure adequate and reasonable medical deteriorating condition warranted her care for decedent when they subjectively hospitalization. knew or should have known that deceMcCormack had received Subutex — dent had an objectively serious medical a brand name for the opioid-withdrawal need and faced a substantial risk of medication buprenorphine — during a harm, by disregarding such risk of stay at Forsyth Medical Center prior to harm and by failing to take reasonable her arrest, according to the lawsuit. She measures that were readily available to also received Zofran to treat nausea. avoid that risk.” McCormack had wanted to receive The complaint goes on to say that treatment for her addiction to prescripthe two nurses “had actual knowledge tion drugs at an inpatient facility, but that decedent had failed for several days because no beds were available she to take in and retain amounts of food planned to go home and begin outpaand/or liquid sufficient to sustain life, tient rehabilitation, according to the as a result was exhibiting a seriously lawsuit. Instead, she was arrested for declining physical condition, and remultiple charges of felony prescripquired immediate medical attention and tion-drug fraud and booked in jail. intervention. McCormack experienced nausea “Decedent’s condition would have and vomiting for much of her time been diagnosed by a physician as in jail, complaining of dizziness and mandating treatment and/or was so chest pain, and exhibited lethargy and obvious that even a lay person would disorientation that worsened over time. easily recognize the necessity of medical The lawsuit alleges that although Zofattention,” the lawsuit continues. “Deran was ordered to treat her nausea, it fendants RN Cornatzer and NP Aycoth was only administered to her once. The failed to notify physician staff or othercomplaint alleges, “As a result of her unwise secure reasonable and necessary

medical attention for decedent. Their failure to do so and deliberate indifference ultimately led to her death.” Aycoth declined to comment and Cornatzer could not be reached for this story. The lawsuit accuses Correct Care Solutions of maintaining “policies, practices and/or customs” that constituted deliberate indifference to McCormack’s serious medical needs and that “were a direct and proximate cause” of the nursing staff’s conduct. The lawsuit charges that the company’s cost-cutting policies were “a moving force” in McCormack’s death, while alleging that “CCS has stated that it is committed to measures that minimize the need to transport inmates offsite.” Jim Cheney, a spokesman, said Correct Care Solutions would not be able to comment because the case is under litigation. The lawsuit alleges that “misconduct of nursing staff” at Forsyth County jail and other detention facilities served by Correct Care Solutions was “widespread,” adding that at least seven inmates, including McCormack, have died at the local jail “due to inadequate or improper medical care.” Correct Care Solutions, along with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, is currently defending itself against a lawsuit filed by the family of Dino Vann Nixon, a man who died in the jail in 2013. The lawsuit alleges that medical staff refused to provide Nixon with Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication also known as benzodiazepine. A report by a local medical examiner found that his death “was related to withdrawal from benzodiazepine.” Despite the finding by the medical examiner, the defendants deny that Nixon’s death was related to withdrawal from the medication, while maintaining that he received appropriate care. Correct Care Solutions also provides medical services in the Guilford County detention center. A woman named Ellin Schott who had been arrested for panhandling died at Cone Hospital after her health rapidly deteriorated

dehydrated due to continued nausea and vomiting. Nursing staff made no measurement of decedent’s food and water intake or output except for one notation of water intake that was made on September 13, 2014. Decedent was becoming at high risk for a serious and significant dehydration setting the stage for injury to her brain, kidneys and

heart that did, in fact, cause a severe downward spiral in decedent’s condition, including changes in cognition, damage to her kidneys placing her at high risk for kidney failure, and culminating in a cardiac arrest that led to hypoxic brain injury and death.”

Up Front

AUGUST 27 & 28

SATURDAY 10AM – 5PM + SUNDAY 10AM – 4PM  NEW LOCATION

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4751 NC-49, Concord, NC 28025

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Thousands of guitars, amps, effects and accessories. Bring an instrument to SELL or TRADE! Turn unused gear into CASH$$ Admission: Sat $10/Sun $8

Opinion

him as the medical director for the Forsyth County jail, along with the three Guilford County detention centers. Rhoades could not be reached for comment for this story. The next day, according to the lawsuit, McCormack visited an OB/ GYN at a clinic off site from the jail. “The obstetrical nurse contacted NP Aycoth expressing concern about decedent seeming drugged and drowsy and because decedent had vomited vertical ginger ale she had been1/6 given,” the : 3.08 (w) x 4.875 lawsuit alleges. “The obstetrical nurse(h) questioned whether decedent should be 1/6 horizontal: hospitalized, and NP Aycoth instructed 4.75 (w) x 3.1875 the obstetrical nurse to have decedent (h) returned to the jail.” Later that day, the lawsuit alleges that despite discovering that McCormack had vomited in her wash basin back in her cell and was struggling to eat, Aycoth failed to report those developments to physician staff. “After September 9, 2014, nursing staff made no assessment of blood pressure or vital signs until September 13, 2014,” the lawsuit alleges. “Meanwhile, decedent was becoming more and more

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during a brief stay in one of the jails in downtown Greensboro. A local medical examiners report chronicled medical staff’s apparent unwillingness to provide Schott with her prescribed anti-seizure medication and concluded that the immediate cause of death was “complications of prolonged seizure activity.” According to the lawsuit filed in Forsyth County court last week, McCormack reported to the nursing staff on the fifth day of her detention that she was weak and dizzy, that she had been vomiting, and that the anti-nausea medication she had been receiving “is not sufficient.” The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Alan Rhoades assessed that McCormack was apparently fainting, further concluding that she was exhibiting “drug seeking behaviors.” The complaint continues, “Decedent had been placed on Vicodin because CCS did not have access to Subutex. Dr. Rhoades ordered that Vicodin dose be decreased and ordered, ‘no change in management otherwise,” with the doctor emphasizing the first two words in all capitals. Rhoades’ LinkedIn page identifies

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

August 24 — 30, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

Former cop accuses activist of cyberstalking, lawyer hits back by Eric Ginsburg

Former Greensboro Police Officer Timothy Bloch, who fatally shot Chieu Di Thi Vo in 2014, is pressing charges against police accountability activist Brian Watkins for cyberstalking, alleging that Watkins’ online activism amounts to harassment. Watkins and scoffs at the allegation, calling it an attack on free speech and pushing for the charges to be dismissed. There are several components to former Greensboro police Officer Timothy Bloch’s complaint against activist Brian Watkins, but the two cyberstalking charges Watkins now faces revolve around several alleged Facebook posts that call Bloch names such as “killer,” “murderer” and “wimp.” In Bloch’s first complaint, filed on May 8, the former officer who shot and killed Chieu Di Thi Vo in 2014 argues that Watkins “unlawfully and willfully did electronically communicate and electronically mail to Timothy J. Bloch for the purpose of abusing, annoying, threatening, terrifying, harassing and embarrassing him” by posting a picture of him and others of his daughters, calling them “children of a murderer” and saying Bloch should be in prison for Vo’s death. The charging document lists several specific alleged Facebook posts ranging from Jan. 4, 2015 to May 6, 2016 that appear to primarily focus on Bloch’s role in Vo’s death. A second complaint filed nine days later and covering a slightly different time period alleges that Watkins also “repeatedly post[ed] on Facebook and linking Timothy J. Bloch’s name and sometimes picture to the posts calling him a murderer, a coward and a wimp.” But in an 11-page motion to dismiss, Watkins’ public defender Brennan Aberle argues that the state’s cyberstalking statute is unconstitutional, and that Watkins wouldn’t be guilty under it anyway. Watkins and Aberle said they believe the root of Bloch’s complaints is a Facebook page called Greensboro Police Public Abuse that routinely criticizes Bloch and the department. Aberle said in an interview that they are not conceding that the page is maintained by Watkins or that he is responsible for the posts in question. Watkins said in an interview that he does not have a personal

communicating to the other party, and it’s not clear that the page’s posts are directed to Bloch as opposed to the general public. Further, Aberle said the purpose of those posts isn’t to abuse, annoy or threaten Bloch, arguing that the purpose of the page and the alleged communication was explicitly for the purpose of speaking out against socalled police corruption. What’s more, Aberle said the statute itself is facially unconstitutional because it’s “way too damn broad” and criminalizes too many forms of online speech and communication. He added that the law is unconstitutional as applied in this case as well. “What he’s engaging in is political speech, and political speech is the highest form of protected speech that we ERIC GINSBURG Brian Watkins knows his criticism of former Officer Timothy Bloch hasn’t have in this country,” Aberle always been tasteful, but he argues it’s well within the bounds of the First Amendment. said. In his motion to dismiss, Facebook page. very tasteful in his criticism of the Aberle argues that, “Whether or not According to the “about” section department and Bloch in particular. the defendant’s behavior was tasteful, it on the page, its purpose is “to end the He relentlessly argued for the release was unquestionably political speech and abuse and corruption of the Greensboro of the footage of Vo’s shooting, and cannot be found to be criminal,” adding Police Dept.,” adding that “There is a points out that Bloch initially took out that “To do so would be to apply the cygreat deal of video evidence showing charges against him just one day before berstalking statute against the defendant their brutal and abusive methods.” A the Greensboro City Council voted to in an unconstitutional way.” pinned post at the top of the page links release the footage. Watkins was scheduled to appear to an article about Bloch in the Greens“It was clearly to keep me out of that in court on the misdemeanor charges boro News & Record with added commeeting to release the video,” Watkins on Aug. 16, but said that while he mentary saying things like “This guy said, calling the charges a “blatant was awaiting trial, Bloch apparently can kill and get away with it.” effort” to keep him quiet. collapsed from a seizure in the hallway Watkins is a very vocal and visible Bloch could not be reached for comof the courthouse, and had to be seen critic of the department, regularly ment before press time on Tuesday. by paramedics. A handwritten yellow speaking at community meetings, city Watkins said he hasn’t communicated sticky note in the case file, stored in council and protests. At times, he’s with Bloch directly online, and said that the basement of the Guilford County directed people to the Greensboro anything he’s shared or posted about Courthouse, says “8-16-16 wit here / Police Public Abuse Facebook page, Bloch has been publicly visible: images pw had seizure.” and can often be seen holding up signs or text taken from Bloch’s Facebook acAberle and Watkins are hopeful that or wearing a shirt criticizing Bloch or count, news articles or his own critiques. the two cyberstalking charges will be the department at events. The charging “Even if I did what he accused me of, dismissed, but express a readiness to documents do not specifically name it wouldn’t be illegal,” Watkins argued. fight it up to the state Supreme Court if the Greensboro Police Public Abuse Aberle, Watkin’s lawyer, said in an necessary. According to court records, Facebook page. interview that his client isn’t guilty Watkins is due back in Guilford County Sitting in his east Greensboro living under the cyberstalking statute. Even if court on Sept. 27. room wearing a School House Rock you believe his client is the one running T-shirt that says “Knowledge is power,” the Facebook page, Aberle said the Watkins admitted that he isn’t always law refers to electronically mailing or

Outdoor children’s area nearing completion in library makeover by Jordan Green

facebook.com/glenwoodbooks/

All She Wrote

1212 Grove Street, Greensboro, NC 27403

336-609-6168 • glenwoodbooks.com

Shot in the Triad

Saturday 10am – 12pm

Games

Bagel klatsch

Fun & Games

Correction A story in the Aug. 17 issue of Triad City Beat, “New boutique and wine emphasizes social good, community,” contained an error. The story indicated that the Vino Shoppe relocated from Uptowne to the Palladium area. In fact, the Palladium-area store predated the Uptowne store, which was an expansion as opposed to the original store.

Culture

which runs at an angle to the north-facing library. The clock will cast a shadow on a sundial, providing an educational opportunity. It also features a 26-foot marker, which is the difference between the elevation at the clocktower and the highest point in the city — near the intersection of North Main Street and the rail line. McCaslin said the city is preparing to solicit bids for construction of Phase 2, a hybrid public plaza and parking lot redesign in front of the library, and could bring a recommendation to council in October. Renderings for the project show a semicircle plaza at the entrance of the library with strips of green space and farmers-market stalls radiating out into the parking lot. The plan calls for equipping the space with electricity to power food trucks, amplified performances and an electric-car charging station. Much of the activity in the outdoor children’s area will be programmed, including performances in the amphitheater, story time and art projects, but Sizemore said she can imagine parents drinking coffee at the café tables while their children play. Although the walled compound

Cover Story

urban planner Andrés Duany. “Jim already had some ideas ideas about musical instruments and plants,” Sizemore said. “What came out of the community meetings is they wanted it to be greener and they wanted it to be more attractive.” The Library Plaza project has moved forward in fits and starts since the Ignite High Point master plan — completed by Duany and local architect Peter Freeman in 2014 — identified the project as a priority for the city’s overall revitalization due to high marks for urgency, importance and cost effectiveness. The conservative city council that held sway through the November 2014 election voted largely to sideline the effort by opting for a limited parking lot renovation project, but the new council, including Mayor Bill Bencini and council members Latimer Alexander and Alyce Hill, reversed course and approved a more ambitious project with $1.4 million in municipal bonds and $1.5 million in state funding. The project also includes a clocktower at the southeast corner of the library. Designed by Freeman, the clocktower features cardinal directions to emphasize the axis of North Main Street,

JORDAN GREEN

Opinion

Library Director Mary Sizemore and Jim Zola, director of the library children’s section, looked over the outdoor children’s area.

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The undulating stone wall at the northeast corner of the High Point Library gives way to metal fencing that affords a glimpse into a sort of enchanted compound adjacent to the children’s wing. The outdoor children’s area, part of Phase 1 of the Library Plaza project, is anticipated to be completed in the next 30 says, according to Deputy City Manager Randy McCaslin. Already, an amphitheater with seating for about 100 people descends to a small stage, fitting into a cutaway in the building that’s viewable through a large plate-glass window from the children’s section inside. A Humpty Dumpty sculpture by Eric Isbianoly occupies a corner. Outdoor musical instruments — tuned drums, a xylophone and chimes — fill the space. A modest plaza flows from the back of the amphitheater past a shelter with open sides towards a cluster of café-style tables shaded under parasols. On a recent Monday, a construction supervisor sat on the back row of the amphitheater discussing plans with a colleague, and a man wearing a hardhat worked together plumbing components in a concrete compartment that will eventually be covered with dirt and landscaping plantings. The lighting is yet to be installed and the concrete still needs to be stained. The landscaping will wait until October after the summer heat breaks. The courtyard evolved from strictly a children’s area in conception, but Library Director Mary Sizemore said that as the plans took shape staff concluded that the space could accommodate programming for adults, too. The initiative grew out of wishes harbored by staff — children’s division head Jim Zola, in particular — and input from community members during charrettes held during the 2013 visit of acclaimed

features gates leading to the parking lot, Sizemore said access will be limited to a doorway leading from the children’s section inside the library. “There is a real safety issue,” she said. “When the public’s here, there needs to be a staff person.” While the amphitheater is viewable from inside, a wall obscures the southern portion of the courtyard anchored by the café tables. As a result the library will need to assign staff to the courtyard, and Sizemore indicated the exact hours remains to be seen. She said it wouldn’t be an option to allow parents to bring their children into the courtyard without staff presence under the assumption that the parents would take responsibility for the children. “There’s always a possibility of someone falling and hitting their head,” she said. “It’s important to have a line of sight. If you notice, inside the there’s a desk with a line of sight to virtually every part of the library.”

Up Front

An outdoor children’s area at High Point Library is expected to open in about a month — the first installment in a makeover that has been hotly contested by city leaders over the past two years.

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HIGH POINT JOURNAL

August 24 — 30, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

OPINION EDITORAL

Not talking about Trump The picture in the presidential race becomes more clear with each passing day. For now, Donald Trump’s rate of diminishing returns is outpacing Hillary Clinton’s, and it’s becoming increasingly urgent that Trump take North Carolina in his quest to become the greatest reality-television star of all time. And that’s really the more interesting question: Will Trump win North Carolina? Interesting, because nobody seems confident either way. And pressing, because the effects will be felt all the way down the ballot. Real Clear Politics has the race close as of Monday, with Clinton holding an edge of 1.8 points, but folded into the reckoning is a Civitas poll — the only one that gives the state to Trump, with a 4-point margin. It’s worth noting that Civitas in August 2008 predicted NC would go to Sen. John McCain in favor of Barack Obama by 6 points. Obama won NC in 2008 by about a third of a percentage point. But everyone knows the polls are useless at this point — only a total psychopath would answer a phone call from an unrecognized number and then agree to answer a bunch of questions, and anything conducted online is a complete farce. The only metric that matters doesn’t get measured until after the election, and it’s the one upon which everything else hinges: voter turnout. Meanwhile, down the ballot, Republican candidates are trying to decide if it’s in their best interests to align themselves with so much Trumpness. It’s too late for McCrory, who has, albeit unenthusiastically, hitched his wagon to the whims of the party. State Sen. Trudy Wade, who showed more emotion in her speech at a Greensboro Trump rally than in three terms on Greensboro City Council, seems to be backpedaling a bit — or, at least, she’s nervous enough about her re-election bid that she started airing TV commercials in August, which is traditionally a quiet month for politics before the whole piñata gets ripped open in September. More significantly, they appear to be targeted at liberals and moderates given the pro-teacher message rather than firing up the Trumpsters. US Sen. Richard Burr, who according to the National Journal was the 7th most conservative member of the Senate in 2012, looks more like a fancy-pants moderate next to the pugilistic force that is Trump. He seems to have painted himself into a corner by supporting the GOP candidate early in the campaign but, other than offering a mild rebuke after Trump went after a Muslim Marine’s family, has remained silent. A $1.5 million spend last week by conservative PAC One Nation on his campaign says more than Burr ever could. That seems to be the game this year — for Clinton, for McCrory’s challenger Roy Cooper, for Burr and his challenger Deborah Ross, and many others: Keep your mouth shut and let your opponents sink themselves with stupid, off-the-cuff pieces of demagoguery. And anyway, Trump looks intent on sucking all the oxygen out of this entire election cycle. At this point, what the hell does he have to lose?

FRESH EYES

Discovering a revolutionary motherhood I’ve often heard that women go through this period in their lives when they crave getting pregnant. Regardless of the fact that I am a lesbian and have already given by Naari Honor birth, this feeling has not passed me by. Those I’ve told that I want to have another child laugh because my daughter is now 22 and they can’t understand why I would want to endure the process of raising another child. I have concerns about doing it all over again, but it has nothing to do with how old I will be when the child is 18 like they my friends often tease me about. Once, I heard about a black mother who said she had to teach her son how not to die. That is where my concern lies. Recently, I begin selling off my furniture so that I could start a grand redesign. My daughter says it feels like I’m selling off our home. A friend commented that I was nesting. This is when it dawned on me that I am going through the ritual that many pregnant women go through — preparing my home for the arrival of a new bundle of joy. I have always been sure that it was the act of physically giving birth and raising my own child that I wanted. Then one evening I found myself at Scuppernong Books awaiting the arrival of Alexis Pauline Gumbs. The purpose of her visit was to discuss the book entitled Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines. I was drawn to hear her define revolutionary mothering. I won’t lie, I think a part of me also hoped that this individual, who seemed to be highly enlightened and educated in the areas of the queer black female experience, could explain my need to be a part of a revolution I had not yet understood. The concept of revolutionary mothering, per the book, is based on the premise that the mothering of marginalized mothers of color is necessary for change to occur in the world and has always been the basis of change that has previously taken place. While this idea is easy to grasp it is the definition of mothering that has many layers. Gumbs refers to mothering as “the practice of creating, nurturing, affirming and supporting life.” But this mothering is not reserved for mothers raising their own children. Mothering can be seen in queer societies where individuals have been taken under the winga of others and taught to navigate

what can be scary world for a fledging. Mothering is, in essence, a responsibility to educate. As I listened to Gumbs read passages of the book discussing how revolutions were started because of the visions of mothers, how wars were won on their backs and races were educated by their minds, I rubbed my empty womb and realized it was not empty at all. The book includes a piece by Caribbean-American poet June Jordan that had gone unpublished since 1977. Her work speaks about love being a life force. She describes love similarly to mothering which made me go a step further and place mothering in the context of love. By doing this, it felt as if I had come full circle and what has been said for centuries is true: “Love makes the world go around.” But despite all that, what touched my soul the most was hearing that as part of a marginalized community, particularly as a black woman, I have a responsibility to mother those who are here and those who will come after me. Watching Gumbs stand before the crowd and utter the words black, queer, revolution, white privilege, equal rights and justice, I felt my own life force becoming empowered. No longer did I feel the need to whisper words as to not offend those who never thought twice about offending me. I do not have to push a child from womb, however; the knowledge that I possess and the experiences that have endured can be used to inspire. My voice could touch the ears of those who are able to make a change or maybe I could be a syllable in that word that sparks a change. My womb is my mind and it is the most powerful weapon I have to combat that which oppresses any of the children in this nation. The night of the book discussion repeatedly plays over in my mind, and with every vision I take something new from the experience. Now it’s time to turn my nesting ritual away from redesigning my apartment to focusing on projects that serve my community. I just hope the world is ready. Naari Honor is an editorial intern at Triad City Beat, a student at Guilford College and has been published in the Carolina Peacemaker and Guilfordian student newspaper.

Public art’s more mobile cousin

Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

transgender might be “a delusional state” lies far beyond the consensus of modern psychology. A task force of the American Psychological Association, boasting more than 117,500 members, issued a report in 2009 finding that for individuals suffering distress from a mismatch of gender identity and biological sex, hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery “may be medically necessary to alleviate significant impairment in interpersonal and/or vocational functioning.” While Van Meter and his associates counsel that children experiencing gender dysphoria should just wait it out and trust that they’ll reconcile themselves to a gender identity consistent with their biological sex, the American Psychological Association reports that “regrets and reversal to the original gender role” post transition “were rare,” reaching 1.5 percent at a maximum. Another expert witness hired by the state, Dr. Paul Hruz, marshals an array of fearful outcomes about the supposed adverse health consequences of transition through hormone therapy. In addition to sterility, he cites “lower bone density which may lead to increased fracture risk later in life,” along with “disfiguring acne, high blood pressure, weight gain, abnormal glucose tolerance, breast cancer, liver disease, thrombosis, and cardiovascular disease.” Although the comparison is not completely apt, it’s worth noting that the American Psychological Association reports that sex reassignment — which requires hormone therapy as a precursor — “resulted in improved mental health, socioeconomic status, relationships and sexual satisfaction.” Hruz pooh-poohs the notion that the ability to use a bathroom that accords with one’s gender identity might be “a medically necessary or effective treatment for gender dysphoria.” And for good measure he adds that “such social affirmation measures” might prevent individuals from being cured of their transgenderism, or — as he puts it — “would interfere with known rates of gender resolution.” Finally, to counter the US Justice Department’s position that the continued enforcement of HB 2 will impose an “irreparable injury” to transgender people, the state essentially makes the argument that they’re going to suffer from other “co-morbidities” like depression and anxiety anyway, so what’s the harm in piling on? “Anyone attempting to ‘transition’ to a gender different from their chromosomes and original anatomy will likely face substantial psychological problems no matter what policies North Carolina adopts,” the brief argues. “Indeed, the evidence before the court establishes that gender dysphoria often overlaps with other disorders. At best, it is a complex and difficult task to disentangle harms occasioned by a state policy from underlying psychological issues.”

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A legal brief filed after a hearing is kind of like a job applicant sending a follow-up email after an interview. Eloquently constructed, it can complement and enhance a strong perforby Jordan Green mance, or discretely address a rough patch. However, a rambling and disjointed message bogged down with unwieldy attachments is likely to only reinforce a bad initial impression. Considering lawyer Butch Bowers’ risible claim in federal court on Aug. 1 that a transgender female entering a women’s restroom creates “a risk of public exposure,” the 518-page brief filed on Aug. 17 by lawyers for Gov. Pat McCrory, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore doesn’t exactly strengthen their case. As with much of the state’s ham-handed response to the legal, economic and social backlash against HB 2, the defendants bit down hard on their claim instead of trying to finesse the argument. In opposing the US Justice Department’s position that HB 2 violates the civil rights of transgender people and amounts to sex discrimination, lawyers for the state of North Carolina make a bizarre argument that transgenderism isn’t supported by standard medical science. “For children and adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria” — the condition of discomfort and distress because of a mismatch between one’s biological sex and gender identity — the state’s lawyers counsel that “strong evidence shows that the vast majority of cases (80-95 percent) will resolve by the end of puberty. Thus, the most effective course of treatment is individual psychological therapy, family therapy and treatment of psychological co-morbidities, along with allowing nature to do its work in puberty.” The source of the state’s questionable science is revealed in an approving quote from an outfit called the American College of Pediatricians. Designated as an “anti-LGBT hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American College of Pediatricians’ mission statement characterizes post-operative transgender life as “chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex.” Dr. Quentin L. Van Meter, the American College of Pediatrics’ vice president and an expert witness for the state, acknowledges that psychological evaluation, counseling, hormonal therapy during puberty and, in some cases, surgical intervention at the age of consent are standard practices in endocrine medicine. Citing ongoing studies of outcomes from transitional therapies, he goes on to complain: “What is missing is sound science to show that gender identity discordance is not a delusional state.” Akin to climate change denial, the notion that being

Up Front

Upon my return to Greensboro this May, I found the city radically transformed from the emptier, sleepier version I remember from my college years. Back then, during the start of the Great Recession, the by Jesse Morales best culture available to undergrads was limited. Arts events either funneled through institutional channels — the Eastern Music Festival, NC A&T’s Robeson Theatre — or emanated from shabby artists’ lips, mouths and brains in warehouses and basements. Five years on, that cultural divide no longer represents the status quo in Greensboro. On the contrary: What’s apparent in Greensboro now is that a brisk, vivid, even graphic street-friendliness characterizes the art scene around town. While heavy economic investment in downtown still reflects institutional influence, individual artists stand out as the overwhelming source of the Triad’s newly visible creative verve. With new street murals appearing regularly, and dazzling sculptures coming to dominate Triad streetscapes, public art’s star is on the rise — visual art, that is. But what about performance art? Site-specific dance? Public theater? These cousins of public visual art boast several valuable characteristics that less mobile and less body-oriented forms of art fail to possess. Site-specific dance, a staple of UNCG’s choreography education program that I participated in, enables active interaction between those dancing, those watching, and the physical location at which the dance happens. While no “about-ness,” to use the contemporary dance lingo, is necessary to constitute a site-specific dance, these works can draw on histories or meanings particular to the public site in question. For example, I can imagine an improvisational dance at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum that draws on movement motifs of sitting, eating, living and working with equity. In terms of both content and delivery, arts performances that incorporate moving streetscapes into their active repertoires hold significant promise. Public stagings could showcase not only the Triad’s bevy of performing talent, but also the natural and architectural spaces that contribute to our cities’ beauty and history. So here’s my plea to dancers, performance artists and theater folks of all kinds: Let’s get moving. We can embody the best of Triad culture anytime, anywhere. For arts organizers, business investors, and other planning sorts: Consider the low overhead.

State cites ‘anti-LGBT hate group’ in HB 2 case

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IT JUST MIGHT WORK

CITIZEN GREEN

August 24 — 30, 2016 Cover Story

How a local filmmaker, an area college grad and an inmate power MTV’s ‘Unlocking the Truth’ by Eric Ginsburg

The blinds were drawn in the living room but plenty of midday sun is still slipped in as Harvey Robinson reclined on his couch, video-game controller in hand and tired eyes gazing at “Halo” on his TV screen. Robinson had jumped up quickly at the buzzing sound of his doorbell to open the door — his 15-month-old was sleeping — and nimbly made his way back to the couch, answering questions while his eyes remained locked on the screen.

This was his first day off since October, he figured, having spent the day prior in the purgatory of the DMV and leaving four days later for a family trip to Maine. It wasn’t until Robinson’s “Halo” character died that he turned his full attention back to the subject at hand: work, of course, but more specifically, his role in MTV’s new show “Unlocking the Truth.” Robinson is just one of several elements that ties the documentary-style investigative show about wrongful convictions to the Triad. The hardworking Greensboro filmmaker who attended UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem brought a college friend in as a gaffer on the show, “Unlocking the Truth,”

which is co-hosted by Guilford College alum Eva Nagao. And the show itself closely examines the questionable conviction of Winston-Salem’s Kalvin Michael Smith. The new MTV show premiered last week, airing between two runs of a “Catfish” episode featuring a thick-skulled man who believed himself to be in a long-term relationship with pop icon Katy Perry, and continues Wednesday night at 11 p.m. with a deeper focus on Smith’s case. This is not your typical MTV show, but it deviates from other documentaries or shows that explore wrongful convictions, too. While it comes at a time of heightened awareness and discussion about innocent people being put in prison, and the fault lines of the nation’s legal system, “Unlocking the Truth” brings a different tone than podcasts such as “Serial” or shows like Netflix’s “Making a Murderer,” thanks to co-host Ryan Ferguson. “Unlocking the Truth” opens with a chilling story of wrongful conviction, a boy who at 19 found himself facing a murder charge for a crime he had nothing to do with. Archival video footage of his initial police interrogation and subsequent legal proceedings show a wide-eyed kid truly flummoxed by what’s happening, as if unable to wake up from a bad dream. It would be 10 years before the alleged

Ryan Ferguson and Eva Nagao co-host MTV’s new show that has strong ties to Greensbo

evidence — including witness testimony from people who later admitted that police pressured them for false statements — unraveled and this kid from Missouri walked free. It’s been two years since Ryan Ferguson legally escaped the hell of prison, and he knows the fact that he’s white, educated and from a middle-class background helped with the necessary attention and pressure to release him. That’s part of the reason that he is dedicated to helping other wrongfully convicted inmates prove their innocence, and a widely broadcast television show lifting up other cases

seemed like the perfect way to do so. Especially the cases of other people who were young at the time of their arrest, like he was. “The fact that things like this can happen to people at such a young age is intriguing,” Ferguson said in an interview with Triad City Beat last week. “People can be taken out of society, kids can be taken out of society, because of someone’s word or less. The truth of the legal system is scary. I think a lot of people can see themselves in that position, and that’s what we want to show with these cases…. It could’ve been you, and I think that’s

very compelling.” Or, as he put it in Episode 1: “The reality is, this could happen to you. And I don’t accept that.” Ferguson anchors the show with Eva Nagao, a 2008 Guilford College grad and the director of the Exoneration Project, a Chicago-based group that works on cases similar to Ferguson’s and has helped free more than a dozen people who were wrongfully convicted. As Nagao says in the first episode of the show, her interest in mass incarceration sprang from her family’s experience: Her Japanese grandparents were interned

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during World War II. She’s worked on exoneration cases since 2009 and already knew of Ferguson, but joined the show when he reached out to the Exoneration Project while still in the planning stages. Together the pair investigated three cases of possible wrongful convictions, including that of Kalvin Michael Smith. And while neither has a law degree, both bring considerable experience with such cases to the show. Ferguson’s lived experience helped open doors while they worked, Nagao said in an interview with TCB, but they aren’t there to be part of anyone’s legal defense

on TNT’s show “Cold Justice,” a show that collaborated with prosecutors and police to try and help with unsolved homicide cases. He saw firsthand how these crimes affect victims’ families, and even came across a few where it seemed like someone in prison shouldn’t be there. But the show didn’t really have the space to get into that, Kassen said in an interview with TCB, and he’d always wanted to find an avenue to dig into wrongful convictions. “Unlocking the Truth,” particularly because of Ferguson’s involvement, struck him as a perfect opportunity. “What a great way to do it, with someone who experienced it himself,” Kassen said. Once during filming he turned to Ferguson and asked what his gut told him about one of the cases, but Kassen said Ferguson responded that he doesn’t go with his gut; he sticks only to the facts of a case. You can’t help but enter a case with your own biases, Kassen said, but “you really have to go and look at the facts.” That, he said, is what “Unlocking the Truth” does. In order to tell the story of Michael Politte, Kalvin Michael Smith and, later in the season, another possibly wrongfully convicted man, the show needed to recreate numerous scenes to paint an evocative illustration of the cases and narratives. Robinson helped make that possible. The British immigrant known locally for his entrancing music videos for people like Rhiannon Giddens and Langhorne Slim, a documentary about Greensboro’s historically black Warnersville neighborhood and a festival-touring short doc “Crooked Candy” first linked up with the MTV production to assist with shots on Smith’s case. That led to taking B-roll for Politte’s case in Missouri, and then more B-roll and aerial shots for Smith’s story in Winston-Salem and Durham. He hit it off with Kassen, he said, and later joined the team for 16 days of filming, much of it overnight. In the end, Robinson’s name would scroll in the credits as a director of photography. But first he’d have to pull off several impressive scenes, including a recreation that appears in the first episode where a young Michael Politte is lighting a fire. On train tracks. At night. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable shoot — UNCSA alums like Robinson and friend Scott Duvall who he brought along

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oro and Winston-Salem.

team and approach each case as outsiders intent on listening and uncovering new elements of each case. “We’re kind of rogue investigators,” Nagao says in the premiere. “We’re accountable to no one but the truth.” Each of the cases is very complicated, Nagao said in an interview, especially because they’re digging far back in time. But she hopes that by doing “deep investigations” into these three cases, “Unlocking the Truth” can bring attention to systemic issues and introduce new audiences to topics related to mass incarceration and police accountability, while also providing a tool for people who are already aware and want to make a change. “I think this show has some real big-picture goals,” Nagao said in an interview. “It’s taking a big look at mass incarceration and police accountability…. By narrowly focusing on particular cases, we can grab a lot of people’s attention that way for larger issues.” And that’s why Ferguson and Nagao see MTV as an ideal partner. For a show that’s focused on wrongful convictions of young people like himself, Ferguson said MTV offers the prime audience, many of whom are unfamiliar with the scope of wrongful convictions and who are in the process of defining their identities. He hopes it can demystify a legal system that many people only vaguely or abstractly understand. “To me this is the most incredible fit possible,” Ferguson said. Nagao agreed, adding that to a “large swath” of MTV viewers, this will be a new issue, and that’s exactly why a show like this is so important on the network. “I am surprised that I am working with MTV, but I’m not surprised that MTV is working on this show,” she said. “The country’s national consciousness is really awakening to these issues. The network has access to so many people who are interested. I couldn’t think of a better possible audience of voters, jurors….” Joking that she wanted to be on MTV’s “Real World” but that this show would do, Nagao added, “I’m really excited that MTV took a chance on us.” MTV didn’t just rely on Ferguson and Nagao’s credentials and charisma to carry the show; they also utilized people like Executive Producer Adam Kassen and Greensboro resident Harvey Robinson to execute “Unlocking the Truth.” Kassen spent the last few years working

August 24 — 30, 2016 Cover Story

Viewers will hear directly from Kalvin Michael Smith, above, in future episodes.

to execute the lighting plan know the story of one of their own dying on train tracks while filming on a bridge when an unexpected train took her by surprise. Robinson’s never done anything on the scale of “Unlocking the Truth” before, despite his endlessly busy work schedule, and so he prepared by watching Errol Morris films and movies like The Impostor for inspiration. And he called a bunch of industry connections and asked for advice. Day 1 of Robinson’s 16-day stint began with a 10 p.m. shoot, staging scenes inside and outside before a 20-minute window of dawn light for a series of shots with two police cars, an ambulance, a fire truck, about 30 extras and several other factors to consider. He needed to rely heavily on headlights, and needed to avoid showing faces of stand-ins to make the recreations feel more real. At the beginning of each take, Robinson would need to quickly compute the light for the end of the shot to achieve proper exposure, forcing him to shout out directions including F-stops to his team. As much as possible, “Unlocking the Truth” aimed to keep each recreation as close to the facts as possible, down to evidence about the clothing people were wearing or finding a similar trailer to one that no longer exists. In all, Robinson describes it as challenging to execute, but he’s proud of how it turned out and hopes to work on other projects that are just as meaningful in the future. “Life isn’t fair, nor will it ever be, but it shouldn’t be stacked against you,” Robinson said, sitting on his couch in the Aycock neighborhood. It felt really good to be doing this show, he added, especially if it helps in any way to reverse the trend of mass incarceration. He thinks that cases like Kalvin Michael Smith’s — where just about everything that could go wrong if you’re innocent and poor did — will highlight exactly what’s wrong with the criminal justice system. A black man from Winston-Salem, Smith was convicted

COURTESY PHOTO

of the brutal beating of Jill Marker. Even though former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker conducted an independent review of the case and called the local police investigation “seriously flawed and woefully incomplete” and despite a concerted grassroots push to free him, Smith has remained in prison for the last 19 years. [Read more about Kalvin Michael Smith’s case on triadcity-beat.com.] “Unlocking the Truth” briefly introduced Smith’s case in its initial episode last week, but Kassen said the show dives into the Winston-Salem case in the episode airing this Wednesday, Aug. 24. Smith’s case stood out to Ferguson for several reasons,

including Swecker’s report, the work of the Silk Plant Forest Truth Committee and the advocacy of Darryl Hunt. Hunt, himself a wrongfully convicted black man from Winston-Salem, was exonerated in 2004, and advocated for Smith and others until he died of a self-inflicted gunshot would earlier this year, according to Winston-Salem police. “I think Darryl Hunt is one of the largest factors in getting Kalvin Michael Smith support,” Ferguson said in an interview. “In [Winston-Salem], there are certainly racial tensions, racial issues.... It all begins with Darryl Hunt with his incredible efforts as a human being and what he experienced.” As a fellow exoneree, Ferguson said he looks up to the example of advocacy for others in the same position that Hunt left behind. “I try to be like Darryl, that’s the best I can put it,” Ferguson said. “He’s a great man.” Kassen and Nagao both said Smith’s case is particularly unique because of the public support Smith currently enjoys, with Nagao referencing Hunt’s importance as well. “I think the Kalvin Michael Smith case is a really unique one in the world of exonerations,” she said. Referencing the pivotal role former Winston-Salem Journal reporter Phoebe Zerwick played in Hunt’s exoneration, Nagao said that when Hunt was freed and said there were plenty of other wrongfully convicted people like him and Zerwick asked him who, he pointed to Smith. Nagao said that Zerwick, now director of the journalism program at Wake Forest University, was interviewed for “Unlocking the Truth,” though she isn’t sure if Zerwick made it into the final cut. But the story of Hunt and the journalist who helped free him underscore the importance of the MTV show examining Smith’s case, she said. “The weight of history in Winston-Salem,” Nagao said, “the weight of misconduct in Darryl Hunt’s case, really

Greensboro-based filmmaker Harvey Robinson, who hadn’t had a day off since October, spends the lunchtime hour playing “Halo” in his living room.

ERIC GINSBURG

needed.” If people feel there’s an injustice in Smith’s case — or any of the ones highlighted — Kassen said that maybe the local movement behind him could spread, adding that at the very least, he hopes “Unlocking the Truth” will start a conversation about what really happened. For Robinson, Smith’s case didn’t make him feel particularly rosy about North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat running for governor who Smith’s supporters say is ignoring Smith’s innocence. Regardless of the specific convictions and cases profiled in “Unlocking the Truth,” and regardless of whether there’s a second season — nobody could comment on that — it appears that the folks involved will continue working on the issues the new MTV show raises. That’s especially true for Nagao, who recently posted online about a 15th person newly freed by the Exoneration Project’s work, and Ferguson, who said it is now a lifelong mission for him and his father. “It’s not an option for us, it’s something that we do,” he said. “There’s no accountability for police and prosecutors, and until there is, we’re going to keep fighting.”

triad-city-beat.com

highlights the ongoing conflicts and problems with the community and that police department.” Viewers will get to hear from Smith directly, Ferguson said, as well as at least one person involved in the case who hasn’t spoken publicly before. Without giving anything away, Kassen said they were pleasantly surprised with the level of access they had to people on all sides of Smith’s case. Most of Episode 1 revolves around Michael Politte’s case, though the end of the premiere teases Smith’s story. Politte was only 14 when his mother was brutally killed and set on fire in his Missouri trailer; he is now held in the same prison where co-host Ryan Ferguson was wrongfully incarcerated. Ferguson, Kassen and Nagao were tight-lipped about what they uncovered while reexamining the cases of Politte, Smith and another man — though Robinson hinted that in at least one case, people may go in with a set of assumptions that didn’t hold up. But if viewers see something they think is an injustice, Ferguson encourages them to speak up. “You can do something about that,” he said. “You can take action, and it’s

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August 24 — 30, 2016 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Fun & Games Games Shot in the Triad All She Wrote

CULTURE Celebrating Indian independence with a picnic by Jesse Morales

gainst a backdrop of classic Southern park scenes — historic farmhouses, a merry-go-round, lush pine and oak trees crowding the horizon — paired flags swished in tandem through the hot breeze. Below the flags, Indian and American, a group of women who shared those dual identities gathered for a photograph to honor them. Dressed in an eclectic mix of traditional Indian tunics and typical American fashion, the vibrant hues of their clothing reflected the colorful alloy of cultures that defines the India Association of the Triad. In a similar way, the cuisine present at their Indian Independence Day picnic on Sunday at High Point City Lake Park comprised the tell-tale heart of that fusion: pav bhaji, or curried vegetables with leavened rolls, and cold Carolina watermelon. Held beneath a high-ceilinged picnic shelter, the celebratory meal served a dual function. While non-Indians could enjoy a friendly, informal introduction to the nation’s food and culture, adult members of India Association of the Triad emphasized their main JESSE MORALES Below the Indian and American flags stood a group of women who share those dual identities purpose for holding the Independence Day Celebration at High Point City Lake Park over the weekend. — to pass Indian culture down to their children. Over a bowl of spicy pav bhaji, a stew-like vegetable Poonam Kushwaha explained, consists of “vegetables, Association of the Triad has facilitated the transmisdish flavored with coriander, curry, cinnamon, cumin like green peas, onion, potato and tomato, and spices sion of Indian culture, including Indian-American food and cardamom, one young family vocalized their desire like ground pepper, coriander, turmeric and chilies all culture, for more than 25 years. to transfer the food culture of their native India to cooked in butter and lemon juice.” Indians consider While India Association of the Triad’s primary obtheir 1-year-old daughter. the dish’s sauce-and-bread-roll combination a “very jective remains to facilitate cultural exchange within Sangeeta Kaul and her husband Amit Pandit remfulfilling snack,” Kushwaha said. the Triad’s Indian community — bringing together the inisced about their mothers’ affinity for rogan josh, While pav bhaji has roots in northern India, Kushdiverse cultures within India itself — the association a classic Kashmiri entrée. Based on goat meat, rogan waha said, “Each Indian state and culture has its own also exists to share constituent Indian cultural tradijosh is “full of oil and spices,” Kaul said. While the dish cuisine. Coastal food uses a lot of coconut oil, while tions with Triad residents. Sunday’s picnic managed reminds the couple of home, Kaul said, “We prefer to food in the South has more peanut and coconut.” She to attract several curious locals, but many association cook more healthy food, and less oily and fried food.” also emphasized that “We have a lot of variety in vegemembers expressed the widespread appeal of their Kaul said that cooking Indian food at home reptarian options.” Diwali, or festival of lights, dinner to non-Indian Triad resents one way she can “keep teaching small things” Association President Ashish Sadhu said that the folks. about Indian culture to baby daughter Aadya. picnic shelter housed much “unity in diversity,” in Yet as the scent of curry blended with a cool water“We teach her to greet everyone by saying, ‘Naterms of both food and people present at the event. melon aroma in the summer air, Indians, Indian-Amermaste’ and folding her hands,” she said. “We teach her “Even under this shelter,” he said, “I see people from icans and present Americans alike enjoyed just such that the moon is god, the sun is god.” Pandit said that all different parts of India. What’s nice about being in an opportunity for cultural exchange — along with the he’s passed on his vegetarianism and love for animals. America is that we have all those people here in one gustatory delight of pav bhaji served with fresh green And the Indian Independence Day cookout delivered part” or location. chilies. hearty, all-vegetarian fare with bold Indian spice and Adding to the kaleidoscope of voices, Sheetal Sadhu, flair from the American South. While Indian restaua family member of Sadhu who rants abound in the Triad — Tanvolunteered at the event, said that Pick of the Week door and Saffron in Greensboro, Find India Association of the picnic “conveys a little bit of Food! Glorious food! High Point’s Msala, and Nawab in the Triad at iatnc.org. Save tradition to our kids,” adding that Food truck festival @ Greene and Market streets Winston-Salem, among others — the Independence Day celebration the date for their catered (GSO), Aug. 28, 4 p.m. each specializes in its own partic— and eating pav bhaji — “connects The holy grail of food truck festivals has rain ular array of dishes from India’s 36 Diwali event coming to the them to their roots, because this is down upon us. The land was torn apart to bring states and territories. In keeping their home and most of them have Greensboro Coliseum in trucks from all over North Carolina to fill our bellies with the national Independence never been to India.” early November. and we must do our due diligence and try them all. Day holiday, though, India AssociAmrish Soni, a tall man clad in a This goes far beyond stretchy pants. It is now time ation of the Triad’s picnic featured crisp white shirt adorned with an to bring out the heavy artillery: unisex spandex! a central dish that was universally Indian flag pin, also related the importance of “conMore information can be found on the Facebook palatable and suitable for most diets. necting parents, like most of us who are immigrants, page for the fall Greensboro food truck festival. Pav bhaji, unofficial food expert and volunteer cook to our kids who grow up here.” Soni said that the India

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would be best. A second shot of booze wouldn’t hurt. And you could add more jalapeños too, even if you’re looking for mild heat. Four hours later, sitting in our inflatable backyard pool, Kacie and I were pretty self-satisfied as we tried our creation. The rosé variety tasted just fine, even after we’d enhanced it with pink lemonade instead of the more tart normal option and thrown raspberries in for good measure. Honestly, half the reason we picked it stemmed from the fact that a bottle of rosé already sat in our refrigerator. There’s plenty of summer left — don’t let anyone tell you otherwise — and if neither of these recipes strike you, don’t let that stop you. It’s one of the easiest ways to impress yourself or your friends, and boozy popsicles are a perfect way to deal with this persistent heat.

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By the time we were ready to go buy ingredients at the grocery store, I’d lost interest in all my social media newsfeeds and sent her a GIF of Alec Baldwin in “30 Rock” saying, “I’m bored.” My girlfriend Kacie had taken forever to find five links to boozy by Eric Ginsburg popsicle recipes in the bowels of her Pinterest account, a website I’m told is perfect for saving such things but that always appears to be more of a time-suck than any of its contemporaries. In the end, we went with the first two she found anyway, one of which didn’t exactly count as a recipe — add lemonade to rosé and throw in some blueberries just because. We were much more interested in the jalapeño, cucumber and lime concoction, though it almost lost out to a gin-andginger recipe with cucumber because the former didn’t spell out a liquor pairing. But the pepper heat appealed to us, and we agreed on tequila as a rational addition. Credit belongs to a website called the Black Peppercorn for the recipe basics, but we improvised from there. Kacie and I doubled the jalapeños (making it two for six popsicles) and almost doubled the lime while subbing out regular, larger cucumbers for the English cukes it suggested. Here’s what else we did. Peel the cucumber — but we decided to leave a little skin just for color. Core the peppers and take out the white piths and seeds — honestly, it still wasn’t too hot and you could leave the piths in. Saving some of both, put the jalapeños and cucumber in a blender, adding a little water to ease the process. Our recipe called for a juicer and suggested straining the juice out of the smooth mush, but we ignored that, too. Instead we squeezed 1¾ limes into the mix, stirred in 1/3 cup of sugar and added a shot of tequila blanco to the mix. Then we minced the remaining jalapeños and cut the leftover cucumber into thin rounds — really just for visual effect in the finished product — and froze the popsicles. It’s easy to find molds for around $1 at places like Walmart. You can swap out the tequila blanco — I tasted three tequilas we had at home and somewhat arbitrarily determined this unaged variety

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CULTURE Teardrops on his letters: Josh Kimbrough’s last blast of youth by Jordan Green

he gestation of Teardrop Canyon, a musical project of Josh Kimbrough, was a period of his life when he was spending a lot of time alone and pursuing a long-distance relationship with the woman who is now his wife, but the impending birth of their first child in September hastened the completion of the new album. “The songs from the record came out in one big burst of inspiration, which I think of as unusual,” said the 32-year-old Kimbrough during an interview before a show at the Garage in Winston-Salem to celebrate the release of the eponymous album. He was living at a band house renowned for providing shelter and creative abetment to generations of Chapel Hill musicians, going back to the members of Sorry About Dresden in the 1990s. (It’s memorialized in a song on his album called “Exile on Huse Street.”) His car had broken down, and the slower pace of biking and walking gave him time for reflection. “This is not unique to me, but going on a bike ride or taking a walk is a way of allowing the lyrics to seep out,” he said. “You get weirder lyrics, sometimes more honest lyrics. “Knowing that this was going to be one my last seasons of that type of free youth, I started to let my mind drift,” he continued. “There’s this sense of desperation: I said to myself that this is a season when I’m going to focus on songwriting.” The nine songs on the album are united by a kind of 1980s pop sensibility with a dark undercurrent while generally progressing along a sonic plotline from polished to jagged. Kimbrough’s vocal affectation at first suggests a detached observer of the human condition, but aching emotion gradually emerges in each song. The minor-key tonality, ’80s-style guitar shredding, liberal use of synths and — on one song — a soaring sax solo gives the album a late-noir feel, with anthemic choruses that come across as earned as opposed to contrived. The confession of a lover acknowledging a desire for something more comes out in the fourth track, with the lyric, “Can’t you tell me that it was meant to be, for once?” And in “Wait Too Long,” the song most directly related to the long-distance relationship, Kimbrough neatly captures a sense of vulnerability with the lyric, “I’m the Jackson 5 without a tambourine.” As he moves into the chorus of that song, the wry sentiment of a Joe Jackson or Elvis Costello gives way to a rueful anthem that recalls mid-’80s Tom Petty. Despite growing up in the Triangle and becoming deeply immersed in the scene that coalesced there around Trekky Records, some of Kimbrough’s formative music years took place in Greensboro when he attended UNCG in the mid-aughts. He took inspiration from local artists Adam Thorne, Tiger Bear Wolf and Embarrassing Fruits — founded by Joe Norkus, Kimbrough’s high school bandmate in Westfalia — while soaking

up national acts that played Gate City Noise and the short-lived Flying Anvil. Kimbrough started a band, Butterflies, in Greensboro, which would carry him into the next several years of his musical avocation. “Playing music for the joy of it was a huge part of the process,” he recalls. “You could do all of it: Write songs, put a band together, record and play some house shows where you could fill a room. That was very satisfying. You know, since we could never keep a midJORDAN GREEN “Going on a bike ride or taking a walk is a way of allowing the sized venue — necessity lyrics to seep out,” says Josh Kimbrough of Teardrop Canyon. breeds creativity.” favor by playing bass for Teardrop Canyon’s show at A year after his 2006 the Garage.) graduation, Kimbrough returned to Chapel Hill, where “Getting Dressed Alone,” a song with a more relaxed he quickly immersed himself in the creative commusonic structure along the lines of Pink Floyd or John nity burgeoning around Trekky Records. The label had Lennon’s solo work, is the one exception to the ’80s been founded by middle schoolers Martin Anderson motif, which emphasizes direct production values. and and Will Hackney in 2001, and the official history “We tried to serve the song — to make it as big and on the Trekky website notes that the label founders bold as possible,” Kimbrough said. “We were into makboth saw “a preternaturally gifted band called Westing bold choices, not being afraid to use something falia in a high school talent show.” that might seem cheesy. We felt like it was irreverent Butterflies, Kimbrough’s solo act, opened a number using the most bold synth sound.” of shows for Lost in the Trees, an orchestral indie folk Near the end of Teardrop Canyon’s set, Kimbrough band on the Trekky label that was founded by Ari Pickasked the audience to come closer, adding, “We’ve only er, and Kimbrough’s friendship with Picker deepened got two songs left.” when he was asked to serve as tour manager after the The performance had tracked exactly with the release of Lost in the Trees’ second album. When Lost album sequencing, and with the deliberate, dirge-like in the Trees disbanded in early 2015, Picker expressed opening of “In Your Shadows,” the artifice had fallen an interest in producing. Kimbrough emailed him the away. The song was deceptively powerful, with dissodemos for the songs that would fill the Teardrop Cannant tonic notes obscuring the building gale force. By yon album. the final verse and chorus, Kimbrough’s forehead was Picker immediately became a close creative colperspiring, and he delivered the hurt in the lyrics with laborator on the album, so much so that Kimbrough stabbing conviction. “Will you recognize me when I entrusted the sequencing of the tracks to his producer. wash up on your shore?” he sang. “And what about “We thought ‘Let It Rest’ was the mission statewhen I don’t need you anymore? It’s just that I’ve been ment,” Kimbrough said of the lead track. “One thing in your shadow for a long time.” I wanted to do with this batch of songs was be direct with the music and language and lyrics. It’s very conPick of the Week cise. We made a decision that we wouldn’t use a song if the chorus doesn’t hit you over the head.” Sense and sensibility Kimbrough said some of the ’80s aesthetic might Gillian Welch @ SECCA (W-S), 6 p.m. be a residual of his brief stint as keyboardist in Human Gillian Welch is said to have a “sense far beyond Eyes and its principal songwriter Thomas Costello’s her years.” The Grammy-nominated folk singer and penchant for the music of the Smiths and the Cure. songwriter debuted in 1996 and has been mes“Those were the keyboard tones that I had in my merizing audiences with her vocals and prose ever head, and some of that sound palette probably rubbed since. To experience the phenomenon that is Welch, off on me,” Kimbrough said. (Costello returned the stop by secca.org for details.

An organist fills the silence for Metropolis by Naari Honor

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here is a legendary instrument in North Carolina that is as scarce as the purpose it was created for: the theater organ. Carolina Theatre, whose doors opened in October 1927, owns a Robert Morton Pipe Organ built in the same year. While many visitors have patronized the theater, few had experienced the sounds that emanate from the organ. Until the return of the silent film Metropolis. Mark Anderson projected a pleasant demeanor. From the moment he turned away from the organ that sits atop the theater’s stage to make his way down the stairs, the smile never retreated from his face. Despite the film starting in a matter of minutes, he NAARI HONOR Mark Anderson at the Carolina Theatre’s 1927 Robert Morton Pipe Organ. was eager to discuss the movie many have come to see. Some will even sit through it by Paramount for its US release after being released in twice. German in its entirety. The Aug. 18 presentation at the Anderson has been invited to play the International Carolina would include both versions. Artist Version score, a score he wrote, for the movie “A lot of this footage was never intended to be in the Metropolis on the theater’s organ for the evening. movie because it is 2.5 hours of silent film,” Anderson “The original score no longer exists,” Anderson said said. “The reason why we have the two versions now is with sadness in his eyes. basically for people who are studying film. The two verAnderson’s score is the one now played all over the sions together show you what was cut out of the movworld. ie, you know, on the cutting room floor for editing.” Anderson has taught at the Juilliard School, perSome fan sites contend that director Fritz Lang formed at Carnegie Hall, appeared on an hour-long intended for the movie to be the full 2.5 hours. PBS special, played the organ for the Boston Symphony Regardless of what either school of thought believes and worked as head staff music arranger for NBC in the director intended, the recovery of the missing movNew York. ie reels from a museum in Argentina in 2008 provides When Metropolis began to play on the theater screen a revelation. on Aug. 18, the attention of the audience focused to The coupling of Anderson and Metropolis was like the left of the stage where Anderson sat comfortably one of those fancy food pairings in a discrete location behind a beast of a machine that looked to have more that costs an obscene amount of money. components that some sci-fi retro starship. At the end of Metropolis, the audience gave the cusWith each press of a finger Anderson created the tomary applause. But when Anderson turned to greet sounds of a foghorn, a ticking clock, a footstep, even a the audience he had ushered through a wondrous work romp in the garden of sin. As the film progressed, the of cinema art, the crowd rose to their feet. Anderson audience’s attention gradually shifted from Anderson took it in with grace, displaying the same smile he to the screen, as his organ playing created the illusion showed as he casually discussed film. of dialogue, albeit without the clutter of language. His job was done. It’s clear that Anderson’s organ accompaniment is a form of storytelling in its own right. Pick of the Week Metropolis is a notable film as one of the earliest examples of science fiction being used in cinema. Artistic overflow The film was originally released at 150 minutes at its Opening artists reception @ TAG (GSO), Thursday,5:30 premiere in that same magical year of 1927. According p.m. to film aficionados, Metropolis was edited to one hour Theatre Art Galleries opens its doors to the public to share the work of work of Linda McCane Gritta (Main Gallery), Cindy Taplin (Gallery B) and Sarah Correction Kelly (Gallery B). The galleries also display works of The article entitled, “SECCA welcomes a new dearea teachers, and the Youth Gallery shows off work velopment director,” by Naari Honor, Aug. 17, 2016, created by students involved in the creative summer contained several factual errors, including the spellprograms. To find out more about the exhibit, check ing of Katherine Foster’s name. We regret the errors, out out tagart.org. and strive to avoid them in the future.

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edgefield Country Club’s No. 15 daunts many visiting golfers during the Wyndham Championship. Some nail it when needed. Davis Love III eagled the hole to secure last year’s win. On the third day of the 2016 by Anthony Harrison tourney — Saturday, Aug. 20 — Jim Furyk also eagled No. 15, hitting the second-longest putt of his illustrious career. Graeme McDowell missed the green on his approach. “Please stop,” he hissed through gritted teeth in his Northern Irish brogue. “Please stop, please stop!” It rolled off the front back onto the fairway. But I wasn’t following McDowell or Furyk. Back at the seventh hole, my lifelong chum Zack Benson cooked a whole hog for a Wyndham Championship party on Saturday at his buddy’s house to the right of the green. Men in polos and shorts, women in sundresses and Ray-Bans, drank Bud Light in the shade and watched the throngs cheering on famed pros like McDowell and Rickie Fowler as they putted on the punchbowl green. “You here for a sandwich?” he asked. “Grab some ’cue.” “Nah, I don’t have time,” I said. I wish I had; he sure can cook a pig. “I’m following a player, so I jumped ahead to say hi.” “Who’re you following?” “Kyle Stanley.” Somehow, even his Oakleys betrayed his confusion. “Never heard of ’im.” Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor, Wash. played golf at Clemson University and first earned his tour card for the 2011 season at age 24. He made up for lost time with four top-10 finishes and a spot in the British Open at Royal St. George’s in Kent, England. His next year was a whirlwind; he melted down in the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open, blowing a 3-stroke lead on the last hole, then recorded his first tour win the next week in the Phoenix Open at the Tournament Players Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. He lost his card in 2014, but fared so well in the 2015 Web.com Tour finals that he regained playing privileges this season. He’s been swinging upward since. To be fair, I’d never heard of him, either. But he was on the bubble. PGA Tour players from around the world converge on Greensboro in late August every year for the Wyndham for a few reasons. For one, Sedgefield’s course, conceived by famed designer Donald Ross, gained a reputation as one of the pros’ sleeper favorites in the years since the Wyndham was established in 2007. Another might be the $5.6 million purse. But the main reason is that it’s the final tournament before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the four tournaments capped by the PGA Tour Championship. The eight top

Bursting the bubble finishers in the Wyndham automatically qualify for the Barclays, but only the top 125 point leaders in the FedEx standings get the chance to move on to the playoffs. The bubble, as one might expect, refers to the players right around the cusp of that Top 125 mark. Leading into the Wyndham, Kyle Stanley ranked No. 127 in the standings, so he was a tiny puff of air on the top film of the bubble with the potential to bust the whole thing or ride along the surface. Stanley showed up against stiff competition. This Wyndham field will probably go down as one of the finest assembled in the tournament’s history. That says a lot; Tiger Woods showed up last year, infamously flopping on the final day and retreating from golf. This year, some of the world’s best, like Fowler, McDowell, Furyk, Kevin Na, Brandt Snedeker and hall of famer Ernie Els visited humble Greensboro to play for points. The assembled talent thrilled every day. Luke Donald aced No. 16 on Aug. 18 and won vacations for life from Wyndham; Shawn Stefani, another bubble player, holed it on Saturday to better his standings. Fans witnessed historic rounds on Aug. 19: Si Woo Kim, a relative unknown from South Korea, established a course record of 60 — 10 under par — and would’ve hit 59 if it hadn’t been for barely missing a 50-foot putt on his final hole. Lucas Glover nearly matched Kim, missing a tap-in for par to finish at 61. Stanley may not have had the putt of his life, let alone the round of his life, but his appearance still had a story behind it. Stanley shot 69 and an impressive 65 in the first and second day, respectively. With those rounds, he put himself in the running alongside Fowler and McDowell and ahead of former champions like Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore and Webb Simpson. He had to do great in order to break through the No. 125 mark, and for a player with past problems in the mental game, he killed it. He’d played well through No. 15, hitting five nice birdie putts to make up for two bogies while his partner, 26-year veteran Tom Gillis, slipped into trouble after his ball went for a swim on No. 8. Stanley jeopardized his

exemplary round when he lobbed his ball above the front bunker, nearly the same shot from the opening day. But Stanley pulled it together. His pitch out of the rough rolled about a yard away from the cup. Good position for anyone, especially a guy who makes over 99 percent of his three-footers. Stanley sank the putt for birdie, no problem. I’d never heard of him before that day, yet I found myself proud of him for bursting the bubble.

Pick of the Week Slamming aces into faces Winston-Salem Open @ Wake Forest Tennis Center (W-S), Wednesday-Saturday, 3 p.m. The sister tournament to the Wyndham Championship has been raging since qualifiers on Aug. 20, but the run to the finals ramps up mid-week. An incredible array of international talent, including reigning singles champion Kevin Anderson, continue to duke it out. Quarterfinals begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday; for more info, visit winstonsalemopen. com.

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1 “___ Joey” (Frank Sinatra film) 2 Organic compound 3 “It’s ___-way street!” 4 Gunned the motor 5 Poisonous protein in castor beans 6 Kennedy couturier Cassini 7 Bandleader at the Tropicana Club, on TV 8 Serving of asparagus 9 Most of you have already heard it 10 GOP luminary Gingrich 11 New York theater award 12 Marshy area of England, with “the” 14 Low roll in craps 17 Ref. which added “starter marriage” and “starchitect” in 2016 20 In early metamorphosis 23 Russian vodka brand, for short

24 Maker of Advantix cameras 25 Actress Cara of “Fame” 26 Lukewarm 27 Drache of the Poker Hall of Fame 29 Alvin of the American Dance Theater 30 Luxor or Excalibur offerings 31 Condescending type 33 Stock symbol for Southwest Airlines (based on their logo) 34 “Lend Me ___” (Broadway play about an opera company) 35 “From ___ down to Brighton I must have played them all” (“Pinball Wizard”) 36 Finish for opal or saturn 41 Recorder attached to a windshield 45 You might hit it if you’re tired 47 Distrustful 48 Professional poker player ___ Duke 49 Scoring advantage 50 Hot Topic founder ___ Madden 51 Like some excuses 52 Second word of “The Raven” 53 Story of your trip, perhaps 54 Recurring YouTube journal 55 Vegas-frequenting electro-house musician Steve, or golfer Isao 56 Acronym on some LVMPD jackets 57 Launched into cyberspace 60 “Glee” actress ___ Michele

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of Oz after work — in costume. I believe he mentioned dropping acid though I doubt I would have needed it if I had seen that coupling. Mother: So, you think if you’d been strawberry blond with freckles it would have protected you. Me: It worked for Ginger on “Gilligan’s Island” and she survived it all wearing an evening gown and heels. Mother: Suddenly, so many things make sense now.

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Suffice it to say, Cindy Deaver got me through the tough times. She was the inner Betty to my outer Veronica. She had the genetic grit of potato famine survival and the will of Gaelic winds. Her fridge was filled with white bread, bologna, Duke’s Mayonnaise, sweet tea and pie — not the olive oil, feta cheese, homemade brown bread, yogurt and lamb that made my friends turn up their noses. It wasn’t until I discovered Wonder Woman that I thought brunettes could even be the good guys. It was a black hat/white hat world then and in many ways it still is, but we’ve come a long way baby. Mother: At least the highlights are better. Me: Yes, at least we have that.

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braids like my friend Sarah Sheppard’s cool big sister Beth and — most admirable of all — she wasn’t afraid of Tweetsie Railroad. Mother: Oh my god. Enough with the Tweetsie Railroad trauma. You’d think we’d had you bound and gagged and scalped. Me: Mother. Indians attacked us. On a train. It was freaking terrifying. Mother: They were fit, tan college boys in buckskin pants and loincloths. I quite enjoyed it. Me: Well that’s just fine and dandy for your mid-life crisis but for a 5-year-old it was pretty scary. Mother: I thought you were enjoying it. You made up your own narrative. Me: I had to do something to keep my mind off impending slaughter. Mother: Remember you renamed the law man Sheriff McCocky. Your dad thought that was hilarious. Me: And the old lady knitting on the porch was Granny Hogurt. Do you think I got that from yogurt? Because it’s aged and cultured? Mother: You weren’t that clever. Me: Did you know that I know one of those former Indians? My friend the writer. Michael Parker. He said when he was at Appalachian the characters from Tweetsie Railroad would party with the characters from the Land

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e: Brian Clarey was right. As soon as the Fourth of July is over, so is summer. David: It’s not even Labor Day yet. Me: And Labor Day means time to close the stabbin’ by Nicole Crews cabin, winter is coming and the golden hour is over. As summer comes to a slow, screen-door scream of a close I think back on mosquito-dark-thirty when it was time come in for supper. I see freckles alighting on the noses of my fair-haired friends during sunlit games of kickball. I smell coconut tan elixir and iodine-spiked baby oil, freshly cut lemons and the burnt-flesh scent of Sun-In as we girls lined up in formation on towel strewn, freshly mown grass. Summer in Carolina was a blonde’s paradise. I, however, was not blonde. Growing up Greekish in a small Southern town meant three things. One, I never experienced sunburn. Two, people often thought I was mixed race. And three, I wanted to be blonde like most of my ScotsIrish friends. So to remedy this, I invented an alter ego named Cindy Deaver. She had strawberry blonde hair, freckles, gangly limbs like my friend Janna Myers, wore

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