TCB May 9, 2019 — Ranked! The college commencement speaker face-off

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point May 9-15, 2019 triad-city-beat.com

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May 9-15 ,2019

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

High Point goes viral By now all of His first mistake was succumbing to you have probWanna Be the Man disease, to which we ably seen the all fall prey at times. Surely someone ofvideo gone viral fered to pull up the lyrics to our National from the High Anthem on their phone for him to referPoint Rockers’ ence.

Opening Day this “Nah,” he must have said. “I got this.” weekend, featurAnd you can see that bravado in his

by Brian Clarey ing what was, swag there on the field as he launches into even for low-A ball, an absolutely terrible his opening notes, just before things go rendition of our National Anthem. horribly wrong.

It’s absolutely brutal — more on that in And there’s mistake No. 2: He hit the a minute. Suffice it to say this is the one opening notes too high (That’s why we that’s going to knock have rehearsal, people!). rapping traffic girl Jennie “The Star-Spangled Stencil, off the list.

Banner” is a deceptively But I come to praise difficult song to vocalize, It may not look High Point Anthem Guy requiring both range and like it, but this — aka Rockers staffer power, and, of course, Chuck Hayworth — not the ability to memorize is a fantastic bury him. lyrics.

Context is important.

It may not look like development for Hayworth told local news it, but this is a fantastic High Point affiliates, who swarmed development for High on the story as fast as Point baseball. baseball. they would the waterskiFirst, a stadium and ing squirrel, that he was a team affiliate came last-minute replacement together faster than any for a scheduled singer such deal in the Triad — who didn’t show up, and he apologized for about two years between the announcethe performance. ment and the first pitch — and garnered So here’s this guy trying to impress his enough community support to sway an new employees by Being the Man at the election. last minute. He’s all hyped up anyway, And now, courtesy of Barstool Sports and now, with no rehearsal time, he gets and an overzealous staffer, the High Point thrust, alone, onto a grass field in front of Rockers are a household name. thousands of people, many of whom he There really is no such thing as bad works for. On Opening Day. press. Sometimes you just have to curl This is even more difficult than it into a ball and repeat that to yourself over sounds. and over.

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

ART ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES

sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

gayla@triad-city-beat.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

STAFF WRITER Lauren Barber lauren@triad-city-beat.com

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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 COVER: Nine speakers come to STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger town to speak at 10 universities. So savi@triad-city-beat.com naturally, we ranked them. [Cover EDITORIAL INTERN Cason Ragland design by Robert Paquette]

KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2018 Beat Media Inc.

May 9-15 ,2019

CITY LIFE May 9-12, 2019

by Cason Ragland

The Secrets of Lindley Park @ First Moravian Church of Greensboro (GSO), 6:30 p.m.

2019 Pinwheel Gala @ Hanesbrands Theatre (W-S), 6 p.m.

Join the Parenting PATH organization in their fight against child abuse throughout the Piedmont at this year’s Pinwheel Gala.

If you’re interested, you can enjoy a dinner, drinks, music and make a bid at the auctions. Check out the Facebook page for the event to learn more.

Passageway Park Ribbon Cutting @ Passageway Park (W-S), 11 a.m.

The newly renovated park will open this morning in Winston-Salem. If you’re intrigued, you can meet the Twin City’s elected officials and the representatives of the renovation while you enjoy snacks from food trucks and live performances. The event’s Facebook page has more details.

SATURDAY May 11

Period Pack Party @ the People’s Perk (GSO), 5:15 p.m.

GRAWL Brawl XI: Prom Season @ Gibb’s Hundred Brewing (GSO), 7 p.m.

SUNDAY May 12

Plant-Based Brunch and Open House @ Dharma Farm Animal Refuge (HP), 11:30 a.m.

Learn more about living on a plant-based diet and meet the animals that Dharma Farm provides refuge for this Sunday. If this event is one that intrigues you, be sure to say hi to the alpacas, goats and even a miniature cow while you enjoy a vegan brunch. Find out more on Facebook.

Trans Support Group @ North Star LGBTQ Center (W-S), 7 p.m.

Culture

FRIDAY May 10

How to Impact Your City Council @ Windsor Community Center (GSO), 2 p.m.

A city council meeting is one of the most important ways that a community and its leaders can communicate with one another. The Young Adults Committee of the Greensboro NAACP will host a meeting with councilman Justin Outling this weekend for any of those who are interested in becoming more active within their local government. Check out the event’s Facebook page for more info.

Even though Woodstock 50 got canceled not too long ago, that won’t stop Jeans ‘n Classics and the Winston-Salem Symphony from performing some of that era’s greatest music. If you’re partial to the tunes of Hendrix, Joplin, Crosby and/ or Santana then this event might interest you. Discover more about the event on the Winston-Salem Symphony’s website.

Opinion

James S. Collins, an architect with offices in Greensboro and NYC, offers a presentation on the history of Lindley Park in Greensboro this evening. He will be accompanied by landscape architect Jeff Allen and they’ll cover the work of celebrated designer Earle Sumner Draper. Take a look at the event’s Facebook page if you’d like to know more.

A Night at Woodstock @ RJ Reynolds Auditorium (W-S), 7:30 p.m.

News

Beach Music Festival @ High Point Theatre (HP), 5:30 p.m.

Break out the surfboards and lawn chairs for this presentation of classic beach music at the High Point Theatre. Both the Embers featuring Craig Woodlard and the Collegiates will give live performances.

Children under 12 get in for free and you can find out more on the High Point Theatre’s website.

Up Front

THURSDAY May 9

Shot in the Triad

The North Star organization in WinstonSalem will host a meeting this weekend for those who are transgender, gender non-binary and gender non-conforming.

While they appreciate the support of their cisgender friends and fellow community members, allies will not be allowed to attend this event. Take a look on Facebook for more information.

Puzzles

Many women in Greensboro don’t receive the menstrual care they need. That’s why the People’s Perk near UNCG invites you to donate things like tampons, ibuprofen and hand sanitizer to help low-income women in Greensboro. If something like this interests you, check out the Facebook page to discover more.

If your high school prom lacked the pageantry of an arm-wrestling competition then Gibb’s Hundred Brewing has got you covered this weekend. The Greensboro Arm Wrestling League will present the toughest women from around the city to show off their strength. Wear your best attire if you plan to join. You can read more details on the event’s Facebook page.

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Up Front

The definitive 2019 Triad commencement speaker list

We’ve got 10 four-year colleges in the Triad, competing for students, for media attention, grant dollars, real estate… and, of course, commencement speakers, which have become an important signifier of a school’s status to potential recruits.

We’ve been ranking them since 2017, and some patterns are starting to emerge.

Wake Forest University’s list of speakers throughout the years is insane, though they don’t always deliver a big name. High Point University has chosen with distinction the last few years; they won in 2017 with Wolf Blitzer. NC A&T University is hit or miss — for every Laila Ali there’s an obscure alumni — and on average, they’re outpaced by Winston-Salem State, who had the rapper Common in 2015. UNCG has had a few standout years in an otherwise spotty record — they won last year with Joey Cheek and took it again this year with Ken Jeong, far and away the most famous on the list.

But raw fame is not all we look at. We consider local ties, commitment to higher education, connection to the school and its message, and appropriateness to the graduates.

None of which, this year, could add up to Ken Jeong.

This year’s crop is among the most diverse. For the first time there are two Asian Americans in our Top 3. Five of the Top 10 are women, and five are African American. There is just one white male on the list.

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May 9-15 ,2019

Ranked!

1. Ken Jeong (actor, doctor),

2. Michio Kaku (theoretical physicist),

Shorthand: A bona fide, currently working movie star Past speakers: Joey Cheek (Olympic Gold Medalist from Greensboro, 2018 winner), Margot Lee Shetterly (author of Hidden Figures, 2017), Gov. Beverly Perdue (2009), Jim Hunt (former NC governor, 2004), Nido Qubein (motivational speaker and future president of High Point University, 2003), Erskine Bowles (political figure, 2000), Fred Chappell (former NC poet laureate, 1999), Art Buchwald (newspaper columnist, 1967, 1997), Maya Angelou (poet and author, 1986), Lesley Stahl (broadcast journalist, 1986), Charles Kuralt (journalist, 1973), Sen. George McGovern (1969) Bio: Jeong has done stand-up, television movies — way too many to list, but we should include The Hangover series, “Community,” Crazy Rich Asians and (spoiler alert!) a small cameo in Avengers: Endgame. He’s a graduate of Page High School (Class of ’86), Duke University (undergrad) and UNC-Chapel Hill (med school — yeah, he’s a doctor).

Ever heard of them: It’s almost impossible not to.

Appropriateness: Nailed it. Jeong is a true local, a huge success and a strong believer in education. Plus, the guy’s absolutely hilarious.

What he’ll speak about: Jeong is something of a wild card, but his parents, who still live in Greensboro, will probably be in the audience so he should stick to the script.

Shorthand: The cool scientist from TV Past speakers: Josh Groban (singer/actor, 2019), Wolf Blitzer (broadcast journalist, 2017 winner), Condoleezza Rice (former secretary of state, 2016), Tom Brokaw (broadcast journalist, 2015), Colin Powell (retired diplomat and general, 2014), Steve Wozniak (tech entrepreneur, 2013), Laura Bush (former first lady, 2012), Lance Armstrong (world-class cyclist, 2011) Bio: Kaku is one of the most famous physicists in the world — he’s a fixture on television, where he often talks about technology, futurism and the applications of theoretical physics on the actual world. Interesting side note: When he was a kid, he built a particle accelerator in his parents’ garage.

Ever heard of them: Maybe? Even a famous American physicist is sort of obscure. You would probably recognize him on TV, but not on the street.

Appropriateness: Kaku has few, if any, ties to North Carolina. He’s a third-generation Japanese American who grew up in California and went to school in New York City. Still, it’s a pretty good get.

What he’ll speak about: The man’s a genius, so he’s highly qualified to talk about anything at all, but he’ll probably stick to his wheelhouse on May 11 and make some predictions about the world to come.

High Point University

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UNCG

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Wake Forest University

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3. Frederick J. Ryan Jr. (publisher and CEO of the Washington Post),

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Shorthand: A media big-shot.

Past speakers: Stephen Colbert (TV host, 2015), Jill Abramson (former executive editor of the New York Times, 2014), Insar K. Nooye (PepsiCo CEO, 2011), Kenneth Chenault (American Express CEO, 2010), Vice President Joe Biden (2009), Arnold Palmer (professional golfer, 2005), Colin Powell (US secretary of state, 2004), Michael Bloomberg (former businessman and mayor of New York City, 2003), Sen. John McCain (2002), Barbara Bush (former first lady, 2001), Tom Clancy (author, 1992), Garry Trudeau (creator of Doonesbury, 1996), Maya Angelou (1985), Bill Moyers (journalist, 1984, 1970), Rep. Gerald Ford (1972), Walter Lippman (newspaper columnist, 1926) Bio: Before taking the reins of one of the country’s most influential newspapers in 2014, Ryan founded Politico in 2007. Before that, he was a member of President Ronald Reagan’s staff in the White House and continued on as Reagan’s chief of staff after his presidency ended.

Ever heard of them: Probably not, but he’s a huge deal in journalism circles, and also the CEO crowd after turning around the Post.

Appropriateness: As impressive as he is, Ryan’s just another bold-faced name on an agency list with no real ties to North Carolina. He went to the University of Southern California for both his undergrad and law degrees, and while it’s possible he has a house on Bald Head Island or something, there’s no real connection.

What he’ll speak about: Ryan’s Politico came in ahead of the curve on the digital media front. Under his leadership, the Post has won Pulitzers, gained readers and started making money while other newspapers around the country become less profitable and less relevant. Perhaps he will discuss the importance of being unique.

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Salem College

5. Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Broadway musical director), UNC School of the Arts

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4. Stephanie D. Wilson (astronaut),

Opinion

News

Shorthand: A UNCSA grad with an amazing career in showbiz.

Past speakers: Paul Tazewell (Hamilton costume designer, 2018), David LaChappelle (photgrapher/director, 2015), Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Cheryl Isaac Boone (2015), Angus MacLachlan/Peter Bogdanovich (directors, 2010), Kristin Chenowith (actor, 2009), Danny Elfman (composer, 2007), Forrest Whitaker (actor, 2004), Mandy Patinkin (actor, 2001), Debbie Allen (actor and choreographer, 1992) Bio: Campbell is local — she’s from Wilson, went to Governor’s School at Salem College before graduating from UNCSA in 1992 and has worked steadily in Broadway musical theater since. She’s currently the musical director for Mean Girls. On the philanthropic side, Campbell helmed Paul Newman’s charity efforts for years before starting her own nonprofit, ASTEP (Artists Striving To End Poverty) with the funds from selling her house.

Ever heard of them: No. But she’s probably never heard of you either.

Appropriateness: Spot on.

What she spoke about: On Saturday, Campbell called an audible and addressed the recent shooting at UNC-Charlotte before dispensing wisdom upon the graduates. The Journal quoted her as saying: “There is no person, no relationship, no job, no reward, no outfit, no body type, no material possession and no amount of money that will make you happy forever. So, stop looking outside yourself for it because it does not exist.”

6 (TIE). Kwanza Jones (According to her website, “Investor, artist, philanthropist”),

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Winston-Salem State University and Bennett College

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Shorthand: The second black woman in space, a genuine NASA astronaut Past speakers: Susan Goldberg (first female editor in chief of National Geographic, 2017), Erika James (dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, 2016), Freda Lewis-Hall (Pfizer CEO, 2015) Bio: Wilson’s been on three separate shuttle missions, with more than 42 days logged in space.

Ever heard of them: No. Appropriateness: No local ties, but hey — she’s been to space! And as one of the few surviving women’s colleges, Salem’s choice definitely works.

What she’ll speak about: On May 25, Wilson will likely give Salem College graduates some insight on working in a male-dominated field.

Shorthand: The woman who came out of nowhere and donated all that money to Bennett College.

Past speakers: Bennett — US Rep. Alma Adams (2017) (For many years, the tradition at Bennett was for the president to speak). WSSU — Byron Pitts (journalist, 2018), Melissa Harris-Perry (journalist, 2016), Common (rapper, 2015), Michael Eric Dyson (author and educator, 2012), Stephen A. Smith (sports journalist, 2011) Bio: When Bennett College hit dire financial straits last year, Jones and her husband José E. Feliciano ponied up a $1 million gift in honor of Jones’ mother and aunt, both Bennett Belles. Jones is herself a brand: a venture capitalist, motivational lifestyle speaker and performer Ever heard of them: We have now.

Appropriateness: Hey, she gave $1 million to a HCBU, so why not?

What she spoke about: On Saturday she closed with a plea to the Bennett Belles: “You have things on your head. These are not hats. These are crowns.”. She’ll be at WSSU on May 10 for her encore.

8. Johnnetta Cole (academic),

Greensboro College

Up Front

10. George Johnson (dean emeritus, Elon University School of Law),

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Guilford College

26,000 employees in 85 countries, and administers a budget of $9 billion.

Ever heard of them: No. But he probably likes it that way.

Appropriateness: Totally. Deese is an Aggie — Class of ’77 — and in 2016 he donated $1 million to his alma mater. He’s been at the top of his field for decades, which he largely credits to his education at A&T. What he’ll speak about: Aggie Pride, naturally.

News

NC A&T University

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Shorthand: An alumnus with a huge corporate job.

Past speakers: Laila Ali (Muhammad Ali’s daughter, 2017), First Lady Michelle Obama (2012), US Rep. John Lewis (2015), Donna Brazile (author and political analyst, 2014) Bio: As both president and executive vice president at Merck, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical firms, Deese oversees

Shorthand: The oldest African-American law-school teacher in town.

Past speakers: Joey Cheek (Olympic speed-skater, 2012), Navy Cmdr. Porter Halyburton (former POW, 2011), Elizabeth Dole (former senator, 2007) Bio: Johnson was a founding faculty member of Elon’s law school in downtown Greensboro and served five years as dean before earning the honorarium of emeritus. Before that he served as counsel for a US House committee, and back in the 1970s served in the Carter administration.

Ever heard of them: Yes, but only if you’re a lawyer.

Appropriateness: Not bad. He certainly qualifies as local; definitely accomplished; obviously committed to education. Bonus points, too, for getting a black guy.

What he’ll speak about: His speech on May 10 is titled, “To Build Up AND to Tear Down.”

Culture

9. Willie A. Deese (president of Merck’s manufacturing division)

Opinion

Shorthand: Serial college president.

Past speakers: Patricia Timmons-Goodson (first African-American female justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, 2017), Rev. William J. Barber II (activist, 2016), Jeff Thigpen (Guilford County Register of Deeds, 2013) Bio: In 1987, Cole became the first female African-American president of Spelman College, an HBCU in Atlanta, serving 10 years.

She was Bennett College’s president from 2002 to 2007, and then worked as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Black Art until 2017.

Ever heard of them: She was big news when she came to Greensboro.

Appropriateness: Sure. Cole’s a historic figure who has spent a lot of time in the city What she spoke about: We’re still looking for a transcript of the May 4 event.

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Up Front

May 9-15 ,2019

NEWS

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Cultural leaders reflect on past, present and future of Greensboro

By Sayaka Matsuoka George Scheer used to play tennis in the middle of South Elm Street in the evenings.

“Downtown would shut down at 5,” he says. “Most people didn’t come downtown.”

Scheer, who founded and ran Elsewhere museum for 16 years, recently stepped down from the position to pursue new opportunities. He says the timing was right and now he’s working on completing his dissertation. Scheer is just one of a handful of cultural giants in the city who recently left, or are leaving, their longtime positions at art organizations. Laura Way, the former executive director of the Greenhill gallery, is another.

“I wanted us to be outward focused,” she says about her time at Greenhill.

“We did collaborative exhibitions, popup artist residencies…I didn’t want to be insular.”

In April, Way started her new position as the president and CEO of ArtsGreensboro, a major funder of the arts in town. She understands that there’s still a lot to do in terms of art and culture in the city.

“My job is to elevate and amplify and support the arts of my community,” she says. “My job now is to build trust throughout the community and make sure that ArtsGreensboro is thinking about the entirety of the community.”

Way points to a cultural arts master plan that was adopted unanimously by city council late last year as a turning point.

“The arts in Greensboro is very robust but financially fragile,” she says.

“We did research on organizations and found structural deficits within the entire system. We needed to be more robust in being a funding mechanism for the arts.”

The plan, which can be viewed online, is composed of four parts that will provide sustained support for the arts by enhancing and expanding resources, foster cultural equity and arts participation for all, create a prosperous environment for artists and arts organizations, and raise awareness for the arts.

The planning process for the comprehensive plan began in January 2018 and is headed by a taskforce of 21 members that include local artists, educators and business and nonprofit community leaders. The group is co-chaired by Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann and Jacquie

Gilliam, a community volunteer.

“I think it’s really quite a significant piece of work,” Hoffmann says of the plan. “I think it’s really valuable to us at the city.”

During the beginning stages, the city facilitated several community dialogues to get feedback directly from artists and patrons about how they would improve the cultural landscape of Greensboro.

“What we learned is that what really is important is maintaining what we have but that it’s really important that we provide access to all citizens in Greensboro to art and culture that’s important and meaningful to them,” Hoffmann says.

Still, it’s impossible to maintain the current organizations if there’s no funding, says Rich Whittington, the founding managing director of Triad Stage.

Whittington moved to Greensboro in 1998 and helped found FILE PHOTO The Greensboro Cultural Center will be the headquarters for the city’s the theater shortly afterwards. culture offices.

He plans on stepping down this summer to spend more time with gramming that already exists and putting mann says. “What this plan really says his family and to bring new energy to it under this department,” she says. and talks about is really serving all of the organization. For him, funding has “Some of it is realignment.” those individuals and organizations and always been an issue.

She says the job description for the pomeeting the needs of those organizations “The challenge has been we haven’t sition that will lead the new office is done as they interact with citizens.” necessarily seen the infrastructure, the and should be posted soon. She also says For Scheer, part of that is making sure funding sources,” he says. “We all tend that implementing the whole plan will that those who are marginalized have to go after the same arts supporters and be a five to 10 year process. But for her, access to funding and participation in those arts supporters are feeling the funding isn’t the only factor that plays the arts. crunch.” into having a thriving arts community.

“There’s a lot of work to be done for Scheer agrees.

“That’s certainly one part of it,” she the ALAANA [African, Latino/a, Asian, “ArtsGreensboro is the only arts says. “But it wasn’t all about finance….

Arab and Native American] populafunder in our community,” he says. “The You really needed to have a bigger piction,” he says. “The arts community has majority has been focused on eight or 10 ture view of our entire tended to be fairly traditional and white. organizations but those arts community.”

We need to be supporting people of structures are shifting.”

That’s where Part 2 color and build professional relationships Scheer says that new of the plan comes in, and help build funding from their own View the complete funding approaches such the part about fostering communities and how the arts can supas tax measures, endowcultural arts masequity for all Greensboro port them. We need to think about how ments and increasing residents.

To achieve we pursue a creative ecology.” ter plan online at private donors will be this, the plan proposes In addition to a new cultural equity key to sustaining the arts greensboro-nc.gov. adopting a cultural policy and a leadership program, the in Greensboro. equity policy as well as plan proposes using newly established “How do we make the creating a leadership grants program with an initial budget of pot larger?” he asks. program for professional at least $500,000 that will “recognize the Part of the plan is to create a cityand community art leaders. unique characteristics and needs of large level arts and culture office that will be “We have a significant amount of institutions distinct from midsized and dedicated to development. This step is individual artists who are trying to make smaller organizations.” already in process, according to Hofftheir living as artists in this city and we “We need to make the case to the mann. have small groups of artists who are public of how important the arts are to “We will be taking some of our prooperating at the community level,” Hoffthe community,” Whittington says. “We

May 9-15 ,2019 Up Front News

have to build empathy and build community.”

One thing all three of the leaders emphasized was how the creation of the new Tanger Performing Arts Center might affect the city’s cultural landscape.

All three said new performing arts center, scheduled to open next spring, shouldn’t overshadow established organizations as well as those that are just beginning.

“The Tanger Center needed to happen,” Way says.

“It’s critical for us to have something that was new and exciting and could create enthusiasm for arts in downtown.”

Still, she notes that there was a decrease in funding at Greenhill over the last few years and that Tanger might take funding from other organizations.

“I hope the Tanger Center has the kind of impact that LeBauer Park has,” Scheer says. “It’s diverse, there’s families, it’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s comfortable.

There’s so many people out and being present. In New York, you walk down the street, you see so many people. In the South, in car culture, you don’t see that…. I hope that the Tanger Center creates that sort of dynamic diversity…. Then the whole downtown becomes a venue.”

Whittington agrees.

“Twenty-one years ago, we made the decision that Greensboro was gonna be the right place for us,” he says. “And 21 years later, we know that the answer was yes. Greensboro is a terrific community. I think it’s full of possibilities.”

Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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May 9-15 ,2019

OPINION

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EDITORIAL

CITIZEN GREEN

Republican conspiracy in this space, so it’s only fair to point out one of the positive things about one-party rule in our state: We’ve got a major power player in Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), who rose to state House whip in 2016 after his third term in District 59.

And while it’s tough to separate Hardister from the policies of his party — which seemed aimed towards creating a permanent underclass that’s held beneath the heel of a permanent Republican majority — we’re going to give it a shot.

It’s true that Hardister would not have risen in the ranks so quickly were he not a reliable Republican vote, but he’s using his time this term dynamically, sponsoring more than 100 bills, many of which have nothing to do with further marginalizing poor people and insulating the rich.

Some are ridiculous token plays at bipartisanship, like HB 394, sponsored with Guilford Democrat Ashton Clemmons, which designates the Moravian cookie as the official state cookie.

But there’s a lot of money for his district in his slate of bills, including money for the NC Folk Festival, Coltrane Jazz Festival, tornado-damaged homes, NC A&T University, Wake Baptist, War Memorial Foundation, Senior Resources of Guilford County and more.

And he’s continuing his streak of reforming the state’s antiquated alcohol laws. On the docket this year are HB 378, which would allow distilleries to actually sell drinks — which would seem like common sense, but whatever — and HB 536, an omnibus ABC reform bill that seems to expand the places where alcohol can be sold, helps small brewers get distribution, gives ABC stores Sunday hours and closes an ancient loophole that technically prevents a bar patron from buying a shot and a beer at the same time.

We’ll have more in-depth coverage of these bills and others in our Legislative Issue in a few weeks, including which of these bills actually passes.

But because it’s Hardister’s job to muster votes, it’s a pretty safe bet that he’ll be able to whip up support for many of his own efforts.

“A lot of the homicides, we find out faster than the news,” said Ingram Bell. “We have the intel. We go talk to the families of people of have been shot.”

As a victim of gun violence herself, Bell can relate to people who are hurting from violence, and

by Jordan Green even considering responding in kind. In 2011, she was shot in the head by a group of men who intended the bullets for her then-boyfriend.

Using a public-health model to address violence by sending out credible messengers to talk people who are ready to hurt someone off the ledge, Bell has been working with a core group of six people over the past 12 months.

Her role, as conceived by the national organization Cure Violence, is “interrupter.” The local program, known as Gate City Guardians, includes a Mothers of the Victims group that meets every Thursday, and a grievance team that reaches out to families of victims immediately after a shooting to offer support. If the team finds that a family member or friend is considering retaliation, that sets the stage for an interrupter to talk them down.

Gene Blackmon, one of the core members, said Gate City Guardians is also working with UNCG to set up a community dialogue on violence, and members are trying to work out a ceasefire among two opposing groups.

He didn’t want to identify the parties out of concern that publicizing them will betray their confidence. Likewise, the volunteer workers don’t share any of the tips they receive with the police — it could result in someone getting killed, Bell said.

The core group taps a network of community allies as needed, Blackmon said. As an example, he mentioned two men they’re working with to provide summer landscaping jobs as a diversion for individuals considered to be at high risk for committing violence.

And the Gate City Guardians have some competition.

On Tuesday, members of Greensboro City Council and the Guilford County Commission met in a large conference room in the old BB&T Building to consider a proposal to jointly fund a program based on the Cure Violence model through a $406,804 allocation with the cost split down the middle by the two governments. Based on the consensus of a working group of four city council members and four commissioners who have been meeting over the past 12 months, the proposed memorandum of agreement taps One Step Further, a nonprofit headed by Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson, to run the program. Johnson said that the city-county partnership will be named — wait for it — Gate City Coalition.

Addressing the potential perception of a conflict of interest, Johnson said she will abstain from voting on the contract, and will not take any money from the contract, with the exception of reimbursement for travel to visit other cities and study their efforts.

Bell and Blackmon did not attend the joint meeting of the city council and county commission on Tuesday.

“We’re trying to find our own funding,” Bell said of their

One-party rule is not all bad We spend a lot of time chipping away at the vast

It’s tough to separate Hardister from the policies of his party, but we’re going to give it a shot.

While pols deliberate, civilians get in the streets

endeavor, which to date has operated out of pocket or through small donations. “We no longer desire to work with the city and the county since they hijacked the program.”

Mayor Nancy Vaughan said she doesn’t know why Bell and Blackmon’s group wound up parting ways with the citycounty partnership.

“Most of [the discussion] was really the administration of the program and getting the contracts together and figuring out how the nonprofit was going to be run,” Vaughan said. “It wasn’t really dealing with who the interrupters were going to be or who was going to be hired, so we weren’t even talking about who was going to implement, well, aside from One Step Further.”

The advantage of Bell and Blackmon’s community startup is that it didn’t require local government approval to launch immediately, and Vaughan acknowledged “this has taken way longer than I anticipated.”

Council members and county commissioners squabbled over whether they would vote on the contract as a single body or have each governing body consider it separately.

Ultimately, Alan Branson, the chairman of the county commission, suggested the county manager and city manager confer to find a time for the two governing bodies to meet again sometime in the next three to four weeks.

Johnson demonstrated that she understands that for the interrupters to gain trust in the community and be effective, the program has to maintain autonomy from police.

Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter asked Johnson: “If the interrupters heard about something that might happen, would they be notifying the police?”

Johnson responded, “No, they would go there and try to interrupt it.”

Councilwoman Sharon Hightower, an early champion of the Cure Violence model, addressed the elephant in the room: In poor, predominantly non-white communities, the police are not always regarded as a resource, and are often considered a liability.

“Just to be clear, the community don’t want to be seen as snitches,” Hightower said. “This is not a police program.

This is separate and apart because you’re attempting to gain trust of those who sometimes know more than all of us know, and direct and guide them to where they need to interrupt, or even reach out in the community. Sometimes they will show up at hospitals in instances. They need to have full trust in who they’re interacting with. You may put yourself in a precarious situation.”

Bell and Blackmon said they don’t see any reason why the two programs — Gate City Guardians and Gate City Coalition — can’t coexist. Johnson announced that her program has chosen Smith Homes and an area bounded

by Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Benjamin Benson Street, Bragg Street and Julian Street as its two target areas. Afterwards, Bell said it made sense to her that the two programs would focus on different geographies. And she noted that the Cure Violence organization identified the Merritt Drive corridor as having the highest number of homicides and assaults in an assessment report completed for the city last year. So, it’s not as if there aren’t enough trouble spots in the city to go around.

by Lauren Barber

S

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

he’s a bona fide Sagittarian: compose, but something that’s coming through expressive and fun-loving, a you, and that was a big eye-opener.” knowledge-seeking wanderer of Quilla released her first album Beautiful Hythe earth and firmament alike. brid in 2014, the year she began her own record Quilla, the performing name of Anna label Ritual Fire Records in an effort to protect Luisa Daigneault, is a vocalist, songcreative control of her projects and provide a writer, electronic music producer and platform for other women in electronic music, performer living in Greensboro. She like local musician Johanna Breed. Quilla characdebuted her newest single “Boom Ba terizes the aesthetic of the label as “bouncy, fun Da” on UNC-TV from the floor of Skateelectronic music with a contemplative side.” land’s rink on May 2, and on June 14 she “I do think it’s important to have joyful fun will release “Sagittarius,” a new track music now because everything is so dark,” she celebrating the fiery sign she shares says. “It’s like trying to get back to basics with with so many women in her life, with an some primordial, happy, pre-analytical, uncyniaccompanying music video, in collaboracal, flavorful, fun and inspiring music. What has tion with UNCG Media Studies profesoccurred to me that’s been super positive since sors Jennida Chase and Hassan Pitts, and having a kid is that she comes first in everything, their third-year students. everything, everything. I’ve come to realize that “It has an undercurrent of joyfulness not having myself as my top priority is super libbut that one sounds maybe a bit more erating as an artist because I’m not as concerned like my old album [You Got It] because with my own ego and my own legacy and my TODD TURNER Quilla, aka Anna Luisa Daigneault, is a vocalist, it’s kind of intense and dreamy but also output and my image. Before becoming a moth- songwriter, producer and performer living in Greensboro. quirky and a little bit silly.” er, my decisions would be based around What’s In other words, Sagittarian. the right next step? Do I need to collaborate with showcase something new: an electronic artist, but also as a Though house music, world beat and this person? Do I need to tour? What does my sound need to be mother,” she says. “You don’t see those two things juxtaposed downtempo are clear influences, Quilla’s like? Now all that is out the window; I just do what feels good with each other very often; it’s usually life as an artist, as this work is increasingly experimental, and I do what’s best for her. I feel like the tracks I’m going to solo endeavor, and then there are a lot of female electronic reflecting not only her nature, but the put out this year are better because I’m doing them from a artists, but you don’t usually see their home life. I thought it wide-ranging soundscape of her childplace of joy and excitement from having those few minutes to would be important to show motherhood.” hood in Montreal with a tango-dancer do the music rather than spending months on a body of work Though brief, the film is as richly layered as Quilla’s music, mother and academic-turned-jazz-saxto analyze every technical aspect, every use of synthesizer.” embracing the multitudes of a woman who is integrating ophonist father. Known for her prowQuilla is also freeing herself of pressure to develop another sometimes competing duties to her family and to her sense ess on the keyboard and ethereal vocal full-length album for the foreseeable future. She released her of self, who is navigating the tension between the anxiety and looping, she’s last album You Got It during her sevecstasy of raising a child, and cherishing the clarity, humility written songs enth month of pregnancy in 2017. and creativity that can bloom from those challenges. for Tiësto and “My daughter Camille was an “To all the artist moms out there, I salute you,” Quilla says Learn more at quillamusic.com played sets at active participant and knows all of in the documentary. “Being a parent in this tumultuous age and look out for her new single Burning Man. the songs,” Qullia says. “When I put is not easy, but inspiration, even if just in fragments, keeps us “Sagittarius” on June 14.

Quilla also them on, she just kinda lays down.” moving forward.” works remotely These days, for the Living Camille is learnTongues Instiing her mother’s tute for Endangered Languages, a small ambient experiments and a collection of nonprofit, documenting endangered lullabies. languages, a continuation of her gradu“I started doing ambient music when ate school work studying indigenous Camille was about six or seven months Yanesha’ women’s vocal chants in the old,” Quilla says. “They’re all instrusouth-central Peruvian Amazon. mental and slow-building. They were all “While my music doesn’t sound a product of being up late just working anything like their chants, I really got with headphones on and the baby being in inspired by the way they get inspired asleep and just trying out these different to make their music,” she says. “They textures.” get inspired from having these deep She and director Stefan DiMuzio interconnected moments with nature: feature several of those unreleased particular rivers, particular mountains, tracks on a recently-released six-minute places in the landscape. Because I documentary “A Storm of Crumbs,” an learned about that ancient tradition, impressionistic patchwork of videotaped that inspired me look at the landscape footage of home life and performances, differently and to feel the essence of a Quilla’s artful collages and tiny set aniplace coming out, and feeling that music mation. is not necessarily something that you “Stefan and I had this idea of trying to

May 9-15 ,2019

CULTURE New singles and videos released by GSO-based musician Quilla

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May 9-15 ,2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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CULTURE The last supper for Greensboro Grub

By Sayaka Matsuoka

I

n the long hallway that stretches through the middle of Charlie and Ruth Jones’s downtown apartment on Elm Street, folding tables covered in white tablecloths and simple brown paper create the setting for a banquet, a feast — the last Greensboro Grub.

For more than a decade, Charlie and Ruth have been inviting friends and strangers into their home once a month to sit down and have a meal together.

Now the two are closing the chapter on their time in Greensboro and moving to St. Joseph, Mo. in the next month to continue the kind of community building they achieved with Grub.

“We started by inviting random people like the lady from the bank,” Charlie explains. “We gathered people who didn’t know each other.”

“There is no agenda for the Grub except to love people,” Ruth continues.

“To love lavishly; no hidden strings. It literally is just to get people who come from different strata, every kind of difference you can think of, in the same room. To get feet under the same table and have meaningful conversation.”

Charlie says that one of the attendees told him it was the first they had ever sat for a meal with a nuclear physicist on their right side and a homeless musician on the left.

“We wanted to bring people on the margins to the inside and let people on the inside experience people on the margins,” Ruth says.

The couple, who met through theater, had been together for years when they moved from Tennessee to join City Church in Greensboro. The two are Christians and say that the Grub is an extension of their faith.

“Our goal was to show that not all evangelical Christians are assholes,” Charlie says.

Over the years, hundreds of people have enjoyed lavish meals cooked by Charlie and desserts crafted by Ruth in their home. The couple spends half a week preparing the meals and prepping their home each time. On the days of, they get up at 4 in the morning. After the meals, guests take to the stage that’s been built in the living room and perform everything from spoken word to opera to skits. The only thing the couple asks for in return is a suggested donation of $10-15, barely enough to cover the food.

Charlie and Ruth Jones stand at the head of the table and lead the group in prayer before the meal at the last Grub.

They get a few regular volunteers, too, like those who come early to help prep the food and wash dishes afterwards.

And the final evening is no different.

Dozens of people fill the 5,000-square-foot apartment, mingling in every corner and crevice of the space. The Grub draws an average of 60 people each time, but this night, the last night, there’s close to 70 people packed into the penthouse.

Tim and Paula Rivers have been coming to the dinners since Charlie and Ruth started them but one Grub in particular stands out.

“We had decided we were going to get married,” Tim says.

“But to make it fun, I was gonna propose in a surprising way.”

During the entertainment portion of one of the Grubs in 2014, Tim got up on stage and asked Paula to join him.

“I said I was gonna write a poem about Chick-Fil-a,” Tim says. “But then Paula came up on stage and I got down on one knee.”

Charlie and Ruth caught the whole thing on camera and gave it to the newly engaged couple as a gift.

As Charlie announces that it’s time to eat, the guests fill each seat at the vast dinner table.

Crystal white string lights on green wire hang criss-cross from the ceiling, illuminating the final meal. In past Grubs, there have been themes around a certain cuisine like German or Indian or Peruvian. This time?

“It’s clean out the freezer Grub,” Charlie jokes before he recites his regular prayer. “Love the person across from us more than we love ourselves.”

A salad with bits of feta, chopped apple, bacon and fresh greens acts as a starter while bowls of mac and cheese and cheesy tomato casserole are passed down the line.

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

“I’ve sat at every end of this table,” says Ron Hargrove, looking around.

Hargrove is a local poet and has performed several times at the Grub.

“The entire Greensboro arts community is in debt to Ruth and Charlie,” Hargrove says.

Josephus Thompson, another poet in the city, says he’s been to probably 75 percent of the Grubs. This night however, he’s not in attendance and the absence is felt by many including Charlie.

“I will miss Josephus,” he says. “He has been a friend, advocate and partner of sorts in the Grub.”

A poem by Thompson, aptly titled “Grub,” hangs at the top of the stairs in Ruth and Charlie’s apartment. He wrote it for “27 Views of Greensboro,” a book highlighting the city through prose and poetry.

“It was something that people needed to know about,” Thompson explained in a phone interview on Monday. “It changed people’s lives. It was part of my Greensboro experience. When I think about Greensboro, this was a huge part of it.”

Bill Thompson, the new owner of the building, says he hopes to continue the Grub in some form.

“I’m open to that,” he says. “I’d like to maintain that positive energy. It is a lot to take on… but I’m open to at least providing the venue for such a thing.”

Still, Josephus says that it won’t be the same without Charlie and Ruth around.

“It’s definitely gonna leave a hole,” he says. “It was really an opportunity to bring our city together, one Grub at a time.”

by Savi Ettinger

K

Up Front News Opinion Culture

The band appears in the haze more like silhouettes or outlines than fully-formed people. Foreground: Jerry Chapman on guitar.

JERRY COOPER

Puzzles

the character of Pink as he struggles with self-isolation, deAs the night goes on, people part from the crowd in front of scending into a paranoid, fascist delusion, only realizing at the the stage, instead heading up to street level. They watch from end what his discriminatory views have done. above, looking through the fence that borders the drop-off to “It tells the complete story of Pink and his breakdown,” the Coal Pit. A woman leans up against it, her hand squeezed Nance says. through one of the diamonds of the chain-links.

Nance grounded the work through the She joins the audience members who characters, even with Pink being played by yelling out the lyrics to “Comfortably four actors. The whole hour and 23-minute Numb,” giving the section of the fence a For more on the Vagabond shake to the rhythm. Even the amplified work involved 60 set-ups and was shot in only 19 days. sounds of the speakers get drowned out Saints Society, visit their The time comes for the schoolteacher at points, the song becoming a joint effort page on Facebook. to make an entrance. A youth choir also from performers and the audience around climbs up, all wearing matching school them. uniforms. One girl, who looks younger The Vagabond Saints grab the audience than 10, plugs her ears with her fingers at and pull them in, everyone part of the colfirst but drops her hands to her side as the band reaches the laboration. chorus for “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2.” Clark’s marionette “As all of our Vagabond Saints projects are,” member Doug looks like something straight out of Edvard Munch’s “The Davis says, “we want it to be a community inclusive kind of Scream,” as its incandescent eyes pierce through the haze of project.” the fog.

Shot in the Triad

athy Clark stands off to the side, underneath one of the cement archways, readying her creation: the schoolteacher. The jointed cardboard puppet towers over the woman, as she steadies it using one of the skinny sticks attached to its main joints to maneuver its movements.

“He’s like, ‘Let me on stage,’” she laughs. “‘This is my moment.’”

Her marionette takes the stage with the Vagabond Saints’ Society tonight, as they take on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

As the band sets up, hexagonal stage lights glow blue over the Coal Pit, an outdoor dugout resting below street level adjoined to Incendiary Brewing Company.

The brewery seems packed beyond the usual Saturday buzz, as people order passionfruit IPAs, dry rosé ciders and the other brews to drink through the show.

A lit-up magenta interrupts the wood in the bar, the pink hue bounces off the glasses.

The Vagabond Saints Society plays in an open area of concrete columns and shop entrances. Colorful outdoor furniture and string lights dangling overhead balance out the industrial aesthetic of the venue and hangout.

Though many come for the music itself, the night also brings crowds of supporters for the local musicians and artisans who collaborate for the show.

Parents guide their young children to a meeting spot for guest performers, and singers with their own projects talk to one another before they share the stage.

Patrick Ferguson, a guest singer, reiterates how Vagabond Saints’ shows link together musical professionals. He takes the stage with friends and total strangers tonight.

“I’m honored to be playing with them,” he says. “What I like about it is they try to get a community effort.”

The dense crowd begins to quiet as fog rolls out from onstage, the smell of the synthetic cloud blending with that of pizza and beers. As the band and guest musicians begin, they often appear in the haze more like silhouettes or outlines than fully-formed people. The bricks behind the band reach up meters above where the highest stage equipment sits, and overhead a film by Chad Nance starts.

Nance describes the film as a “European-style surrealist” piece, that mirrors the plot of the 1979 album, following

May 9-15 ,2019

CULTURE Vagabound Saints appear out of the haze, perform The Wall

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May 9-15 ,2019

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1 Baked, so to speak 5 Cocoa substitute 10 Talk show host who’s somehow board-certified 14 Cookie with a “Game of Thrones” variety in 2019 15 “Battlestar Galactica” commander 16 Become entangled 17 Luxury SUV manufactured in the U.K. 19 Singer Burl 20 Playground equipment 21 Avgolemono ingredient 22 Peregrine falcon place 23 Gooey stuff seen on Nickelodeon 25 Jousting outfit 27 Hurdle for a doctoral student 32 Freshen, in a way ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 35 “Three’s Company” landlord 36 Grates harshly 38 2 + 1, in Italy 39 Troublemakers 40 Fielder’s feat 41 Neologism for an extreme enthusiast (just added to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary) 42 “___ the ramparts ...”

43 Revamp 44 Old movie holders 45 “Mr.” in “Elmo’s World” segments 47 Practice 49 Circulatory system components Answers from last issue 51 Hunk of gum 52 Iowa State University town 24 Jeweler’s measurement 54 John who appears in a 2019 episode of 26 Prefix trickily paired with “spelled” “The Twilight Zone” 27 Betelgeuse constellation 56 Balkan capital 28 Shakespearean character in the NATO 61 Boggs of the Red Sox Phonetic Alphabet 62 Relinquished 29 Gave a thumbs-up to 64 Dumpster emanation 30 Guitar maker Paul 65 Go on stage 31 He gets knighted in “Cars 2” 66 “SNL” segment?

33 Asia-Europe border range 67 Got out 34 Nerve-wracking 68 Loads cargo 37 Phillips-head hardware 69 Poetic tributes 40 Strong holds 41 Galilee, e.g.

Down 43 “Aladdin” song “Prince ___” 1 ___ d’oeuvres 44 Decorated again 2 “Dies ___” (Latin hymn) 46 Negev, e.g.

3 Wilder who played Willy Wonka 48 They’re gonna ... do what they do 4 Sty occupants 50 Obsolescent contraction 5 Paint job protectant 52 Off-base, unofficially 6 “And now, without further ___ ...”

53 Crafted 7 Type of party chronicled in Mixmag 55 Unfooled by 8 Psi follower 57 Caramel-filled Hershey’s brand 9 Pie chart alternative 58 Like many fans 10 Key of Beethoven’s Ninth 59 “Scream 4” and “Party of Five” actress Campbell 11 Semi-aquatic mammal with webbed feet 60 Olympian war god 12 Quarry deposits 63 Mtn ___ 13 Lemon peel part 18 Pumped up

EVENTS

May 9-15 ,2019

CROSSWORD ‘A Few Good Turns’— cycling through. SUDOKU

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