TCB July 25, 2019 — The National Black Theatre Festival edition

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point July 25-31, 2019 triad-city-beat.com

Lion King and more at this year’s National Black Theatre Festival

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Hemp: It’s not pot PAGE 9 Racists troll the Ramkat PAGE 6

July 25-31, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The Flat, again

On Friday walls. A few well-timed social-media posts afternoon, and have alerted the dive bar-going public, after almost 10 and they’re starting to trickle in. David the years of dormanlawyer. Bucky from the Corner. Milton cy, the Flat Iron Kern. The thread is starting to grow as opens its doors word spreads. on the north end Dusty’s teamed up with Randy Seals of downtown from On Pop of the World to make this

by Brian Clarey Greensboro. place happen. They’ve laid on a coat of And lo and behold! There’s my old friend paint, hung a chandelier over the stage Dustin Keene behind the bar. and cut the old bar into pieces to make This one’s got “conflict of interest” sound bafflers for the long wall. And now written all over it. Dusty’s one of my oldest they lay in wait, to see if anyone rememand closest friends, and we’ve been talking bers. about the Flat Iron projFor years, the Flat was ect for months now. As downtown Greensboro’s the owner of Common only dive bar worthy of Grounds coffeeshop on the title. The Sofa Bar Dusty’s teamed up Elam Street, he’s also was a little too cozy, with Randy Seals an advertiser, which the Rhino Club a touch puts him on the no-no from On Pop of the too fancy. There was list when it comes to Ritchy’s, but Jesus those World to pull off gratuitous coverage. stairs, and Twiggy’s if And to top it all off, I you had the grit for it. the re-opening of don’t even drink — not But the Flat was always the Flat Iron. anymore, anyway. But the downtown destinawhen I did the Flat was tion for the discerning an integral part of my drinker who wasn’t afraid circuit, one of those rare to lose a few forearm joints appropriate for afternoon cocktails hairs on a sticky bartop. or the last stop of the night. It was never Tonight, after I leave, a band from anything fancy, and it still isn’t, and maybe Cleveland called Racket Man will christen that’s what was so great about it: a pool the Flat Iron stage after their gig gets table, a three-sided bar, a small stage and cancelled. Tomorrow it will hold the Dune enough space to work the room.

Sea and Manly Kubrick, a couple bands In the age of microbreweries, pocket that formed from Weaver High. distillery tastings, craft cocktails and bottle In the days that follow, as the regulars shops, the notion of the Flat Iron seems return and the newcomers discover its almost quaint. charms, the Flat reclaims its place.

Now Dusty’s nearly bouncing off the

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

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

OF COUNSEL Jonathan Jones

ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka

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

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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 COVER: The Lion King brings STAFF WRITER Lauren Barber the circle of life to the National lauren@triad-city-beat.com Black Theatre Festival, running STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger savi@triad-city-beat.com throughout Winston-Salem EDITORIAL INTERN Cason Ragland this week. [Photo by Shaw ART Photography]

KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

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

July 25-31, 2019

July 28th The Ritualists w/ Low Bodies July 30th Industry Karaoke Night August 17th Izzy True w/XR August 30th Megan Jean & the KFB September 22nd Fiona Silver w/ J. Timber 221 Summit Ave Greensboro, North Carolina 3

July 25-31, 2019 Up Front News

CITY LIFE July 25-28, 2019

by Cason Ragland

THURSDAY July 25

Lionel Richie @ the Greensboro Coliseum Complex (GSO), 8 p.m.

Lionel Richie just called and he’s wondering if it’s him you’re looking for! TCB refrains from handing out the phone numbers of celebrities so why not just visit him in person at the Greensboro Coliseum tonight? Tickets can be bought through Facebook.

Early Screening of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood @ a/ peture cinema, 8 p.m.

Quentin Tarintino’s ninth film takes place in 1969 Los Angeles and tells the story of a television actor (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt). The two of them find that the Hollywood they once knew isn’t what it used to be. Tickets are available via a/peture’s website.

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Opinion

FRIDAY July 26

Harrison Ford Mustang CD Release Party @ the Flat Iron (GSO), 7 p.m.

The Flat Iron near downtown Greensboro recently reopened and they’ve come back with a flood of musical performances. One example will go down this weekend with Harrison Ford Mustang’s release party for their first full-length record.

Visit the event’s page of Facebook for more information.

Winston-Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame @ Benton Convention Center (W-S), 9 a.m.

Winston-Salem has provided the world with many talented artists, poets and musicians. In an effort to recognize these artists, the city is creating the Winston-Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame. Norman Johnson, founder and director of the Piedmont Opera, will be the first to have his own star. Check out more details on the City of Winston-Salem’s website.

Veteran Appreciation Day @ BB&T Point (HP), 6:30 p.m.

The Rockers invite any and all to come out and support US veterans for their Veterans Appreciation Day event.

The first thousand people to arrive at the gate will receive a camouflage hat. Attendees will also have the chance to bid on game-worn jerseys. Find out more on the Facebook page for the event.

SATURDAY July 27

Storytelling @ the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market (GSO), 10 a.m.

Storyteller Steve Tate will share pastoral tales this weekend about life on the farm at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market. The organizers initially planned to bring out some goats for the kids to pet but deemed the weather too harsh for their constitution. The event’s Facebook can fill you in on more details.

Cat Café ribbon-cutting @ Crooked Tail Cat Café (W-S), 12 p.m.

Who thought it would be a good idea to let cats run a coffee shop? The baristas at Starbucks can barely get anyone’s name right… oh, the cats aren’t making the coffee? The cats will just hang out and be cute? That’s not so bad, all things considered. If you’d like to know more about the unveiling of this new, human-operated business, check out the Facebook page for the occasion.

Cat adoption fair @ PetSmart (HP), 1 p.m.

Even though they’re one inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s less celebrated musical, cats are still pretty cool.

PAWS For Your Heart, a cat and kitten rescue organization, will bring as many felines as they can to the High Point PetSmart this weekend. Find yourself a furry friend and give it a good home. Take a look at the event’s page on Facebook for more details.

SUNDAY July 28

Greensboro Zinefest @ 1250 Revolution Mill Dr. (GSO), 11 a.m.

Book Binders, small print publications and zinesters from up and down the East Coast will show up at Revolution Mill this weekend for Greensboro Zinefest. Learn the ins and outs of self-publishing and zine culture through the free workshops. You can find out more about the festival on their website.

The Lion King Jr. @ Hanesbrands Theatre (W-S), 2 p.m.

When Hamlet premiered in the 15th Century, the audience knew that one day the plot would be suitable for an adaption into a children’s fable about lions in Africa. Well, maybe they didn’t know that, but it didn’t stop Disney from producing The Lion King. Spring Theatre, a non-profit organization based in Winston-Salem, will put on their production of The Lion King Jr. this weekend as part of the National Black Theatre Festival. For more information, including additional showtimes, browse the event’s page on Facebook.

North Point Grill hosts

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Nik Snacks Restaurant Takeover

sponsored by Triad City Bites on Saturday August 10, 2019 5 pm-9 pm.

The dinner menu features award-winning dishes straight from Nikki Miller-Ka’s blog,

Nik Snacks including: Fried chicken tenders with white cheddar and chive biscuits Pickled blueberry salad with basil vinaigrette Philly Cheesesteak Cheesecake

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Red Wine Cream Cheese Brownies with seasonal ice cream

All entrees are a la carte

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7843 North Point Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC Call 336-896-0500 or visit northpointgrill.com for more information

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10. Simply Soul 4339 S Main St 336.788.0400 (no website) This lunch and dinner only restaurant is “simply” the best with daily specials including liver and onions, chicken pot pie and barbecued ribs.

11. Sweet Potatoes 607 Trade St. sweetpotatoes.ws This Downtown Arts District staple serves lunch, brunch and dinner with the promise of unique, Southern-inspired uptown cooking.

3. Carolina’s Vineyards and Hops 1111 S Marshall St. carolinasvineyardsandhops.com One-hundred percent of the menu is dedicated to North Carolina vineyards, breweries, creameries and farms.

Including small plates, charcuterie, artisanal cheeses and beverages.

Located in the original Zesto’s location in East Winston, this takeout-only spot serves up breakfast all day and soul food-inspired dishes on weekdays only.

8. Meta’s Restaurant 102 W Third St 336.750.0811 Grab some homemade favorites like turkey legs, smothered pork chops or fried chicken at downtown’s first black-owned restaurant.

9. Miss Ora’s Kitchen 605 Trade St. missoraskitchen.com This small enterprise is the sister restaurant to Sweet Potatoes and serves up cast-iron fried chicken, sweet potato

Late-night bites: All of the places listed are open past 10 p.m. according to individual websites and posted hours available online.

Please call ahead before heading out. Most do not require reservations, but if your party needs special considerations or is of a large size (more than 6 people) please make reservations, if possible. Keep in mind that hours may vary due to summer hours.

Burke Street Pizza, Camino Bakery, Dogwood Hops and Crops, Earl’s, Foothills Brewing, Finnegan’s Wake, Jimmy the Greek, Mac and Nelli’s, Prime Tyme Soul Café, Quiet Pint, Sixth And Vine, Wake Grill and Deli.

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2. Cam’s Coffee 930 S. Broad St. camscoffeecreations.com What started as a pop-up shop now sells whole-bean coffee with lunch specials and creates employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities.

7. Hot Dog City 2300 Patterson Ave. hotdogcity.com Known for hot dogs, cheesesteaks, hoagies and vegetarian-friendly options, the housemade Italian ice is a great way to beat the heat.

Can’t-miss fine-dining restaurants Butcher & Bull, 425 N Cherry St. butcherandbull.com Ryan’s Steakhouse, 719 Coliseum Drive ryansrestaurant. com Meridian Restaurant, 411 Marshall St. meridianws.com Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro, 878 W. Fourth St mozelles.com Sir Winston Wine Loft and Restaurant, 104 W. Fourth St. sirwinstonrestaurant.com Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar 450 N. Spring St. springhousenc.com Tavern at Old Salem, 736 S. Main St. thetaverninoldsalem.ws

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6. Forsyth Seafood Market and Café 108 N Martin Luther King Jr Drive forsythseafood.com Serving since 1984, this community staple offers more than 25 varieties of wild-caught fish and crustaceans in the market and fresh fried and grilled fish platters and meals in the café.

14. Zestos Burgers & Ice Cream 2600 New Walkertown Road zestoburgers.com This modernized and local version of a 70-year-old, fastcasual brand has burgers, shakes, fries and a convenient drive thru window.

Culture

5. Downtown Bodega 140 W. Sixth St. (no website) Downtown’s newest convenience store has all of your snack needs covered with products from local entrepreneurs like DJ’s Cheesecakes alongside fresh produce and cold drinks.

13. Taste of the Triad 4320 Old Walkertown Road tasteofthetriad.com This family-style cafeteria restaurant offers southern comfort cuisine, daily chef specials and a Saturday brunch menu.

Opinion

4. Dr. Chops Soul Food Café 4830 Old Rural Hall Rd 336.893.5356 (no website) Home of the collard-green sandwich, this soul-food spot is known for its extensive menu which includes wings, chitlins, fish platters and chicken and waffles.

12. Ta’Nisha’ Monique Cupcakes 1318 N Liberty St. tanishamoniquecupcakes.net Satisfy your sweet tooth with a selection of cupcake flavors including Fruity Pebbles, white wine, red velvet or pink lemonade at this diminutive storefront in East Winston.

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1. Ackingna’s Place 3066 New Walkertown Road 336.721.0270 (no website)

biscuits and classic, housemade sides.

Up Front

pproximately 600 restaurants exist in the Camel City, while fewer than a quarter-million people call it home. That resident-to-restaurant ratio means that for locals, it’s possible to eat somewhere new every day — and still have places

by Nikki Miller-Ka left to explore after a year. It also means compiling a list of the best restaurants in Winston-Salem during the National Black Theater Festival is a formidable task, but we (and our boundless appetites) are up to the challenge. Here’s a look at the best restaurants to visit that embody the colorful, rich culinary traditions of the area as well as black-owned establishments that many guests, visitors as well as locals can use as a guide to use between mixing, mingling and enjoying shows, revues and star-studded events. Here you’ll find the best our fair city has to offer, from old standbys to the newer spots.

July 25-31, 2019

Nik Snacks The best casual, fancy and late-night eats during the National Black Theater Festival

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July 25-31, 2019

NEWS

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Haters target north African band in Winston-Salem that stood up to Islamists

by Jordan Green Responding to hate, a Winston-Salem music venue rallies the community behind what just might be the greatest band in the world.

The comments in response to two sponsored posts on Facebook promoting an upcoming Winston-Salem concert by the Grammy-winning and internationally-acclaimed group Tinariwen came in a steady drip of loathing, vitriol and menace.

One commenter from Smithfield wrote on July 13: “Gotta bring my AR, too….”

Another commenter chimed in: “So ISIS is playing the Ramcat? LOL.” And another: “Take the fucking towels off your god damn heads.”

Responding to the Ramkat’s invitation to “join us for Tinariwen, with special guest Lonnie Holley,” one commenter wrote, “Or bomb us, your choice.” A commenter from Randolph County wrote, “Any true American will not support this bunch of trash. Let them perform in their own country. They need to get out of the USA.” Reacting to a photo of the band wearing traditional north African robes and turbans, a commenter from Archdale, wrote, “Ain’t looking at nothing Muslim.

The wanna-be religion that’s the plague of the world.” Another wrote, “Look like terrorists to me. Um no way.”

Apparently picking up on a theme from President Trump’s July 14 tweet calling on four progressive congresswomen of color to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” a new wave of comments unspooled. “Go home; maybe your country will like your music.” “Desert rats in Winston-Salem, NC! Hope they all have green cards!”

“Probably not, but if you’re Democrat, who cares? Just let them all in.” “And take the fucking towels off your heads, or go the hell home.”

Richard Emmett, a partner at the Ramkat, has been operating venues and booking music in the region for decades.

From booking the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars “many years ago” to showcasing Che Apalache — a group that expresses a distinct viewpoint on migration from Latin America — at the Blue Ridge Music Center near Galax, Va. and serving on the programming committee for the National Folk Festival during its three-year run in Greensboro, Emmett

said he can’t recall any reaction remotely like the backlash to the Tinariwen show.

“I haven’t seen that level of vitriol,” he said. “It was surprising, threatening and downright sad.”

Andy Tennille, also a partner at the Ramkat and a music-industry veteran, said the venue has booked four African bands over the course of its 18-month existence. Tal National, a popular ensemble from Niger, drew a crowd of 200 people, and Tennille said he’s heard from several patrons that it was their favorite show. He said he and Emmett joked that if the Ramkat is still around in 15 years, 500 people will be claiming that they saw the concert.

Both Emmett and Tennille were struck by the irony that Tinariwen, of all groups, is the target of the backlash.

Noting that the group has opened for the Rolling Stones and collaborated with Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Emmett suggested that perhaps Tinariwen’s detractors should take their cues from some of rock music’s universally recognized standard-bearers.

The headline of a 2007 article at Slate.com captures the awe that many first-time listeners experience when first encountering Tinariwen: “Enter sandmen: Is Tinariwen the greatest band on earth?”

Mixing electric guitars with traditional north African percussion instruments, Tinariwen’s music conveys a kind of minimalism and stoicism that strips away all superfluous gestures or flourishes. All at once it evokes both a hot desert wind and the relief that one might seek from searing, dry heat, befitting a group of Tuareg musicians, part of a nomadic group spread across the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert in parts of Mali, Algeria and Niger.

Nothing in Tinariwen’s lyrics or presentation is particularly provocative, religious or suggestive of a challenge to American nativism. The lyrics to “Sastanaqqam,” on Tinariwen’s 2017

Tinariwen, a band from northern Mali, has stood up to Islamic extremism in the past.

album Elwan might even appeal to Harley-riding members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Mechanized Cavalry. Sung in the Tamishek language, the lyrics translate as, “Ténére, can you tell me/ of anything better/ Than to have your friends/ and your mount,/ And a brand new goatskin,/ watertight,/ To find your way/ by the light/ Of the four bright stars/ of heaven,/ To know how/ to find water in/ The unlikeliest of places,/ And enlist the momentum/ of the wind/ To help you forward.”

In terms of sheer badass bootstrapping, any Clint Eastwood or Johnny Cash-loving Three Percenter militia activist would be hard pressed to find a more inspirational figure than Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, the founder of Tinariwen. Having witnessed the execution of his father as a 4-year-old during the 1963 Tuareg uprising against the Mali government, Ag Alhabib grew up in refugee camps in Algeria. Ag Alhabib told producer Ian

Tinariwen is scheduled to perform at the Ramkat on Sept. 17.

For more information, visit ramkat.com/ events.

COURTESY PHOTO

Brennan in a 2012 interview published in Guitar Player magazine that he was inspired by Western cowboy movies to make his first guitars, fashioned by gasoline cans, pieces of wood and rusty wire.

And in terms of standing up to Islamic extremism, Tinariwen’s bona fides are unmatched. In the fall of 2012, a fundamentalist group called Ansar Dine imposed a decree on the northern Mali city of Gao, the Guardian reported, stating, “We don’t want the music of Satan. Qur’anic verses must take its place. Sharia demands it.” Militiamen swarmed over the homes of musicians, dragging guitars, amplifiers, speakers, microphones and drum sets outside and setting them on fire. In January 2013, the members of Tinariwen were forced to flee Mali and their guitar player, Abdallah Ag Lamida, was briefly detained as he tried to save his guitars, according to multiple reports.

If the haters perceive Tinariwen as a threat to Western values, they have it wrong, Richard Emmett said.

“If you’re talking about wanting to have Western values, rock music is one of the best ways to get a wedge in the door,” he said. “They play electric guitars! The comments about ISIS — these guys ban music. Tinariwen promotes music.”

None of the individuals who posted

July 25-31, 2019 Up Front News

A screenshot shows xenophobic comments towards the band.

SCREENSHOT FROM FACEBOOK

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xenophobic and anti-Muslim sentiments in reaction to the upcoming Tinariwen concert agreed to speak with Triad City Beat. One woman, who had written, “Shootout at midnight?” responded via Facebook message to TCB by saying the musicians “look like terrorists,” and then hastily deleted her message and removed her profile.

TCB is not naming the commenters because none are public figures.

Tennille and Emmett said they plan to reach out to Tinariwen’s tour management to discuss the vitriolic comments, and because of the references to bringing an AR-rifle or bombing the concert, they’ll hire additional security and are going to reach out to the Winston-Salem Police Department to request police presence.

Emmett said he’s also reaching out to Interfaith Winston-Salem, Green Street United Methodist Church and mosques in the city in an effort to rally the community behind the concert.

Tennille said ticket sales have been “okay” so far, but he hopes that the release of Tinariwen’s new album Amajdar — with guest spots by Willie Nelson’s son, Micah, among others — 11 days ahead of the concert will spur lastminute interest.

Emmett and Tennille both felt strongly that it was important to speak out about the hate directed at Tinariwen.

“When we received those comments, it made us want to investigate to see what was behind them,” Emmett said. “We wanted to show that’s not representative of our community. Our community is much more tolerant and inclusive of people of all races, religions, social classes, of people with different life experiences. We felt like other voices and other people make us better people. To see that and hear that is important. We want to try to take a negative and make it positive by shining a light on those comments, and to show this is not representative of our community.”

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July 25-31, 2019

Don’t forget the toll HB 2 had on our trans neighbors

Smokable hemp is not pot Smokable hemp looks like pot — as well it should,

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because both derive from the cannabis plant. It smells like pot, though perhaps not quite as pungent as some of the more popular strains. And it even tastes like pot, sorta.

But it’s not pot, despite what the North Carolina Legislature decrees in SB 352, which attempts to conflate the wacky weed with its considerably more square cousin.

When we last checked in on the legislature’s pot party, the House had finally come to see the health benefits of CBD, an extract of cannabis bereft of its intoxicating properties, with less than 1 percent THC. And a new agricultural bill had allowed for the legions of North Carolina farmers — underutilized in these waning days of tobacco consumption — to grow industrial hemp, provided they had not had any drug charges in the last 10 years.

North Carolina has become one of the Top 5 hempgrowing states in the country.

Remember, industrial hemp is used for rope, textiles, plastics, paper and even fuel. It’s where Industrial hemp CBD comes from.

And it does not get is used for rope, you high. Still, some textiles, plastics, people want to smoke it. paper and even And therein lies the fuel. It’s where problem.

While the legislature CBD comes from. has allowed for items And it does not get like CBD oil and other derivatives, a new bill you high. coming through the legislature specifically targets smokable hemp, which, it should be repeated, is just a plant that does not get you high.

Under SB 352, smokable hemp magically becomes the same exact thing as actual marijuana: defined as a controlled substance and carrying all the same penalties.

The problem is not that lawmakers fundamentally misunderstand the properties of hemp, it’s that they don’t know how police would be able to tell the difference, it would put all those drug-sniffing dogs out of work and eliminate the smell of marijuana smoke as a probable cause for search and, possibly, seizure.

But that’s not the way it works, is it?

Smokable hemp is legal, according to federal statutes passed last year. And the state doesn’t get to ban something just because they can’t figure out how to enforce it, or because it’s a jobs program for dogs.

Nobody who lives here expects North Carolina to be at the forefront of… anything these days, let alone repeal of marijuana prohibition. But it’s one thing not to move forward, and quite another to go in reverse.

Up Front

For some of us, HB 2 might feel more confusing than anything else, McGarry said. (Disclolike a hazy memory. sure: McGarry is employed as the administrative assistant Stricken by the prospect of at my church, St. Mary’s House.) a domino effect on progressive While the lawsuit was pending, McGarry said, he and cities enacting legal protections other plaintiffs could use public restrooms consistent with against discrimination, Republican their gender identities at UNCG and other state facilities, lawmakers sprung into action in “but that protection did not extend to other people across March 2016, with Gov. Pat Mcthe state.”

by Jordan Green Crory’s signature pen at the ready, A consent decree signed by US District Court Judge to pass legislation requiring trans people to use the bathThomas Schroeder on Monday removes any doubt about room corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate. whether trans people are allowed to use the bathrooms of North Carolina’s shame triggered boycotts, canceled their choosing in state facilities, although it does not cover concerts and scuttled corporate expansions. In the face of privately-owned establishments like fast-food restaurants. such intense condemnation, even Indiana, led by then-Gov. The agreement between the plaintiffs and Gov. Cooper, Mike Pence, reconsidered plans to enact a similar law, and along with Attorney General Josh Stein and three state PayPal, whose CEO Peter Thiel department heads, states that backed presidential candidate “the executive branch defendants, Donald Trump, halted plans to in their official capacities, and all expand in Charlotte. successors, officers, and emA consent decree signed Then came the 2016 election, ployees are hereby permanently

by US District Court Judge and the ratification by electoral enjoined from applying Section 2 mandate of multiple affronts — of HB 142 to bar, prohibit, block, Thomas Schroeder on Monagainst Muslims and immigrants, deter, or impede any transgender reproductive rights and women’s day removes any doubt about individuals from using public bodies, climate science and the facilities under any executive whether trans people are environment, worker’s rights. branch defendant’s control or North Carolina’s shame became in accordance with allowed to use the bathrooms supervision, the nation’s shame. Assaults on the transgender individual’s gentrans rights became subsumed der identity.” The consent decree of their choosing in state by a multi-front siege. And the goes on to say that “the executive facilities, although it does backlash against HB 2 exacted a branch defendants are enjoined political cost on McCrory, who from prosecuting an individual… not cover privately-owned narrowly lost his 2016 reelection for using public facilities under establishments like fast-food the control or supervision of the bid to HB 2 critic Roy Cooper.

Of course, trans people didn’t executive branch, when such othrestaurants. forget, and they kept fighting. erwise lawful use conforms with Payton McGarry was a the individual’s gender identity.” sophomore at UNCG when HB McGarry expressed relief about 2 was signed into law. McGarry, Joaquín Carcaño and the signing of the consent decree.

Angela Gilmore, alongside the ACLU of North Carolina “Honestly, I was really happy,” he said. “It’s kind of an and Equality North Carolina, filed suit against McCrory to agreement from the judicial system and Gov. Cooper that overturn the law five days after it was enacted. trans people are allowed to exist. If you can’t use the bath“It was honestly really hard,” McGarry told me. “UNCG room, how do you go to the Fun Fourth Festival? How do sent out this list of unisex bathrooms…. Almost every bathyou go to the DMV? How do you go to school if you know room on that list — I think they were really trying to help you’re going to have to hold your bladder?” trans students — but every bathroom was in a private buildMcGarry, who is pursuing a master’s in peace and coning you had to have a key to, or a single-stall bathroom that flict studies at UNCG, acknowledged that the consent dewas in a cleaning closet and was locked all the time. It was cree doesn’t protect him from discrimination in every single really impactful. I couldn’t use the bathrooms that I’d been facility, but the shortcomings of the agreement are difficult using for the past two years.” to disentangle from the overall experience of not being McGarry said he developed several urinary tract infecaccorded full civil rights as a trans person and encountering tions during the first year HB 2 was enacted as a result of widespread transphobia. holding his bladder.

“We’re still a society where 90 percent of trans people HB 142, the compromise hammered out by Republican get verbally assaulted in school,” he said. “There’s always a lawmakers and the new Democratic governor in March fear of, What if I’m in the wrong place? What if I run into the 2017, partially rectified the damage wrought by HB 2 by wrong people? stipulating that various state agencies, including the UNC “A lot of things have to happen before that fear comSystem and NC Community College System, may not pletely goes away,” McGarry continued, “but this is a step regulate access to public restrooms, but it wound up being in the right direction.”

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July 25-31, 2019

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July 25-31, 2019

Elise Jonell Performance Ensemble, RJ Reynolds Memorial Auditorium

American Theatre Company, Hanesbrands Theatre

Spectra Home LLC Job Code #AUD01 1417 Progress Ave. High Point, NC 27260

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Culture

Bass Reeves arrested more than 3,000 criminals in his time as the first black deputy US Marshal during the late 19th Century, according to biographer Art. T Burton.

Playwright and director Layon Gray plays Reeves’ in his play Cowboy, which makes its world premiere at the festival this year.

“I love telling stories that people don’t know about, especially about the AfricanAmerican experience,” said Gray. “In researching another project, I stumbled upon Reeves. I knew that I wanted to put him in a story and with this festival coming up I knew it would be great timing.”

Reeves’ jurisdiction included modern-day Oklahoma and Arkansas, then known as Indian Territory. There’s no outstanding evidence that the creators of the hit fifties TV show, “The Lone Ranger,” found inspiration in Reeves, however, Burton writes in his book, Black Gun, Silver Star, that “Reeves is the closest real person to resemble the fictional Lone Ranger on the American western frontier of the nineteenth century.”

“America was different [in the fifties] and a lot of black stories were twisted,” said Gray.

Historical whitewashing of “The Lone Ranger” and other fictional cowboy heroes set a certain image in the minds of Americans on what a cowboy was. The release of Gray’s play is a step towards revising that image to create a more accurate represenAuditor (High Point, NC): tation of that time.

Many of history’s greatest figures get Inspect & analyze financial recs to conduct pushed to the side, Reeves is just one of audits of Taiwanese org’s US Subsidiary; them. Gray doesn’t want that to be the report audit results; recommend changes. case for Reeves, though. He believes that Req: Bachelor’s + 2 yrs exp. through the gripping, immersive nature of theater, he can effectively relate the story Less than 5% travel to Riverside, CA & Taiwan. about one of the most accomplished lawmen in American history.

—CR

Opinion

Just in time for the release of Disney’s highly-anticipated Lion King remake, the Pointe Dance Studio performs their take on the popular story at this year’s festival.

The show, which is directed by Robin T. Rich-McGhie, takes the form of a theatrical ballet, with characters that convey emotion and portray the story through movement rather than speech.

“There’s acting but no singing,” Rich-McGhie says. “No words being spoken. It’s more through drama or creative action. It’s kind of like something that we’ve put our own spin on.”

She says much of the music and story is the same as the original film as well as the hit Broadway show. The dancers, who range from 6 to 21 years old, perform a variety of genres on stage including ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop. And just like the newly released film, which stars Beyoncé and Donald Glover as the main characters, the Pointe’s portrayal also uses a mostly black cast.

“There are a lot of community theaters, and sometimes African-American children don’t get an opportunity to be leads or have starring roles,” Rich-McGhie says. “Our show is for everyone, but we specifically wanted to create opportunities in performing arts.”

Speaking from her own personal experience of being a black, female director, RichMcGhie says representation is crucial for kids who want to pursue the arts. She says when she would go watch productions, the black kids would often be in background roles or small speaking parts.

“People don’t take a conscious effort to consider pulling this person to the front or putting them in a way that they can shine,” she says. “If we don’t take the opportunity to highlight what we’re doing, no one will. It’s about putting yourself in a position to be seen.”

—SM

Cowboy Directed by Layon Gray, performed by The Layon Gray

News

Prideland: A Dance Adaptation of The Lion King Directed by Robin T. Rich-McGhie, performed by The Pointe Studio of Dance &

Up Front

The 16th annual National Black Theatre Festival kicks off this Monday and runs through next Saturday. The festival, which was founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin, began as an endeavor to showcase the excellence of the many black theater companies that were operated in the country at the time and to “ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium.” This year’s festival promises nothing short of Hamlin’s vision of excellence and we’ve picked a handful of performances that range in form, style and subject matter. Viewers will be taken to the far fields of Africa in a dance adaptation of The Lion King and to the Wild West in Layon Gray’s Cowboy. Balancing gut-wrenching issues of racism, sexism, police violence with uplifting music, captivating dance and vibrant costumes, this year’s festival might be the best one yet.

July 25-31, 2019

National Black Theatre Festival

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July 25-31, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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Twelfth Night — or, What You Will, Mon Directed by Ted Lange, performed by the NC Black Repertory Company,

Winston Square Park (FREE) Fans of the 1970s TV show “The Love Boat” might find it counterintuitive that Ted Lange, who played Isaac the bartender on the Pacific Princess cruise ship, has adapted Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for the National Black Theater Festival Stage.

But really, it makes perfect sense.

Lange’s theater connections run deep. He cut his chops in San Francisco’s New Shakespeare Company in the 1970s, and his career followed a trajectory common to African-American actors of the era. He was in the cast of Hair on Broadway and played in the national touring production, but he also had a role in the blaxploitation kung-fu film Black Belt Jones and played a recurring character, Junior, in the sitcom “That’s My Mama” before landing the “Love Boat” gig. In the 1980s, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where the Bard was definitely part of the curriculum.

Consider, too, that Lange’s Twelfth Night takes place in Jamaica instead of the Illyrian coast, the soundtrack replaced with Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff tunes.

The story remains the same: A shipwrecked noblewoman, Viola, disguised as a man for her safety, falls for Duke Orsino, who in turn loves Olivia, another noblewoman who has taken a seven-year vow of chastity to mourn her slain father and brother.

And so the Duke enlists Viola, in disguise, to help him gain the affection of Olivia. It’s not unlike some of the storylines spun on “The Love Boat.”

And really, “The Love Boat” wasn’t all that different from those early days at Stratford-on-Avon. Instead of the balcony, the wooded clearing and the castle great hall, the Pacific Princess had the Lido Deck, the Acapulco Lounge and Captain Steubing’s table. Both relied on romantic farce, love triangles and minor subterfuge as plot devices. And Isaac the bartender, along with the rest of the ship’s crew, made for a handy Greek Chorus to give exposition to the plot.

—BC

March On Directed by Daniel Carlton, performed by Blackberry

Productions, Salem College, Shirley Recital Hall Daniel Carlton, a New York City-based playwright, was inspired to write March On after hearing one of his colleagues at Blackberry Productions lament that the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington came and went without much fanfare.

“I was thinking the people who went didn’t know they were going to hear ‘I Have A Dream,’” Carlton said. “Why did they go? If they were under 25, why did they go? 1963 was such a violent year. History has a way of sanitizing the victory but hiding the blood and the fears.”

Carlton describes March On, which has played to a sold-out audience of school children at the Apollo Theater in New York City, as a docu-musical. Three of the characters are based on actual participants whom Carlton interviewed with a tape recorder, while others are invented. The main characters and real-life people on whom they are based are a cross-section of the movement — a white woman from Massachusetts, an older black man and a 17-year-old black teenager from Chicago. The play is suffused with music, from gospel and movement songs to the Bob Dylan classic “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

The answers to Carlton’s question are not what audiences might expect.

The 17-year-old from Chicago, for instance, had only traveled to the Deep South, where he encountered segregation, and he attended Emmett Till’s funeral at the age of 8.

“His real motivation, he said, was that he had never seen mountains, and here was this bus ride where he could do that,” Carlton said.

Carlton’s play includes two reporters, one black and one white, who are ironically among the invented characters. The reporters act as a narrative device, essentially standing in for Carlton as the interviewer. But their roles also highlight the way in which the news media both magnified and distorted the civil rights movement. At some point, the reporters can’t help but become moved by the story and become part of it.

“You go for a reason, but you realize that your presence alone has put on you on the same historic path as those who came to march,” Carlton said.

Carlton said he hopes the play can be a “map” for current day mobilizations around gun violence, immigrant rights, women’s rights and other causes.

It’s all about how people figure out what it means to show up for justice.

—­JG

Gettin’ Old is a Bitch… But I’m Gonna Wrestle that Bitch to the Ground Directed by Mariann Aalda, performed by SitMyAssDown Comedy Productions, Hamlin Theatre Stage 2 The Benton Convention Center Infidelity, divorce, cancer. Many would cave under the trauma that writer and director Mariann Aalda faced in her life. Instead, she decided to create something out of the devastating events that shaped her.

“The entire show is loosely based on my personal experiences: divorce, a cheating husband, midlife dating… even my bout with uterine cancer,” said Aalda. “But I didn’t want to create a show about me… this show is about the everywoman and the universality of these experiences.”

Though the challenges that come with age often leave a person jaded, Aalda used her trauma to breathe life into her work.

Gettin’ Old Is a Bitch is a spinoff of another show penned by Aalda titled Occupy Your Vagina! which came out in 2013. She plays the same character, Dr. Ginger Peechee-Keane, in each performance. Peechee-Keane, an “adult sex-ed evangelist and mojo motivator,” gives moving speeches on exploring one’s sexuality. Gettin’ Old, in contrast with Occupy Your Vagina!, leans more heavily on the theme of aging.

“The significance of this is that a lot of the audience is made up of mature black women who are hungry for the kind of creative content they’re not getting in TV and film,” wrote Aalda. “They’re longing to see themselves represented as vibrant, vital — and yes, sexually viable — which is why they come to my shows. I can’t tell you how many women have come up to me after the show and told me that they were Ginger and that I had told their story. That was my goal, exactly.”

—CR

University, Mountcastle Forum, Milton Rhodes Arts Center

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf Directed by Anthony Mark Stockard, performed by Norfolk State Univer-

July 25-31, 2019

Blood at the Root Directed by Stephanie “Asabi” Howard, performed by NC Central

sity, Dillard Auditorium – WSSU Albert H. Anderson Jr. Conference Center

Up Front News Opinion Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Before Shonda Rhimes and Ava DuVernay, there was Ntozake Shange.

The black playwright and poet who came to prominence in the mid to late 1970s wrote countless works that addressed issues relating to gender and race. A selfproclaimed black feminist, Shange often wrote about the struggles that black women and girls faced.

Her first and most influential work, created when she was just 27, is titled For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, and will be performed at this year’s festival by students from Norfolk State University. The choreopoem, in which a series of poetic monologues accompanies dance movements and music, tells the story of seven women — each dressed in a different color of the rainbow — who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. Despite being a few decades old, the subject matter of For Colored Girls is just as relevant today as it was in 1976 when the work first premiered. The work covers topics like love, empowerment, sisterhood, sexual assault and abortion.

“The idea of black women being so candid, so open was unheard of,” says Anthony Stockard, the director of the drama and theater program at Norfolk State University.

“It was revolutionary, bold. They hadn’t been given a platform like that before.”

Stockard, who first saw the play when he was in college and has been directing the work at Norfolk since 2015, says that many of student actors have strong reactions when confronting the piece. He notes how one male student got so emotional after one rehearsal that he ended up calling his mom to tell her that he loved her. For the female students, he says it is even more personal.

“They have a deep reaction because they are speaking truth through their characters but also through their own lived experiences,” he says.

Stockard says he often lets the female students lead group discussions and allows them to work with his assistant director, a woman, alone for some sessions to give them space.

“There’s just a daily reaffirmation of value and admiration for them and what they deal with and the burdens they carry that are uniquely appropriated to them. It’s consistently enlightening and it’s a continuous discovery of what it means to be human.

[The play] has universality in that way.”

—SM

Culture

The Jena 6 case preceded the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, which helped touch off the Movement for Black Lives, by at least five years. Jena 6, which also inspired a national mobilization for racial justice, was in some respects the flipside of the same racial superstructure. While the killers of Martin and Brown — a neighborhood watch leader and a cop respectively — went free, the six black teenagers at the center of the Jena 6 in rural Louisiana were charged with attempted murder for their involvement in a schoolyard fight.

Blood at the Root, the acclaimed play written by Dominique Morriseau, is a choreopoem loosely based on the events that transpired at Jena High School in late 2006 and early 2007. The appearance of nooses in an oak tree next to the school underscored a history of racial segregation that contextualized the brutal intertwining of race and punishment in the prosecution of the six black students. But Morriseau’s play places all of her characters on uncertain footing rather than reducing the story to a set of activist slogans.

Stephanie “Asabi” Howard, who directs the student cast of Blood at the Root at this year’s festival, traveled to Jena as a chaperone shortly after joining the faculty at NC Central University in Durham, where she now chairs the theater and dance department. Howard said the student actors, who are about 10 years younger than the Jena 6, were not necessarily familiar with the events that inspired the play.

“I don’t think they relate to Jena; we’ve watched videos together,” Howard said. “It’s a very small town and seems quite segregated, other than when people come together for football games.”

Erik Dilauro, the only white cast member, who portrays Colin — the victim of the beating — comes from Weldon, in Halifax County.

“He said in Weldon it’s kind of like that — quite segregated, small, not a lot of mixing,” Howard said.

Howard said she admires the way Morriseau’s plot avoids finger-pointing.

The friendship between Colin and Raylynn (played by Shani Roy), who is the sister of one of the African-American football players who attacks him, is an example of the complexity Morriseau brings to the story.

“She goes to him and says, ‘Can you drop the charges against my brother?’” Howard recounts. “‘We get in fights all the time and then we go on about our business.’ The results of this fight are different; they’re serious and life-changing. There’s a great back and forth with different perspectives and feelings.” ­—JG

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July 25-31, 2019

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Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

1 Kingdom 6 Abbr. followed by a date 11 TikTok, for one 14 “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” playwright 15 1980s Attorney General Ed 16 Head-smacking Stooge 17 British currency for entering a website?

19 “Blue Rondo ___ Turk” (Brubeck song) 20 Safe desserts?

21 Massage therapist’s subj.

22 Tuber in a sack 24 Adult ed. course 25 Before, to Longfellow 26 Provide diversion 28 Brazilian currency to be un earthed years later?

33 Dunderhead ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 34 Bus. alternative to a partnership 35 Sea on the border of Kazakhstan 36 “She Blinded Me With Science” singer Thomas 39 Run, old-style 40 Spray brand 41 Troupemate of John, Terry, Terry, Michael and Graham 42 Hot tub sigh 43 “Green Acres” prop 44 South Korean currency exceeding in frequency?

50 Not live 51 Exclamation of pain Answers from last issue 52 Neither’s companion 53 Naomi of “Vice” 23 Inspector who knows the gold standard?

55 Tar’s tankardful 25 Craft-selling site 57 ___ Cat! (cat food brand that’s somehow still around) 27 Cheese partner, for short 58 Gas station offering 29 “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV” costume 59 Multi-country currency sprung at the last minute?

30 Yale who helped found Yale 62 Lupino of “Beware, My Lovely” 31 Language spoken in Vientiane 63 “If I Had a Hammer” singer Lopez 32 Pipe fitter’s joint 64 Brunch beverage 36 Morning moisture 65 One complete circuit 37 Gold, in Rome 66 Antique photo tone 38 Dryer component 67 Beyond full 39 Exercise that’s easy to grasp?

Down 40 MGM co-founder Marcus 1 Logic, for one 42 Fed on 2 Plaza Hotel girl of fiction 43 Cable streaming service launched in 2010 3 Grandma, in Granada 45 Surprise wins 4 Microscope component 46 Lack of foresight?

5 ___ school 47 Have a hunch about 6 Artist who originated the term “stan” 48 Formal informer 7 “Sonic the Hedgehog” company 49 Chowed down on some grass 8 Octopus arm 53 Sing the blues 9 “Just ___ suspected” 54 Title girl of a Verdi opera 10 All out of shape, like a wrecked bike frame 56 Pasta suffix, commercially 11 Open mic participants 57 Blue-green hue 12 End of the world?

60 Ending for past or post 13 Fruit cocktail fruit 61 Night wear 18 Goa garments

EVENTS

July 25-31, 2019

CROSSWORD ‘Starter Cash’ — it’s on the money. SUDOKU

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