TCB June 27, 2019 — That good ice by Triad City Beat

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point June 27-July 2, 2019 triad-city-beat.com

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That good ice Cooling off with Nikki Miller-Ka PAGE 11

Lost in Glenwood PAGE 6 Blind Tiger’s tale PAGE 5 Trans speech Page 12

INSIDE THIS WEEK: TRIAD CIT Y BITES, THE TRIAD’S FINEST DINING GUIDE

June 27 - July 2, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Summer

Summer is an orange creamsicle eaten in the backyard, melting onto my fingers before I can scrape the last bit of vanilla off the stick with by Brian Clarey my teeth. Summer is a heavy storm that drops in out of nowhere and sizzles down onto hot pavement; summer is the clean, cool air that’s been washed by the rain. Summer is a hot car, a cold drink, a sniff of the armpits and a hand wiped across the brow. In the summer I can sit in the backyard until the late sun sets, casting the low clouds into smudges of cool ash. It never really goes dark, the black silhouettes of the trees standing against even a midnight sky. Summer is the rumble of power tools, the staccato bursts and lone booms of distant fireworks, the barreling concussions of thunder. We play bocce on the side of the house in summer, and drink sodas on the patio.

We buy more fresh fruit and eat most of it before it rots. We keep the doors closed, and let the air-conditioning siphon the day’s heat away from our bodies. Summer is the season for the sunflowers in my yard, gestating through the cold April soil, growing slowly, meek and shy. It will be a month before they open their faces and start to smile. Summer is long, an ocean of time, but really more like a lake as you make out the distant shore, the time growing shorter and shorter until summer is a melting ice cube, just trying to hang on. Summer is working while everyone is out of town. Summer is wondering if the kids are bored out of their minds yet. Summer is getting stuff on the calendar before the days run out. Summer is stress at a low boil. Summer is running low on charcoal. Summer is coming up short. And yet…. Summer is a fully ripened peach. Summer is a random spray from the hose. It’s lightning bugs and fresh-cut grass, and it’s those sunflowers in the yard, waiting until the last, dwindling days to bloom.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

When African-American children are taught every day and every year that they are slaves and they are second-class citizens and taught that the great leaders of industry for the most part are white, the great business people are white, the great politicians are white and the great inventors are white, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

— Everette Witherspoon, Page 8

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

EDITORIAL INTERN Cason Ragland 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

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 COVER: Nikki Miller-Ka explores STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger the cooler side of things. [File savi@triad-city-beat.com photo]

KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

June 27 - July 2, 2019

June 27 - July 2, 2019 Up Front News Opinion

CITY LIFE June 27-30, 2019 by Cason Ragland

THURSDAY June 27

Pay It No Mind: Marsha P. Johnson Screening & Discussion @ International Civil Rights Center and Museum, 6 p.m. This feature length documentary tells the story of Marsha P. Johnson, a trans activist and instigator for the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. She co-founded the organization STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), a New York based transgender and gender non-conforming activist group in the ’70s. Find out more about Johnson and the event on Facebook. Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect @ a/perture cinema (W-S), 6:30 p.m. Award winning architect Kevin Roche has lived a life outside of the limelight during his 40-plus years in the business. Roche advocated for eco-friendly architecture before climate change became a worldwide concern. His desired to create “community for a modern society” through his designs. Discover more details and purchase tickets via a/ perture’s website.

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

FRIDAY June 28

Biz Markie @ Cone Denim Ballroom (GSO), 8:30 p.m. Born with the name Marcel Theo Hall, Biz Markie will play the Cone Denim Ballroom this weekend. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and general admission is standing room only. He’s got what ypu need. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

Food Truck Friday @ Bailey Park (W-S), 11 a.m. Urban Street Grill, Lobster Dogs and King-Queen Haitian Cuisine are just a few of the vendors that will appear in Bailey Park this weekend. Hosted by the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, this food truck gathering will showcase all kinds of food, from cheesecakes to cheesesteaks. The event’s Facebook page has more information. Freestone peaches and Georgia pecans sale @ Old Oak Hollow Mall, 8:30 a.m. It may be a little while before peach season comes to North Carolina, but the folks at Citrus United are happy to provide the Triad with peaches and pecans. Why go to a grocery store where every piece of produce is squeezed by indecisive yoga moms when you could buy peaches by the box from the back of a truck? Check out the Facebook page for the event.

SATURDAY June 29

Mozingo: Forgotten African History & What is our Present Legacy? @ High Point Public Library (HP), 2 p.m. This program aims to explore the blurred lines of ethnicity in America. Kimberly Mozingo, a woman who recently learned that her family began with an African woman with Creole origin who lived in Virginia during the 17th Century, will speak at the event. If you’re interested in learning about this complicated topic, take a look on Facebook.

Dodge It @ Proehlific Park (GSO), 5 p.m. Make Fun of Life, a clothing brand that also seeks to provide relief to those who suffer from chronic illness, will host a dodgeball tournament this Saturday. Relive the glory days of grade school with a fast-paced, elimination style tournament. Spots are limited for this event and cash prices will be awarded to the winners of this competition. More information can be found via Facebook. Gate City Cypher @ the Artist Bloc (GSO), 8 p.m. Ed E. Ruger and Phillie Phr3sh will host the Gate City Cypher this weekend at the Artists Bloc on Gate City Blvd. Come hear some of Greensboro’s finest MCs trade verses with one another throughout the night. The Artists Bloc’s website has more details.

SUNDAY June 30

Spotlight Sessions V @ the Carolina Theatre (GSO) 4 p.m. A small group musicians of the Old North State will perform for the Carolina Theatre’s fifth Spotlight Session. Casey Noel, a Triad native and senior at UNCG, will perform her bluesey, folksy stylings for the night’s performance. Tickets are available via the Carolina Theatre’s website. Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba @ Cottrel Amphitheatre (HP), 6:30 p.m. The High Point Arts Council began their summer outdoor concert series a little over a week ago. Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba will perform music from western Africa on High Point University’s campus. For more information on the Arts Splash summer concert series, take a look at the High Point Arts Council’s website.

New GSO glass recycling centers

by Sayaka Matsuoka Earlier this month, the city of Greensboro announced that starting on July 1 it will no longer be collecting glass in residential curbside recycling cans, in addition to other items like bulky plastic and gabled cartons. This week, the city announced that it will be opening four glass recycling drop-off locations for residents that still want to recycle their glass. The new locations are as follows: Fire Station 19, 6900 Downwind Road Kathleen Clay Edwards Library, 1420 Price Park Drive McGirt-Horton Library, 2501 Phillips Ave. Medford Service Center, 401 Patton Ave.

Opinion Culture

The locations will be available 24 hours a day, staffed by city personnel during business hours, said Chris Marriott, the deputy director of field operations for the city. Residents will be able to drop off empty, clean and dry glass bottles and jars — without lids — which will be combined with glass collected from local bars and restaurants to be recycled into new glass bottles and jars in the state. The city is also working to partner with local faith organizations to provide more glass recycling centers and so far, Marriott said, they have heard back from multiple interested organizations. “We’re hoping for at least four more,” Marriott said on Tuesday. “But we don’t know if we’ll get there. It depends on the layout of the property and if people are willing to volunteer. It also depends on the geographic location and access.” The city cited contamination issues and low global demand for getting rid of curbside glass recycling. The city is also removing all of its large, dumpster-sized recycling drop-off locations throughout the city starting July 1, due to contamination issues. Marriott said that while the new glass recycling sites won’t be staffed 24/7, that if contamination becomes an issue, that the city will install cameras to help enforce proper procedures. “We know it’s not as easy as curbside,” Marriott said. “But we hope it meets the need of those that desire to continue recycling their glass.”

News

Any organizations interested in becoming a glass recycling drop-off location should call the city contact center at 336-373-2489. For more information about the city recycling, visit greensboro-nc.gov/ departments/fieldoperations/recycle.

Up Front

The thing that everyone’s talking about this week — but very few outlets, oddly enough, seem to be writing about — is the fracas that the rednecks caused at the Blind Tiger this weekend. On Sunday, Greensboro’s oldest continually-running live music club (if you don’t count those weeks in 2010 between the move from Walker Avenue to Spring Garden Street) played host to the Crazy White Boy tour, featuring “hick-hop” artist Adam Calhoun, along with an act called Demun Jones. In question are the lyrics to one of Calhoun’s pieces, “Racism,” which relies on… unflattering stereotypes of African Americans, including use of the N-word, albeit of the -a variety and not the more formal -er. He’s got other stupid songs, but this was the one quoted by angry Greensboro music fans on an extensive Facebook thread that sprouted in the early days of this week — a wild narrative that might best be described as the opposite of public relations. I gave Calhoun’s stuff a listen, and I’ll say that “Racism” is probably the worst offender of the few I explored. Where Calhoun’s music really sucks is in the way it relies entirely on whiteness as its sole theme, whether it be the ham-fisted parallel he draws between white and black practitioners of the game in “Racism,” the toxic braggadocio of “Huck Fosier” or the faux Christianity of “Crossroads.” In this way it is not so different from the white-nationalist and alt-right movements his music thinly espouses. There’s a lot to unpack here: the responsibility of a local music club to represent the community that supports it, the irony of using hip-hop to assail African-American culture, the way my hackles raise when I hear banjo with a drum machine. Late on Tuesday, Don “Doc” Beck, part of the Tiger’s ownership team, issued a video apology, pledging to do a better job screening their acts. But it’s a little late for damage control. It’s already cost the Tiger. The Band Moves canceled a show at the Tiger earlier this month with an announcement on social media: “We’ve decided to withdraw from our show tomorrow night at the Blind Tiger as it has come to our attention they will be hosting a musical act later in June whose lyrics are bigoted and hateful towards various races and the LGBTQ+ community. We’re sorry for any inconvenience, but at the end of the day, we believe in investing our art in venues that serve as allies for equality.” Sure, Calhoun has a right to his art, and the Tiger has the right to make a buck off it. But the First Amendment does not protect against the consequences of free speech, and hate is rarely good for business.

June 27 - July 2, 2019

Blind Tiger sees no evil in Adam Calhoun by Brian Clarey

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

June 27 - July 2, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

NEWS

Guilford County closing in on Glenwood investor’s properties by Sayaka Matsuoka Guilford County has taken action against Glenwood investor Bulent Bediz this month in the form of foreclosure proceedings and impounding Bediz’s many abandoned vehicles. After years of back and forth and multiple lawsuits, Guilford County is taking action against Glenwood investor Bulent Bediz, who owns dozens of homes that are now under foreclosure, condemned or scheduled to be demolished. Bediz, an artist and architect-turned rental housing provider, has lived in Greensboro’s Glenwood neighborhood for decades. In the mid-1990s he began buying up properties and, by 2007, had amassed 70 properties. In 2008, he declared bankruptcy. According to data from the Guilford County Tax Department, Bediz currently owns 35 properties, all scattered throughout Glenwood, many of them on Lexington Avenue, where he also resides. All but one are residential properties. Bediz said he began buying houses with the goal of creating an artist community in south Greensboro, and has claimed in the past to have run out of money after being sabotaged by city staffers and expansion by UNCG past Gate City Boulevard in 2016. Bediz declined to comment for this story, saying the timing wasn’t right because of an in-production documentary that he said will tell his full story. On Tuesday afternoon, an auction for one of Bulent’s properties took place — the first sale from a long list of foreclosures. Now, 917 Gregory St. sits as a vacant lot in between two homes situated across the street from Steelman Park. While there used to be a house here years ago, the owners of the home next door say that it was torn down by the city and that they’ve been mowing the grass on the lot for the last six or seven months. At the auction on Tuesday, no third parties placed bids on the lot, resulting in the city placing a default bid of $24,174.13 — the opening bid — on the property. Now, a 10-day upset bid process takes effect in which any third parties can bid on the property. Bediz can also redeem the property up to the point of confirmation of sale, if he pays the outstanding back taxes. For the past few years, Bediz has been accumulating a heavy load of back

taxes on his properties. On Monday, he paid off close to $23,000 in back taxes for properties that were scheduled to be auctioned off in August. He also paid about $37,000 in back taxes earlier this month. As of Tuesday evening, Bediz still owes $165,267.75 for his remaining 19 properties. A 2017 TCB report also found that Bediz had acquired dozens of junk cars with the intention of hiring a mechanic to fix them up for resale, but Bediz claimed that an arrangement to lease a garage free of charge from UNCG fell through. He ended parking the cars behind his rental houses, which led to complaints from neighbors and SAYAKA MATSUOKA Most of Bulent Bediz’s properties have been condemned, foreclosed upon or scheduled for demolition, like this one on Glenwood Avenue. a drawn-out code enforcement battle with the city. crease in the values of the homes in the for the new student recreation center in The city’s Code Violations & Complineighborhood because of the number of 2016, the value of most of the homes in ance tracker shows that more than 60 foreclosures and condemned housing. the neighborhood dropped drastically. cars parked on Bediz’s various properties “That has a real impact if people go She claims hers went down to what it had been court ordered to be towed and to refinance,” she said. “Or if someone was when she bought it 30 years ago. impounded by the city this month. is trying to sell their home, it’s suddenly “He single-handedly took down this For years, Bediz’s neighbors have worth less than a couple of years ago.” neighborhood,” Griffin said. lamented his ownership and buy-up of Seymour said that when she purchased Guilford County Commissioner Skip properties in Glenwood. They say that her home in 2011, she paid $65,000. Alston, who runs a commercial real neglect has resulted in the houses fallWhen she checked on the popular estate business, meets with Glenwood ing into disrepair, resulting in pests and house-listing website Zillow six months residents regularly and said he has been multiple code violations. Yellow notices ago, it had dropped to $48,000. A quick waiting for the city and county to take on several of Bediz’s properties, includcheck on the website on Wednesday action against Bediz. ing his place of residence, on Monday showed that her house value had gone “My plan is to follow-up all the way listed violations such as an accumulation up to $57,485, still $7,000 less than the through,” he said on Monday. “’Til of garbage, dense weeds and an environprice she bought it for. every last one of them is taken care of. ment for pests like rats and other pests. Even so, Seymour expressed that she No more delays; no more putting off Liz Seymour, who has lived on Lexingsympathized with Bediz’s initial motives. because it’s been going on too long.” ton Avenue for the past decade, said she “That’s certainly not what Bulent set As a real estate investor himself, Alston understands what Bediz set out to do, out to do,” she said. “He set out to do said that he has experience buying propbut that the current conditions of his something positive for the neighborhood erties with the hopes to resell them. But homes are unacceptable. but got derailed. I don’t know how this he says that Bediz hasn’t done that with “He’s fixed on this dream of using all happened.” his properties. [these houses] in a certain way,” SeyOther homeowners in the aren’t as “He’s just been sitting on them,” he mour said. “But he’s lost sight of how it’s understanding. said. “Allowing them to deteriorate. This impacting the neighborhood. Most of Mitzi Griffin, who lives on Glenwood devalues their property. It’s a blight in them are empty, many are condemned, Avenue, has lived in the area for the last the community.” and most are in foreclosure because he 31 years. She said she doesn’t underWhen told that Bediz is paying off of has stopped paying property taxes on stand why Bediz won’t sell his properties some of his back taxes, Alston said that them. That has had a big impact on the considering that he can’t afford to fix while that’s good news, it’s not enough. neighborhood in several ways. That’s them up anymore. “If he doesn’t fix them up, it doesn’t hundreds of thousands of dollars that “It’s like he’s a hoarder,” she said. “I help the neighborhood,” he said. “They has not been collected. That affects have no idea what this man is doing.” shouldn’t have to go through this.” everyone in Guilford County.” Griffin said that after UNCG bought Seymour also says there has been a deup many of Bediz’s homes to make way

June 27 - July 2, 2019 Up Front

News

Opinion

Culture

Shot in the Triad

Puzzles

June 27 - July 2, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Curriculum committee to consider black studies course in October by Jordan Green School board members will consider adding a mandatory African-American studies course for high school students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The curriculum committee of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board will consider adding a mandatory African-American studies class to the high school curriculum at its October meeting. Board Vice-Chair Barbara Burke, who chairs the curriculum committee, announced the decision at the end of a school board meeting on Tuesday night, after the board heard from several residents requesting the change. “I am announcing on behalf of the curriculum committee that we will include consideration of a required African-American studies course as a part of our new high school course offerings process,” Burke said. “And you know we have to follow a process. New courses come before the committee for consideration at the October meeting. At our September curriculum committee meeting, we will review background information about African-American history. We will hear from those experts on our staff. And we will talk about the implementation and any issues that may arise. And then we said at our October meeting we will move it to the agenda.” In addition to Burke, an AfricanAmerican Democrat from Winston-Salem, the curriculum committee includes three white members. Lori Goins Clark, the Republican vice-chair, Deanna Kaplan, a Democrat both lives in Lewisville. Leah Crowley, a Republican, lives in Winston-Salem. “I would like to make it very clear to everyone here that I 1,000 percent support everyone here who spoke out for African-American history — a mandatory course,” Burke said. “We cannot continue to allow members of our committee to come to these meetings week after week after week [with residents] pouring their hearts out making this request, with us just letting their request fall on deaf ears,” she continued. “Because we are moving forward. This ball is rolling.” Steve Brooks was one of eight people who spoke in favor of a mandatory African-American studies class. “When we look at history, history is one-sided for African Americans here in Winston-Salem,” Brooks said. “When I was in school, I was taught about all the

Proponents of black studies make their feelings known during a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board meeting last month.

cultures except my own. When I look at what we have contributed to this country, that’s not represented in our education and how we’re taught. “When we look at the disparity in our education and we wonder why does it appear that one group seems to excel more than others?” he continued. “Why do some students seem interested and other students seem disinterested? It is what you’re feeding them. If you feed an African-American student a one-sided story that does not include themselves, then they become hungry to learn more about themselves. Adding an AfricanAmerican history class that is mandatory will do that for African-American students.” Everette Witherspoon, a former county commissioner, told school board members: “When African-American children are taught every day and every

year that they are slaves and they are second-class citizens and taught that the great leaders of industry for the most part are white, the great business people are white, the great politicians are white and the great inventors are white, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And no wonder we have school-to-prison pipeline.” Commissioner Fleming El-Amin, a retired Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools teacher, also made the case for a mandatory African-American studies course. “If a child’s inspired to see themselves in a classroom,” El-Amin said, “they can achieve untold results sometimes. So I plead with you: Give it your full consideration.” El-Amin is one of a growing number of local elected officials in support of the curriculum change. Zina Johnson,

JORDAN GREEN

the community assistance liaison for Winston-Salem’s North Ward, read a statement on behalf of Councilwoman DD Adams, and Destiny Blackwell, with Hate Out of Winston-Salem, read a statement on behalf of Councilman James Taylor. Blackwell said state Sen. Paul Lowe and state Rep. Evelyn Terry have also gone on record to express their support. Student Minister Effrainguan Muhammad said the Winston-Salem Local Organizing Committee has been asking for a mandatory African-American studies course for the past three years. Muhammad said that community leaders “have repeatedly met with various members of the board only to be told, ‘We’re looking into it. We need more information.’ We are now at a crossroads where a decision has to be made.”

Remembering Bill Livers

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Through the lens of my whiteoccasionally. ness, shaped by growing up in rural But even more than his music, Livers’ fish fries were Kentucky in the 1980s, race was legendary. It’s probably a conflation of my hazy memory invisible. It was easy for me to not and recollections shared among adult friends, but Livers see race as a force that shaped the was renowned for his hospitality and entertaining stories. outcome of people’s lives, given He was warm and funny. When I was maybe 10 or 11, he the overwhelming whiteness of the took me fishing. The memory of that event is more impresplace. According to the most resion than factual detail — the way the trees leaned over a by Jordan Green cent census, Owen County, where secluded pool of a creek that ran through the woods, his I grew up and attended public school from 6th through 11th gentle and kind manner, that we caught some small bluegill grades, is 95.8 percent white, with a total population of and tossed them back. If nothing else comes through, these 10,686. details should show a man of rare generosity, and many of My obliviousness to race in Owen County was clearly us probably took him for granted. built on a foundation of racial turmoil and black erasure. When our family attended Livers’ visitation in 1988, I The fact that our high school mascot was the “rebel” should remember his wife, Hattie, reproaching my parents for not have been a clue. An extraordinary account published in coming to visit Bill before he died. the New York Times in 1874 by Deputy US Marshal Willis “He would have liked to see you,” she said. Russell, details a campaign of terror waged by the Ku Even though I saw him as larger than life while he was Klux Klan against black residents and white allies in Owen with us, only in retrospect does it seem that Bill Livers’ true County during Reconstruction. magnificence comes into full focus. It’s Willis, who lived in Monterey, the small impossible not to think of Livers in correlaMy obliviousness river town where I grew up, wrote: “They tion with Joe Thompson, the black fiddler were known as Kuklux, and were in the habit to race in Owen in Mebane who mentored the Carolina of visiting the houses of citizens, disguised Chocolate Drops. They were from the same County was built [and masked], in the night-time, and inflictgeneration, Livers born in 1911 and Thomping summary punishment, without charge, in 1918. But beyond the striking details on a foundation of son reason or excuse. The parties thus visited of race, age and musical discipline, the by them were mostly poor colored men, racial turmoil and similarities are somewhat superficial. Joe living in humble cabins, but they would Thompson and Bill Livers were different black erasure. sometimes attack a white citizen of the artists with different repertoires and styles, poorer class. Sometimes they would kill the each with unique gifts. To my knowledge, parties whom they visited. Sometimes they Livers, unlike Thompson, did not find a would whip their victims severely, and occasionally burn the group of young, black players to pass along a legacy of houses in which they lived.” black string-band music. The most important takeaway Willis wrote that at the outset of the attacks, around from the comparison should be a recognition that string1870, the ringleaders approached him and asked him to band music played with fiddles and banjos is black music. join the Klan. They told him “that their object was not only Livers’ proteges in the Progress Red Hot String Band to drive the negroes from Kentucky, but also all Radicals recently paid tribute to him with a concert at the Owen who were in favor of negroes.” Willis’ article also includes County Library. And I want to do my part to nail down an account of a raid by the local Klan organization in some of his cultural significance beyond my childish perneighboring Scott County, in which they “ordered all the ceptions. negroes they saw to leave the country within 10 days; if One of the tunes Livers played was “Old Virge.” John not, they would kill them all and burn their houses.” Willis Harrod, my freshman English teacher at Owen County reported that the Klan “shot and killed an old negro man High School, wrote in the liner notes of Traditional Fiddle and wounded several others,” and that one group of black Music of Kentucky: Along the Kentucky River, a 1997 comresidents returned fire, killing one of the Klansmen. Other pilation on Rounder Records: “Bill said that “Old Virge” was unprovoked murders of black residents from Owen and named after his grandfather, Virge Livers, who evidently surrounding counties followed over the next five years. established a reputation with it because the tune was known I knew black people when I grew up in Owen County in throughout Owen and Grant counties by that name. Virge the 1980s, but I don’t think I thought of them as having a Livers and his two sons, Albert and Claude, would walk or particular history, culture or shared social experience. One ride mules to play for dances through the country.” of them was Ray Smith, whom my father hired for ocTo sense what the music was like if you were hearing it in casional odd jobs, including helping pump out our cistern. the same room, the best I’ve found is this description, writThen there was Bill Livers, a black fiddler. He had a legendten by Eric Larson and Nathalie Andrews — both friends ary reputation among my parents and their friends, and of my family — in an oral history published in Southern to me also. His fiddle playing was considered “hot,” thus Exposure in 1978: “He plays the fiddle with an abandon that the name of his band, in which he was backed by a group is breathtaking. At times, listening to him is like watching of young, white hippies: “Bill Livers & the Progress Red a reckless skater on slick ice. Music is snatched from thin Hot String Band.” My uncle, Larry, played with the band air….”

June 27 - July 2, 2019

CITIZEN GREEN

OPINION

by Clay Jones

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

June 27 - July 2, 2019

Claytoonz

claytoonz.com

EDITORIAL

Cooper to freeze out ICE

Gov. Roy Cooper has said from victimized by law enforcement in the the beginning that HB 370 — the one past. requiring local law enforcement to cede When coupled with this developauthority over their prisoners to Imment, HB 370 looks like nothing more migration and Customs Enforcement than the General Assembly attempting — cannot see the light of day. to show dominance over duly elected He called it “unconstitutional” just sheriffs in counties that comprise this week — and not just because almost 40 percent of the state’s populaICE detainers have been found to be tion. Like when a dog tries to sit on unconstitutional by violating the Fourth your head. Amendment, protecting against illegal But the passing of illegal laws and search and seizure, and unreasonable marginalization of the majority is, as detention. And not just because it they say, par for the course in our state’s exposes counties to civil Republican circles. action for which ICE Mecklenburg and would not be held liable. Wake sheriffs walked HB 370 is also illegal out of a Senate hearing Cooper’s veto will because, according to on the bill last week. federal law, immigration The NAACP and the mean one less enforcement falls under ACLU are against it. illegal law on the federal jurisdiction, and Latinx-rights groups, not state. civil-rights organizabooks. Even former Guiltions, ministers’ groups, ford County Sheriff BJ student organizations, Barnes — longstandstrict constitutionaling stalwart of local ists stand against HB Republican politics — would not honor 370. Its only fans right now seem to be ICE detainers while he was in office, the NC Republican Party and others saying immigration did not fall under who don’t understand the separation the purview of the sheriff’s office. of powers and rights outlined in the Barnes was one of seven white sherConstitution. iffs who lost re-election bids to black Though HB 370 sailed through the candidates in 2018, in the state’s seven Republican-controlled Senate this largest counties. They won largely on week, it passed the House in April by platforms that included a pushback just 12 votes, meaning there won’t be against a culture of white supremacy in enough support to overturn a veto. law enforcement, and accountability to And that will be one less illegal law black and brown citizens who had felt on the books in North Carolina.

Up Front News Opinion Culture

Block ice, of the variety found in these drinks at the Katherine Brasserie Bar, melts just slowly enough to cool down strong drinks without diluting.

“We used to sell shaved ice,” said Sunnyside Operations Manager Matt Jones. “It was popular with the frat guys. All they had to do was fill up a tub and place their drinks in it. “We stopped selling it because the demand wasn’t very high,” he continued. Shaved ice is cut with a blade, pushing it nearly into slushice territory which is less prevalent around here, but 1618 Downtown and 1618 Midtown both have slushie machines which are used to create hard beverages that customers rave over — the rosé slushie, in particular, has changed many a patron’s outlook on the long, hot summer. Whether your ice maker is in your home refrigerator, at your favorite bar or hand-packed in a 20-pound bag, enjoy your favorite beverage this summer with stone-cold history supporting you along the way.

Puzzles

diluted the way the distiller intended them; the ice is simply meant to chill the beverage, making it go down a little easier. But vodka and gin are typically distilled in such a way that they are meant to be diluted by melting ice. Typically, there are five different kinds of ice: block, cubed, cracked, slush, pebble and pellet. Sunnyside Ice in WinstonSalem has been providing ice to Alamance, Forsyth, Guilford and Stokes counties since 1947. What started as a 15-by-15 ice house off US 52 is now an operation that also sells coal in the winter. More than 12,000 pounds of ice are bagged and stored in the company’s icehouse each day. They service nearly 900 ice chests, spread out across the territory at mom-and-pop outfits, convenience stores, grocery stores and gas stations. Two maintenance professionals and a handful of delivery drivers handle all of the customers. They are literally the only bag in town.

PHOTO CREDIT

Shot in the Triad

Ice, ice baby. Whether you’re crushing it, cracking it, crunching it or bringing it to the party, ice is something that we just don’t talk by Nikki Miller-Ka about enough. It’s one of those common items that isn’t thought about until you need it. Not to be confused with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ice has a long and varied history in America. More than 150 years ago, ice was a luxury item, afforded only by the upper echelon of households. Even then, it was harvested from mountains, lakes and freshwater sources during the winter only to be floated down the mighty Mississippi River and stored in icehouses the rest of the year. In 1878, the first commercial ice manufacturing company was founded in New Orleans — creating ice in large blocks that became a trend nationwide. Early movie theaters kept their patrons cool by placing these blocks of ice in front of fans to chill the air. During the warmer months, people sought refuge from the heat and packed movie houses. The more people who showed up to view a movie, the more ice was required to chill the room. Hence, popular movies became known as “blockbusters.” Restaurants and bars use the majority of manufactured ice these days, and even make their own ice in certain cases. The Katharine Brasserie Bar in Winston-Salem has one of the most elaborate ice-manufacturing set ups in the Triad, with three different kinds of ice: pebble, standard block ice and cubed ice. Pebble ice is what is known in certain circles as “that good ice.” It’s created to simulate cracked ice. The finished product is meant to be put it in a glass, the liquid poured over it. “Standard block ice is made into one-inch cubes for stirring and shaking drinks,” explains Bar Manager Christopher Hamilton. “The less surface area means less melting.” God forbid your ice melts too soon. At the Katharine, two-inch cubes are created in ice molds with filtered water. This creates a greater surface area, which leads to less dilution. Less melt and more ice means less water with your drinking experience. Here’s the deal with booze on the rocks: Whiskey and bourbon are blended and

June 27 - July 2, 2019

Nik Snacks ‘That good ice’ and other forms of frozen water

June 27 - July 2, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

CULTURE Prismatic Services helps transgender individuals find their voice by Sayaka Matsuoka

s a child, Kevin Dorman would impersonate cartoon characters like Courage the Cowardly Dog and Dexter from “Dexter’s Laboratory.” They would have competitions with their older brother to see if they could outdo one another. “I wanted to be a voice actor,” says Dorman, who is a speech therapist. “Growing up with that mentality helped me approach this work with a sense of play and source of experimentation.” Now, at 27, Dorman runs Prismatic Speech Services in Greensboro, a company that helps transgender individuals work on their voices to better match their gender identities. Dorman, who identifies as transgender and non-binary, uses they/them pronouns and began looking into speech therapy after their high school theater teacher suggested the career path. “I was looking for a different way to channel my voice,” they say. “I did a lot of theater and singing and extracurricular arts activities.” When Dorman enrolled at UNCG in 2009, they initially began as a theater major but soon transitioned to speech language pathology after taking a fundamentals course. “I was hooked,” they say. “I don’t typically think of myself as a science person but the application to sound was truly fascinating; I wanted to pursue that feeling.” Dorman began their coming out process when they were 20 years old. They remember having an “aha” moment when they were working as a second-grade teacher assistant when one of the students called them Ms. Kevin. “She was really embarrassed but I said, ‘Oh, you can call me Ms. Kevin,’” they recall. “And I realized that I didn’t mind being called that.” Dorman says that their relationship with their voice has evolved over the years. “I’ve learned to appreciate my voice in both its masculine and feminine and androgynous traits,” they say. “I have masculine and feminine traits to my speech like talking with my hands or pitch differences in my voice. That makes me feel happy with my own presentation because it’s not specifically pegged to either. My voice has ultimately been a place of empowerment for me and I want to share that empowering feeling

Kevin Dorman of Prismatic Speech Services in Greensboro helps transgender individuals learn the candences and speech patterns of their identified gender.

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

to as many people as I can.” like a Southern belle for a female-sounding voice or the difDorman opened Prismatic Speech Services in November ferences between an elephant versus a mouse, a cello versus a 2016 and works with clients in North Carolina, South Carolina, violin. Virginia and Georgia, mainly through telepractice sessions. “It’s really fun and not as technical,” Dorman says. “People’s They say that some of the transgender patients they work voices are a lot more flexible than they think they are. They with hate their voices. They’ve even been told by clients that just need to give themselves permission to play.” if they could stop speaking and just use sign language they Dorman also takes into account clients’ vocal hygiene, like would. whether they smoke or how much water they drink throughDorman says that having a voice that matches the person’s out the day. They ask clients about their support networks and gender identity is important. whether they have safe spaces where they can practice or do “I feel like transgender people are held to a higher degree homework once they leave the office. of scrutiny when it comes to Now, after about 11 sessions, gender,” they say. “For example, a Padgett speaks at an average of transgender woman, her feminin240 Hz, the middle range of a Find out more about Prismatic Speech ity is regarded with more scrutiny typical adult female voice, which than a cisperson. People just want measures from about 165 to 255 Services at prismaticspeech.com. to feel safe. They don’t wanna Hz. deal with harassment.” “Voice is a very important part Kate Padgett, who identifies of gender presentation,” Padgett as female, enlisted in Dorman’s services after lacking the says. “I’m definitely more confident just as myself in general confidence to speak in public and being discouraged with the and speaking in public. It’s been a key part of my transition for progress she was making on her own. me. A big factor of my happiness has been being able to do “I didn’t feel like my voice passed,” she says. “I wanted to what I want with my voice.” present my voice and my face in a certain way and when they Some transgender people opt for surgery to change their [didn’t] match, they caused discomfort.” voice, but Dorman says they should try speech therapy first To start, Dorman takes measurements of patients’ voices by to avoid risk of complications and the steep expenses. With having them recite a standard paragraph and then recording speech therapy, Dorman says clients can see improvement casual conversations. This helps them determine the lowest within 10 to 12 sessions. and highest pitch that the person produces. Then, they talk “Many trans people feel silenced by their voice,” Dorman with the client about what they want to accomplish whether says. “Our voices are how we advocate for ourselves and it’s it’s sounding more masculine or feminine or fixing a speech how we speak for ourselves. If they can’t speak, they can’t problem. make their needs known.” They often use impersonations and playing around with different characters to try out various resonances — sounding

by Cason Ragland

Up Front News

LB the Poet directs his creative impulses through verse at the Ramkat for Artists Unite.

CASON RAGLAND

Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

parallels the progression of suffering Solomon Quick, who directs a sumendured by the descendants of Amerimer camp at the MLK Community and can slaves. The film shows how Esi, the Recreation Center in Winston-Salem, daughter and narrator, overcomes the attended both nights of the event. After death of her father by telling her story the screening and Q&A for The Burial for a small group of people in a library. of Kojo, Quick asked Derrick Young, coThrough the art of storytelling, Esi is organizer of Artists Unite, if Blitz could able to confront her fear, much like come and speak with the kids at his how the artists at the Ramkat confront camp the next day. social injustices through their respective “The theme for our camp this year is artforms. Afrofuturism and the seven principles of LB chooses to direct his creative outKwanzaa,” said Quick. “We want to inlet through verse. troduce them to things where they can “I’ma go/ I’ma Give Options/ I’ma think of a world beyond racism, clasgo/ I’ma Gift Offering/ No/ I’ma Give sism and the aftereffects of colonialism Originality/ I’m always where their opportunities on go mode/ Going Out limitless.” The Burial of Kojo is areOn Making Other’s Destiny Friday, after the kids available to stream at Quick’s camp had their Excellent,” he spit on the second night of Artists lunch, Blitz made an apon Netflix. Unite. His lines outline pearance. how he’s chosen to build “I talked with the kids his community through about Afrofuturism,” his art. He’s a man who knows he’s not said Blitz. “I explained it in a way that an island; he’s a piece of the continent, a children could understand.” part of the main. By building meaningful connections, “I started writing poetry in the sixth Artists Unite provides a platform to artgrade,” he said. “My principal [spoke ists of color so that they can build their with me] the day after my grandmother community in their own way. passed. I would not speak, I could only “It’s been a 10-month journey,” said cry. She told me exactly what I tell my Tommy Priest, organizer of the event. students: Write down all of your feelings “[and we brought] artists together to in this pad and no one can ever judge move systems and change the ills of the you off of what you put into [that pad.]” world…. The artists can teach us.”

Opinion

n June 19, 1865, three years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union troops landed in Glaveston, Texas to snuff out the last remnants of Confederate hegemony. This day would become known as Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in America. One hundred and fifty years later, the descendants of those slaves still face the ripple effects of generational trauma caused by ongoing, systemic injustice. How can a group of marginalized people cope with such trauma? Some look to art. Last Thursday and Friday, Artists Unite 2019 celebrated Juneteenth by hosting several black artists to share and discuss their work at Ramkat in Winston-Salem. The event sought to build community through art by giving artists of color a platform and voice to work through their experiences of societal injustice. LB the Poet, a Winston-Salem native, and Ghanaian born Blitz the Ambassador, were two of the four artists who took part in the two day event. On Thursday, the event proved to be more academic, showcasing artist’s work followed by Q&A sessions with the crowd. LB shared some of his spokenword pieces while Blitz screened his feature film The Burial of Kojo. Friday was filled strictly with performances, with LB sharing more of his poetry and Blitz performing onstage with his band. “It all begins with representation,” said Blitz on the first night, commenting on different aspects of his film. He spoke about how his grandmother used to keep him entertained with stories as a kid when their home’s electricity would go out. “I remember as a child… the characters [in her stories] were nonlinear,” he said. “[They] came and went. Night to night there was a different character, but it was the same character… sometimes as a bird, a person and object. I’ve known this kind of storytelling to be truly one that hasn’t been represented in the western canon of [cinematic storytelling]…. I still remember these stories; I know they’re powerful and I know they deserve a platform.” The Burial of Kojo tells the tale of a Ghanaian family while exploring themes of trauma and emotional suffering that are passed down like ailments such as high blood pressure or alcoholism. The cyclical nature of the film’s narrative

June 27 - July 2, 2019

CULTURE Artists Unite mixes mediums, messages

June 27 - July 2, 2019

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

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Shot in the Triad Puzzles

24 Strikes it rich 26 Involve, as in conflict 29 Hiking trail display 31 Chihuahua drink? 33 Apply crudely 36 Mila of “Black Swan” 37 Fireplace, in England 40 Flaming 41 Nintendo DS competitor, for short 44 Racers in 2013’s “Turbo” 47 Captain Kangaroo player Bob 49 1/6 of a fl. oz. 50 “Arrested Development” character F¸nke 52 Peace symbols 53 Brings up 55 John Legere for T-Mobile, e.g. 58 Inhabitants of a certain sci-fi planet 60 Alexa’s device 63 “Boyz N the Hood” protagonist Styles 64 “Unaccustomed ___ am ...” 65 Lance of the O.J. trial 66 Stimpy’s companion

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“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” network Chance field? Solver’s epiphany sound Group that shows off old Mustangs, e.g. Level in an arena Lego units Item in a rowlock On another continent, perhaps Home to the Arizona Museum of Natural History German beer brand distributed by Anheuser-Busch “Who ___?” Rare award feats, for short Transfer gas, in a way Shoe front Flavor enhancer, for short Blood bank supporter Pig in ___

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1 Pamphlet 6 Economic upswing 10 One pronoun option of many 13 Dizzy Gillespie’s faith 14 Praise in the paper, perhaps 15 Forest father 16 Trunk contents 18 Facto intro 19 “Peter Pan” beast, briefly 20 Unchecked 22 “Fantastic Mr. Fox” author Roald 25 Just makes (out) 27 Closes 28 It might be smoked in a den 30 Hobbit corrupted by the Ring 32 “It’s alright” 34 Tea container 35 Supermodel Taylor 38 Approves of 39 Groups two by two, as with this puzzle’s theme answers? 42 Hot glue ___ 43 Crunch counts 45 Game with 108 cards 46 Quizzing 48 Trap set in the kitchen, maybe 51 Danger 52 ___ a bone 54 Alliance of nations 56 Otherwise 57 Like a certain Freudian complex 59 Apiary dwellers 61 Colorado resort 62 Seat near the yard 67 Fumbles 68 Cornell of Cornell University 69 Swiftness 70 JFK flier, once 71 Recognizes 72 Walla Walla vegetable

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June 27 - July 2, 2019

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