TCB Jan. 2, 2020 — Carolina Klansman

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Jan. 2-8, 2020 triad-city-beat.com

Carolina Klansman

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Declassified FBI files show the connection between North Carolina, Kennedy and the Klan PAGE 7

Kwanzaa in GSO PAGE 12 Getting real about voter ID PAGE 10 W-S cupcakes on Netflix PAGE 11

Jan. 2-8, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Smoking, now

I have some thoughts on this federal smoking legislation — the House and Senate railroaded a bill raising the age for legal tobacco

by Brian Clarey consumption from 18 to 21 last week — but mixed in with every argument is something intensely personal. Because I’m a smoker, and I want to stop.

The law is ridiculous. Either we become adults at age 18 or we don’t. But a 21 drinking age cracked the windshield and this law will go down without a whimper.

And I fear that this age threshold is a slippery slope that might be applied to voting, which is terrifying, or to set a precedent in age for legal marijuana, which would be as ineffective and unfair as this new tobacco legislation.

But then there’s this: Today I bought what I hope will be my last pack of cigarettes. I’m taking another shot at severing a connection with smoking that I’ve had since I was about 15 years old. Probably even further back.

In the time and place of my youth, everybody smoked. My mother chose colored Dunhill’s to match her outfits.

My father crushed cigarettes by the

dozen from his easy chair in the den.

My grandfather preferred a pipe in the house and cigars everywhere else, and my grandmother secretly snuck cigarettes in the bathroom until she was into her sixties.

I know, because when I was 15 years old I figured I could sneak in there behind her and have a quick smoke, and whomever smelled that telltale scent of match and ash would blame her and not me.

Every public place, every vehicle, every restaurant and bar and bowling alley and movie theater and even church rectory fairly reeked of cigarette smoke when I was a kid. There was a smoking section at my high school. So different from now; I haven’t smoked a cigarette on the toilet in a long time.

We bought our cigarettes from machines, which used to be everywhere, but also from the corner store, a kiosk inside Woolworth’s at the mall, the deli… nobody looked twice at a 15-year-old kid buying a pack of Camel Lights in 1985. But mostly we stole them from our parents.

It’s no good, of course — a socially alienating, slow suicide, marked by that stale-smoke smell we smokers carry around and don’t even know about.

Until we stop.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

A major part of Kwanzaa is asking: Who am I? Am I who I say I am? and Am I all I ought to be?

—Dawn Hicks Tafari Pg. 12

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

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

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

ART ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES

sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

gayla@triad-city-beat.com

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

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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 Cover: Photo illustration by Rob Paquette of historical images of STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger savi@triad-city-beat.com George Dorsett, Robert Morgan and FBI documents

KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

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

Jan. 2-8, 2020

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Jan. 2-8, 2020

CITY LIFE Jan 2-5, 2020

by Savi Ettinger

THURSDAY Jan. 2

Vision Board Calendars @ Reconsidered Goods (GSO), 5 p.m.

Hollis Gabriel @ Scuppernong Books (GSO), 7 p.m.

News

Up Front

Jackbox Games @ Joymongers Barrel Hall (W-S), 4 p.m.

FRIDAY Jan. 3

Opinion

Now that the new year has begun, set your goals or solidify resolutions with a crafting night from Reconsidered Goods. Instead of one vision board, Reconsidered Goods offers up calendar templates to customize and keep you on track all year. Find the event on Facebook.

PARTICIPATE IN OUR RESEARCH Culture

with Dr. Blair Wisco at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

WE’RE EXAMINING: emotional and physical reactions to memories of stressful or traumatic experiences.

Shot in the Triad

YOU MUST BE: •Age 18 or older •Able to read and write in English THE BASICS: •5 visits to our lab within 2 weeks •$150 total compensation

WHAT YOU’LL DO: •Interviews and questionnaires (3 hour visit) •Monitor your bodily reactions while you think of past experiences (2 hour visit)

All you need for this digital game night is your phone. Each playthrough syncs up to eight different players together to compete in one of several games. Try to rack up trivia points, come up with witty fill-in-the-blank answers, or guess facts about someone else. Find the event on Facebook.

Arts & Crafts Night @ Moji Coffee (W-S), 5 p.m.

Settle in for a night of making and creating with Moji Coffee. Moji provides all the supplies to make a cute snowman out of a pair of white socks for this family-friendly craft night.

Find the event on Facebook.

Dylan Angell @ the Wherehouse Art Hotel (W-S), 7 p.m.

Hokum Pokum @ Greenhill (GSO), 6 p.m.

•Wear a cardiac monitor and answer questions on a tablet computer on 3 days (30 min set-up per day)

Greensboro-based artist Hollis Gabriel takes over Scuppernong Books.

As an artist with Scuppernong’s Artist in Residency program, Hollis Gabriel specializes in kinetic sculpture making and mobiles. Find the event on Facebook.

Natural Wonder @ the Ramkat (WS), 8 p.m.

Gabriel Bello and his band bring the best of Stevie Wonder to the Ramkat.

Enjoy hits like “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Superstition,” and more during this tribute show. Find the event on Facebook.

SATURDAY Jan. 4

Intro to Arduino @ Mixxer (W-S), 10 a.m.

WANT TO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE?

Puzzles

CONTACT US TO GET STARTED! You will be asked to complete screening questions online and over the phone.

Email or call us to get more information and be directed to the online survey.

Or, scan the QR code to take you straight there.

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Dr. Blair Wisco - UNCG

copelab@uncg.edu

Dylan Angell, a North Carolinian based in Mexico City, unveils his new book of poetry, short story and collage I am My Own Imaginary Friend. The book, printed with a risograph stencil machine, has a small run of 200 copies. Find the event on Facebook.

As part of Downtown Greensboro’s First Friday, visit the art gallery inside the Greensboro Cultural Center for a performance from Hokum Pokum.

Hokum describes a type of blues music that uses humor and euphemism.

Find the event on Facebook.

This introductory course teaches guests everything about creating LED electronics using a device called an Arduino controller board. Program in your own commands as you design and build your own project. Find the event on Facebook.

Jan. 2-8, 2020

Family Friendly Improv @ the Idiot Box (GSO), 7:30 p.m.

Barefoot Modern @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S), 8 p.m.

Up Front

The Legacy Motown Revue @ Barn Dinner Theatre (GSO), 8 p.m.

Head to the Barn Dinner Theatre for a night full of Motown music. The Legacy Motown Revue combines tunes from the Coasters, Earth Wind & Fire and the Temptations.

Find the event on Facebook.

Small Dog Takeover @ the Barking Deck (GSO), 12 p.m.

The Barking Deck sets aside time for specifically the tiny dogs. Let your pup or small dog run around and enjoy a drink from the bar. Even those without a dog can join in and talk to other dog people. Find the event on Facebook.

Culture

The Hypnotic Conquest @ the Flat Iron (GSO), 8 p.m.

SUNDAY Jan. 5

Opinion

This comedy show invites anyone of all ages for a night of improv. Join in on the fun, or sit back and watch the different scenarios unfold one line at a time. Find the event on Facebook.

News

Barefoot Modern travels from Boone to Winston-Salem to rock out at Wise Man. Barefoot Modern fills the night with alternative music, with both covers and original songs. Find the event on Facebook.

Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech @ LJVM Coliseum (W-S), 12 p.m.

Shot in the Triad

Head over to the LJVM Coliseum for a women’s basketball game to finish off the weekend. Wake Forest’s Demon Deacons take on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Find the event on Facebook.

Puzzles

This Triad-based band plays the Flat Iron for an energetic, multi-genre show. The Hypnotic Conquest combines rock and roll with reggae for a funky sound. Find the event on Facebook.

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Jan. 2-8, 2020 Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

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Up Front

Reading about Star Wars

by Brian Clarey

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At some point in the last couple days, I crossed a threshold: I have now spent more time reading articles about The Rise of Skywalker than I did watching the actual movie, which clocks in at 2 hours, 22 minutes. I’ve absorbed hot takes, canonical references, fanboy screeds, thought pieces, a four-panel comic strip — no YouTubes, thank you — and a couple insider guides.

And I have to say: This movie that they’re writing about sounds a lot better than the one I watched a couple weeks ago.

Understand, I am a true fan going all the way back to 1977, when I was in second grade and A New Hope changed the trajectory of all our lives. And I liked The Rise of Skywalker. Sure, I did. It’s just… the Force heals people now? Hux has been a mole the whole time? And Palpatine, for crying out loud?

Come on.

After we watched it, my son and I just sat in the car for a moment, trying to understand how a sequel could so thoroughly undo the film that came before it.

But then, through my aftermarket research, I descended into the particulars in the text. Yes! I see how Rey’s lightsaber is significant. I understand why Lando Calrissian came back into the storyline. I now know which ewok that was, jumping celebratorily on that one moon of Endor. I see all those loose ends director JJ Abrams was trying to tie off. I get it. I think I get it, anyway.

You know, back in 1977, I never got to see the original Star Wars because I was at my grandparents’ house while the rest of my family went to see it. I had to wait until VCRs came out to finally watch it in full.

Until then, I had to osmose what I could from the cultural artifacts around the movie: toys, games, comic books, trading cards, that ridiculous Christmas special and the like. Not that these things were any substitute for the actual movie, but I pretty much got the gist.

When I finally watched the whole thing — 1982, maybe? — it felt a little like going to church. I sat through three screenings before I tired of it.

The Rise of Skywalker is not that. This one’s a little better on paper.

4 Catholic priests who committed sexual abuse in the Triad

by Sayaka Matsuoka The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte published a list on Monday of 14 clergy members who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse within the diocese since its establishment in 1972. The investigation that produced the list spanned a year and included a review of more than 1,600 files dating back 50 years, according to the diocese’s press release. All 14 clergy named were removed from ministry or died before allegations arose.

While the list doesn’t name any currently serving members, four former priests were listed as having committed sexual abuse within the Triad.

1. P. Patrick Gavigan (Ordained in 1953, deceased in 2007) According to the report, Gavigan was incardinated into the Charlotte diocese in 1972 after being ordained in Georgia. He retired in 1992. In April 2002, a woman alleged that she was abused by Gavigan in 1972, when she was a minor, at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. After receiving the allegation, the diocese alerted its review board, which is made up of medical, psychology and civil law professionals, as well as the Guilford County Department of Social Services. The review board recommended that Gavigan, who was living in a North Carolina nursing home at the time, be restricted from ministering to minors. He denied the allegation. In addition to serving at Our Lady of Grace, Gavigan also served at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in High Point and St. Benedict Catholic Church in Greensboro. Gavigan died in 2007.

2. Andre Anthony Corbin Jr. (Ordained in 1961, removed in 1988, convicted in 1989, deceased in 2008) The only member on this list who was convicted, Corbin was connected with several abuse cases in the 1960s in various locations, including Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Winston-Salem.

According to the report, Corbin was alleged to have sexually abused children while he served as chaplain at the school in the 1960s and ’70s.

In 1988, Asheville police charged Corbin with abuse of another victim, leading the Charlotte diocese to formally remove him. In 1989, Corbin pled guilty in Buncombe County and served two months in prison followed by probation.

In addition to serving at Bishop McGuinness, Corbin also served at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Chapel in Winston-Salem.

3. Hugh J. Dolan (Ordained in 1934, deceased in 1981) Prior to being affiliated with the Diocese of Charlotte, Dolan was a member of the Diocese of Raleigh which received an allegation against him in 2004. According to the Diocese of Raleigh, the abuse took place against a minor in 1964 at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Greensboro. Dolan retired in 1979 and died two years later in 1981. In addition to St. Pius X, Dolan was assigned to St. Benedict Catholic Church in Greensboro.

4. John Joseph Hyland (Ordained in 1942, deceased in 1975) Almost three decades after his death, an account of sexual abuse

by Hyland surfaced in May 2002. A woman reported to the Charlotte Diocese that Hyland had sexually abused her from 1964 to 1966, while she was a student at St. Pius X Catholic School in Greensboro. Even though Hyland was deceased, the diocese notified its review board as well as Guilford County Department of Social Services. Hyland also served at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Greensboro.

Declassified FBI documents reveal new details about Greensboro KKK informant

by Jon Elliston

Shot in the Triad

COURTESY PHOTO

Cash on delivery

Throughout the South, the FBI staged a clandestine campaign to infiltrate, disrupt and at times effectively control various Klan groups. That was strikingly

Cont. on Pg. 8

Puzzles

out a detailed case that Dorsett was an influential minister of hate — but they had no idea that behind his stony silence was an even bigger secret that led all the way to the FBI.

Culture

In a portrait he shared with media outlets, Dorsett was photographed in his Klan chaplain attire.

Opinion

In 1959, the Klan presence in North Carolina was fractured and reeling from internal disputes and law-enforcement crackdowns, with membership estimated to be as little as 150, according to the State Bureau of Investigation’s records at the time. But the rise of the Civil Rights Movement was on the horizon, and with it, an explosion of Klan mobilization.

The same year, the FBI recruited a man who would prove to be one its most valuable assets within the Klan. A house painter by trade, Dorsett had already served in ministerial and leadership roles

rial Auditorium and drew public protests, he said: “We’re sitting on a powder keg.… You don’t know what I’ll do before I leave, and you don’t know what you’ll do. We don’t believe in violence, and we’re not going to have violence, if we have to kill every n***** in America.”

It was remarks like these, along with his fundraising and organizing for the Klan, that a congressional subpoena compelled Dorsett to Washington, DC the previous year to testify before the House Un-American Affairs Committee.

In that appearance, Dorsett was uncharacteristically tight-lipped, refusing to answer questions or provide documents.

The committee’s staff nonetheless laid

News

NC’s Klan resurgence

Up Front

Some state secrets come out in dribs and drabs, becoming more damning along the way, and the phenomenon is hardly new.

Case in point: It’s long been known that the Federal Bureau of Investigation funded and gathered intelligence from George Dorsett, the late Greensboro resident who held key positions in state and national branches of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s. What’s new are details about how Dorsett first reaped a financial windfall and then found himself exposed as a government snitch — and how backroom firestorms erupted at the FBI when congressional investigators revealed the broad brushes of the arrangement.

The revelations come courtesy of the JFK Records Act, which mandated that remaining secret documents potentially related to President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination should go public unless their release could still compromise national security or the privacy of living individuals. Large remaining batches were unveiled in 2017 and 2018, and while none of those papers provided a smoking gun on the assassination, some offered new information about right-wing extremists who would have been happy to see Kennedy dead.

In North Carolina, Dorsett — described in FBI documents as a “top-tier informant” — was certainly one of those. A fervent white supremacist with a flair for public relations and subterfuge, Dorsett served as a kind of spiritual official, fundraiser and rouser for the Klan during its most violent years. in prominent Klan organizations during Amid the trove of secrets in the the 1950s, and his star was ascending. In JFK files, Dorsett’s case stands the 1960s, he would serve as the “Impeout for its revelations about how rial Kludd,” or national chaplain, of closely the FBI skirted the line the Alabama-based United Klans of when both undermining and supAmerica, the ranks of which grew to porting Klan factions at a time more than 10,000 in North Carolina. when the KKK’s biggest stateHe also held other top state and national wide membership was in North posts and later formed his own Klan Carolina, according to a substanoffshoot. tial pile of of government records Throughout this period, the FBI released in batches long ago and made regular payments to Dorsett as a recently. What’s more, they docuconfidential informant, placing considerment the panic that set in at the able value on his insider information and bureau’s top tier when the FBI’s looking the other way when he rallied decade-long relationship with the Klan faithful.

Dorsett started to go public.

Dorsett “was one heck of a speaker “That all came out in the newsand could really fire up a crowd,” his paper,” noted Dargan Frierson, FBI handler, Frierson, recalled in the the late FBI agent who handled UNCG oral history. “He could portray and befriended Dorsett, in a 1990 himself as one of them. And he would oral history for UNCG’s archival tell me everything that was going on. project Civil Rights Greensboro.

So sure, he’d made some fiery speeches, “The FBI was horrified when it there’s no question about it. But if he happened.” hadn’t, he would have been worthless.”

At the time, though, it didn’t There’s nothing to indicate, however, all come out, and the declassified that Dorsett wasn’t “one of them” — a files offer significant reminders true believer in the Klan’s mission — about why the bureau was inand he didn’t exactly shy away from tent on keeping details about its fostering racial terrorism. At an August unholy alliance with Dorsett a 1966 rally that packed Raleigh’s Memosecret.

Jan. 2-8, 2020

A horrifying secret

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Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

Jan. 2-8, 2020

Cont. from Pg. 7

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“A total of 41 chapters of the CKKKK were chartered; however, all of them did the case in North Carolina, as sociologist not become effective operating chapDavid Cunningham documented in his ters.”

2013 book Klansville, USA: The Rise By 1970, both the UKA and Dorsett’s and Fall of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux CKKKK were in tatters, and the Klan’s Klan. heyday in North Carolina drew to a The FBI’s objective, Cunningham close, even as the fires it stoked would wrote, was to covertly “attack the Klan’s spark again in places like Greensboro most obvious vulnerabilities: the simmerjust a few years later. Dorsett “was dising suspicions that leaders exploited the continued as an informant when his acmembership financially, certain memtivity in the Klan ceased, at which time bers’ limited employment prospects, and his relationship with the bureau continthe fact that more than a few wives of ued to be excellent,” the FBI concluded.

Klansmen felt that weekly klavern [local His handler would recall Dorsett as “the chapter] meetings and dark of night…

No. 1 Klan informer in the country.” missions provided ruses for adulterous activities.” The weapons of choice were Facing exposure rumor campaigns, anonymous mailings Even with no substantial Klan continand other steps to breed dissension in the gent to back or lead, Dorsett remained ranks, he noted, and “as with all bureau a committed white-supremacist orator, programs, secrecy would be a priority.” albeit an ever more marginal one, until The FBI’s biggest secret in North he died in Greensboro in 2008, at age Carolina was its long-running relation90. He might have faded into the history ship with Dorsett. One of the recently books relatively quickly if inquisitive declassified memos, written in February members of Congress hadn’t sniffed out 1976, reveals just how much the bureau his FBI ties. rewarded the Klan organizer. Dorsett The exposure came courtesy of the was on the bureau’s payroll from January Senate Select Committee on Intelli1959 to October 1970, according to one gence, also known as the Church Comof the FBI memos. The payments tomittee, which set off political fireworks taled $26,266.01 (the equivalent of more with its revelations of decades of crimes than $200,000 today, when adjusted and cover-ups by the CIA, FBI and other for inflation). Roughly two thirds of the secretive agencies. Among the operations payment was for “services” provided, it probed were the the FBI’s counterinwith the remainder covering unspecified telligence programs — COINTELPRO, “expenses.” as they’re often known — against dis“An analysis of these payments at FBI sidents ranging from the New Left to the Headquarters reveals Dorsett was paid Black Panthers to “white hate” groups on a ‘cash-on-delivery’ basis,” the memo like the Klan. added, “and that these payments were Committee staffers pieced together commensurate with the information he enough information from selectively furnished.” provided FBI files to identify Dorsett as Even as he rallied the state’s most a major informant, and word leaked to hardcore racists, Dorsett helped the FBI national newspapers in December 1975. destabilize North Carolina’s large UKA The accounts provided little detail contingent by exacerbating tensions about Dorsett’s working relationship among the group’s leaders. Banished with the FBI, but the cat from the UKA in 1967, was clawing its way out Dorsett quickly founded a of the bag. Former Sen. The FBI’s biggest rival faction, the ConRobert Morgan, a North federate Knights of the secret in North Carolina Democrat, KKK — with a big assist was among the commitCarolina was its from his FBI handler, Fritee members who were erson, who helped draft long-running shocked by the FBI-KKK the group’s first manifesto connection. In an April relationship with and passed Dorsett still 1976 speech at Wake Formore cash.

Dorsett. est University’s Law Day Internally, the FBI observance, Morgan pubviewed its assist with licly confirmed Dorsett’s founding a Klan group as FBI relationship, adding additional a major accomplishment. details and calling the arrangement part “We utilized this opposing Klan orgaof a part of pattern of “immoral and nization through Dorsett as a means of illegal activity” by the FBI. causing confusion and dissension within Already stung by the December leak, the Klan,” an FBI report later noted.

Sen. Robert Morgan, a North Carolina Democrat who sat on the Church Committee.

the FBI was now apoplectic. The Senate committee and Morgan had committed “a most serious breach of the confidentiality” the bureau had expected when sharing its secret files with the legislators.

Dorsett had not previously been exposed as an informant, and he continued to deny his role during brief public remarks that were increasingly met with skepticism.

Promptly interviewed by the FBI, Dorsett told the agents that he now feared for his life, and that the revelations had caused “great consternation among his close friends and members of his family,” the bureau noted. “He has received harassing phone calls. During one of these calls the caller stated, ‘Tell that pimp to get his casket ready.’”

The FBI’s leadership fired off a series of memos to the Church Committee

FILE PHOTO

demanding that informers not be further identified and warning of the gravity of outing Dorsett, though the relationship was now something of an open secret.

In the end, the committee’s public report summarized the matter without naming the once-influential Klansman, but by then, George Dorsett’s — and the FBI’s — secret was out David Cunningham, the sociologist and author, interviewed Dorsett late in life. The infamous informer didn’t seem particularly regretful.

“What struck me was his retrospective view that the FBI was working for him,” Cunningham recalled in remarks to his book’s publisher in 2013, “which isn’t entirely inaccurate, if you consider how he was able to protect his role as the KKK’s most successful fundraiser while on the bureau’s payroll.”

The battle lines are drawn for North Carolina’s gubernatorial race

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

In the runup to the Nov. 3, 2020 election, voters in North Carolina will be consumed with a bitterly contested presidential race and a vote for US Senate that will shape the direction of the country for generations to come.

And smothered under the marquee federal races, candidates for governor and state legislature will be fighting for oxygen.

by Jordan Green The ideological outlines of the governor’s race are clear, and there will be little incentive for partisans on either side of the divide to break ranks. The history of vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the budget impasse in the recent legislative session signal exactly what’s at stake. Cooper can show voters that he took a stand for expanding Medicaid, while the Republican nominee, whether it’s Lt. Gov. Dan Forest or Rep. Holly Grange, will charge that Cooper’s failure to sign a budget denied pay increases to teachers.

On highly charged social issues, notably reproductive rights and immigration, Cooper’s record of vetoes is likely to equally galvanize base voters on either side. The Republican nominee is likely to charge that Cooper’s veto of the so-called Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act amounts to abetting murder, while the Democratic nominee can show that he refused to abide a campaign to intimidate pregnant women and their physicians through GOP efforts to conjure up a phantom practice based more on supposition than evidence. Likewise, with his veto of the “Remove Foreign Citizens from Gov. Cooper, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Sen. Thom Tillis with President Donald WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Trump, December 2018 Voting Rolls” bill, which will give rise to Republican howls that Democrats are inviting massive fraud by “illegals,” while Cooper can show that he took and renewable energy projects. Simultaneous to negotiating the permit and establishment a stand against intimidation and harassment. And no doubt, the Republican nominee will of the Mitigation Fund, Cooper nudged Duke Energy to settle a dispute with solar-energy charge that Cooper’s veto of the bill requiring sheriff’s to honor ICE detainers has resulted producers that opens a path for them to distribute power through the energy grid, investiin “flooding” the streets with “criminal aliens,” while Cooper can justifiably claim that he gators said. And while Cooper owns property near the pipeline, investigators uncovered no blocked an unconstitutional law that would have violated the Fourth Amendment guaraninformation indicating he “would personally, directly benefit from” the solar settlement, or tee against unreasonable search and seizure by forcing sheriffs to hold prisoners without a that he or his family members own any facilities that are in the queue to sell solar energy to valid warrant. the grid. Still, the report concluded that “the information suggests that criminal violations Whatever your position on these issues, there’s no question that the election will be conmay have occurred. An investigative agency with the authority to compel cooperation and sequential. Put a Republican in the Governor’s Mansion, and all those bills passed by the the production of documents could potentially obtain additional information to identify Republican majority in the General Assembly can become law. (Likewise, put a Democratic violations of criminal statutes.” majority in the General Assembly, and we can provide healthcare to an additional 365,000 A spokesperson for the governor riposted by saying that Forest people through Medicaid expansion.) “has taken more than $2 million from a donor indicted for bribing an These appeals to the base are likely to be amplified all the more elected official, and he has even more facts wrong about this than the because of North Carolina’s competitive status. Dan Forest or Holly Grange will likely relish the opportunity to share the stage with PresiThe ideological outlines Republicans’ investigators did.”

WRAL has reported that Greg Lindberg, a Durham insurance dent Trump, and no Republican candidate can afford to shun him. The of the governer’s race executive under federal indictment for bribery, donated $2.4 million to calculus will probably be more complicated for Cooper, depending on groups supporting Forest in his 2020 run for governor. One recipient how far left the Democratic nominee goes, and considering the history are clear, and there will is the Truth & Prosperity independent political action committee, and of state-level candidates keeping the national party at arm’s length. be little incentive for by law the candidate cannot direct it to return the contributions. But All indications point to the 2020 election coming down to which the other recipient, WRAL reported, is the Republican Council of gubernatorial candidate is most effective at turning out the base in partisans on either side State Committee, which was controlled by Forest and Mark Johnson, November. of the divide to break the current superintendent of public instruction who is running for the But for the benefit of the small cohort of voters who aren’t dialed in lieutenant governor seat Forest is vacating. The officials have so far to the partisan attacks and who are searching for markers of integrity ranks. declined to return the funds to Lindberg. and character upon which to base their decision, the two campaigns Lindberg faces federal charges for bribing Insurance Commissioner can be expected to level dueling charges of corruption at each other.

Mike Causey in a scheme to remove a troublesome regulator. Causey Forest launched the first volley in November by calling on the FBI cooperated with the FBI in the investigation. Robin Hayes, then the to investigate Cooper following a report by a private investigative firm to a joint legislative chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, was indicted along with Lindberg for commission that concluded that Cooper improperly used the authority and influence of his lying to the FBI. Hayes has pled guilty and is now cooperating with the prosecution. office to extract a promise from Duke Energy and other partners for a “Mitigation Fund” in The messaging to voters in the middle from the two campaigns is likely to be that they exchange for approving the permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline through eastern North can’t trust the other guy. And who they believe is likely to come down to tribal loyalties.

Carolina.

The Mitigation Fund — equivalent to what Dominion Energy ponied up for the Virginia section of pipeline — includes money for environmental repair, economic development

Jan. 2-8, 2020

CITIZEN GREEN

OPINION

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by Clay Jones

Up Front

Jan. 2-8, 2020

Claytoonz

Voter ID: A reminder A correction is warranted on the State Board of Elections website, which as of Monday still insists that voters will be asked to show ID beginning with the 2020 primary election.

In fact, a federal judge blocked that requirement on Dec. 27, promising a legal explanation via judicial order due this week.

The ruling, served amid several lawsuits against the state’s voter-ID requirement, has already sent the defenders of this change to the state constitution into PR mode — if you follow any Republican elected officials on Facebook you likely have seen some of the talking points designed to make law-abiding North Carolinians fear voter fraud on an unimagined scale.

But the opposition has some talking points of its own, which should be referenced anytime a red-hat paranoiac spouts off about voter fraud.

For one, it’s not voter fraud that tilts the playing field; it’s election fraud, which can be accomplished in numerous ways: forging large quantities of absentee ballots, tampering with voting machines, restricting access to polling places, illegitimately removing huge tracts of people from voter rolls and, of course, gerrymandering, by which

politicians pick their voters instead of the other way around.

If you’re looking for an example, we had a fine one in this state in 2018: Leslie McRae Dowless used an absentee-ballot scheme to swing the 9th Congressional District election for Mark Harris, who at first tally led by more than 900 votes.

A voter ID law would not have prevented this.

And then there’s campaign-finance fraud, which is another way to corrupt an election. We’ve got another recent, local instance of this in Durham businessman Greg Lindberg, who is under federal indictment for bribery in a federal probe that embroiled former NC GOP Chair Robin Hayes — who faces six months in prison for lying to the FBI — and Rep. Mark Walker, known in the indictment as “Public Official A,” who took $150,000 donations from Lindberg, some of which he returned. Lindberg has donated about $2.4 million to groups supporting Republican Dan Forest in his bid for governor this year.

So, if you’re worried about voter fraud swinging an election in 2020, you’re probably looking at the wrong thing. And that’s just the way they like it.

It’s not voter fraud that tilts the playing field; it’s election fraud.

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Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

he clock is ticking down.

Time seems to be going at warp speed while your hands seem to move in slow motion. Your fingers are slipping. Time is slipping. The lights are

by Nikki Miller-Ka bright and hot, blinding you. All eyes are on you. It’s not a nightmare, it’s a dream come true. You are on a televised baking competition.

If you watched the holiday-themed baking competition “Sugar Rush Christmas” on Netflix, you might see a familiar face: Ta’Nisha Kimbrough of Ta’Nisha Monique Cupcakes in Winston-Salem.

Kimbrough appeared on the episode titled “O Christmas Tree” of “Sugar Rush Christmas,” a competition that challenges four teams of bakers to create themed cupcakes, confections and cakes for a chance to win $10,000. The treats are judged by Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Australian celebrity pastry chef Adriano Zumbo and guest judge, Amirah Kassem of Flour Bakery in New York City.

Kimbrough opened up her shop in East Winston two years ago and hasn’t looked back. Providing cakes and confections to fans near and far, the show’s producers contacted her after connecting with her on Instagram.

“A California number called me and I thought they were kidding,” the bakeshop owner remembers. “I almost hung up on them.” Before she knew it she was on a plane to California for tapings.

In the first round, Kimbrough and her partner were tasked with creating a cupcake that looked like a wrapped gift or present with the cake SCREENSHOT Ta’Nisha Kimbrough of Ta’Nisha Monique Cupcakes is on the second episode of “Sugar Rush representing classic festive flavors. The result Christmas.”: was a peppermint cupcake with white-chocolate that their relationship would not mesh with the theme that is not the focus. Know your craft and continue to mousse and vanilla-bean buttercream. But before the of the show. educate yourself. Do your research and surround yourcompetition could begin, troubles plagued Kimbrough.

After her grandmother passed away in 2012, Kimself with great businesspeople and those that share First, her chosen baking partner pulled out of the brough and her mother baked and created through the your vision. Always stay on top of the latest cake trends competition mere hours before boarding the plane. grieving process. and attend as many classes as “We had a falling out over creative differences,” said “From this baking therapy, I you can to perfect your craft.”

Kimbrough, “She thought she knew better than me and You can watch episodes of “Sugar decided to move on faith and She says the show was a great tried to take over.” allow my grandmother’s inspinetworking opportunity, and With less than 24 hours until filming was the begin, Rush Christmas” on Netflix. ration to guide me towards my that she’s still in contact with show producers scrambled to find a replacement confuture.” show producers — she hopes testant to pair up with Kimbrough.

Ta’Nisha Monique Cupcakes is Entrepreneurial dreams aside, to appear on another episode On the show it was stated they “recently met she never thought her future located at 1318 N. Liberty St, W-S. with her teenaged daughter, through social media” but the reality of this reality would include a competition Symiyah, who has a sprinkle show was that the two met mere hours before taping. broadcast on a global scale. business.

Tim Hayes, a culinary instructor from Tennessee was Learn more at While Kimbrough did not ad“I do have a very strong supbrought in as a replacement. vance past the first round, she port system which is what I Tanishamoniquecupcakes.net “It was so stressful,” Kimbrough remembers. “I didn’t has advice for other bakers and would recommend to all who know him, he didn’t know me, and he was very arroentrepreneurs. aspire to venture down this gant,” which added to the chaos of the experience.

“Follow your passion and not road. But there are only 24 Kimbrough’s first teammate choice was her mother. the money,” she advises. “The money will come, but hours in a day, and your girl needs at least 25.”

Unfortunately, producers quickly nixed that idea stating

Jan. 2-8, 2020

Nik Snacks A ‘sugar rush’ leads Winston-Salem baker to Netflix fame

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Jan. 2-8, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

12

CULTURE Unbridled black joy and self-love at GSO’s Kwanzaa fest

by Sayaka Matsuoka

T

he room grows hotter.

Abandoned pairs of cheetahprinted flats, black-leather ankle boots and red high heels lay strewn about in between the rows of chairs at Bethel AME Church. In front of the stage, barefooted women, men and children dance vigorously to the sound of eight beating drums, their arms and legs flailing to the rhythm, their bodies giving off a collective heat. They move individually, yet their kindred joy brings a sense of connectedness, their colorful, dashiki-inspired garments creating melted blurs of rapturous color.

This is Kwanzaa in Greensboro.

“Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday,” says Dawn Hicks Tafari, one of the co-founders and the public relations coordinator of the Greensboro Kwanzaa Collective. “Kwanzaa is a celebration of African-American culture.”

Born out of the Black Power movement of the 1960s, Kwanzaa is a relatively young holiday. Created by black separatist Maulana Karenga, the celebration takes place over the course of seven days, from Dec. 26 until Jan.1.; each day represents a different principle and symbol. Seven candles on a menorah-like candleholder, called the kinara, are lit in observance each day.

“Kwanzaa provides a guidebook,” says Hicks, who has been celebrating the holiday since the late ’90s. “These are seven principles that have helped African people over time. It’s about: How can we be stronger?”

The principles include the ideas of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

As a child, Hicks grew up celebrating Christmas. And despite having attended Kwanzaa celebrations before, it wasn’t until she met her ex-husband that she began to seriously think about celebrating herself.

“We both expressed interest in learning more about African-American culture,” Hick says. “We wanted to grow with our African-American culture and spend time reflecting. We shared this idea of not getting caught up in the capitalism of Christmas; people go broke, people go into debt, the message gets lost. Kwanzaa is about cultural pride and community service and self-love and social justice and reflection.

“A major part of Kwanzaa is asking: Who am I? Am I who I say I am? and Am I

A dancer from the Kuuma Dance Company leads a group of community members in dance at the annual Kwanzaa celebration at Bethel AME Church in Greensboro.

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

all I ought to be?,” she says. “It’s more intentionality.”

“It’s so important for us to understand the importance of Hicks wears a bright yellow, floor-length dress that wraps passing down our history and our culture,” Bellamy-Small jagged stripes of orange and teal around her body. She joins says. the group at the front of the room, her feet bare, her long locs Wearing a green, orange and blue patched jacket and a red, gathered in a bun atop her head tight enough to keep them yellow and green cap, Bellamy-Small sits in the back corner of out of her face as she begins to dance. the church room, signing a seemingly never-ending stack of The community gathering at Bethel AME church on Dec. 28 Christmas cards. marks the 10th anniversary of the Greensboro Kwanzaa Collec“I dress like this every day,” she says. “But some people tive’s celebrations in the city. When Hicks and her co-founders don’t feel comfortable looking like this all the time.”

Niajallah Hendrix-Wilson and JamillahNeeairah Nasir started She points to the clothing and the diverse hairstyles of the citywide celebrations in 2010, they picked up where other many of the attendees — who number more than 100 — in the Kwanzaa enthusiasts had left off organizing the holiday years packed room and explains how the holiday creates a space ago. for black community members to fully “I’ve been celebrating since the immerse themselves in and celebrate 1970s,” says Dianne Bellamy-Small, a their blackness without fear of ridicule To learn more about the Guilford County school board member or harm. and former Greensboro city council“It’s about the community,” she says.

Greensboro Kwanzaa Collecwoman.

“It’s about identifying with a group of tive, follow them on Facebook Bellamy-Small, along with others people that look like you; it’s beautiful.” @GSOKwanzaaCollective. in the community, is credited with As the sound from the drums on helping initiate Kwanzaa celebrations stage echo throughout the space, Bellain Greensboro in the ’70s and into the my-Small explains how she celebrates ’80s. When she first began introducing both Christmas and Kwanzaa because the holiday, she remembers people’s difficulty with pronouncthey aren’t mutually exclusive. She notes how she keeps her ing many of the Swahili words and fully understanding the kinara displayed throughout the year. meanings of each of the symbols and principles. So, she and “You’ve got to practice these principles all year long,” she others hosted workshops to educate the community on what says. “Kwanzaa is principles; it’s something you live by every the holiday represented and how to celebrate it. day.”

CULTURE Curiosity and killing, with cats, at Crooked Tail Cat Café

by Savi Ettinger

Jan. 2-8, 2020

P

Up Front News Opinion Culture

Karen Stratman and Roseanna Throne accuse a suspect during the murder mystery at Crooked Tail Cat Café in Greensboro.

SAVI ETTINGER

Puzzles

lawyer character represented Regina. The feline turned his involvement with the café turned into reasons for accusations, head again as the remark earned a wag of Stratman’s magnifywith both insisting their innocence. George the cat flicked his ing glass. A defensive comment from Regina caused the cat’s tail playfully, watching as a witness claimed seeing Kodakek’s ears to perk up as he followed the action. reporter character coated in dust, some believing to be kitty The feline residents of the café motivate litter. A new guest’s argument against the drag queen duo. They aim to draw new Stratman came out during another round visitors, and new potential adoptions. Regiof clues, leaving even Stratman in the dark Learn more about the na and Roseanna recounted a routine event during the whodunit. where a guest had clicked with a cat, and In the midst of cat-centric chaos, names Crooked Tail Cat Café at put in an application for adoption. With flew around. A doctor visited the café crookedtailcatcafe.com. an approval, the guest provided a place for early the day of the crime. A publicist felt the feline days later. The pair credited that scorned over unanswered emails and voice event with solidifying their roles at Crooked messages. Yet, as visitors left their final Tail, performing drag for a cause. accusations, Kodakek found the attention shifted to his dust“That’s the biggest hope in this process: to find little homes covered character, seen at the scene of the crime. He grimaced for these guys,” Thorne said. as Stratman announced the verdict of guilty.

A ginger cat named George climbed up a small tower, “I didn’t come here intending to be a murderer,” Kodakek tucking his legs under him, as the guests named suspects. said to the crowd, “—at all!”

Employees Spencer Kodakek and McLellan Corum found their

Shot in the Triad

erched on an overhang above everyone’s heads, Boots the cat looked down on the scene unfolding below. The mustachioed cat peered at a person assuming the role of a musician, as she questioned the one playing a therapist. The latter gasped at the accusation: A murder! In the cat café!

The felines of the Crooked Tail Cat Café in Greensboro watched on as the venue transformed into a fictional crime scene on Saturday. Drag queens Roseanna Thorne and Regina Kelly assisted the café in hosting an interactive murder mystery. As each guest walked in the door, the duo and staff greeted the new cast members with envelopes. Inside, they found cat-punny aliases, and roles for the night. As time went on, more rounds of enveloped clues went out, and each guest had to mingle to piece together the scene.

The café hopes that events like this will keep their regulars interested and draw in new visitors. Owner Karen Stratman explains the programs add variety, but also help fundraise for the upkeep of their facilities, including the Greensboro location and the newer spot in WinstonSalem.

“It’s a nice break from what we normally do,” Stratman said.

One wall of the Greensboro location displays a collage of cats with their new families, surrounding a chalkboard with that venue’s number of adoptions. Over the two years, the business found homes for 157 cats. Stratman says between both locations, the number is higher.

“It’s 200 between the two stores,” Stratman said.

Stratman set the scene as a detective, in her own costumed persona. She revealed that her real self had been murdered, the body hidden under bags of kitty litter. As people wondered how to start their own investigations, Roseanna and Regina slipped into conversations, approaching people alone or sticking together to drop a name or point a finger. The two queens first volunteered for Crooked Tail around half a year ago and have since hosted several events. The Crooked Tail even served as the pair’s inspiration to step into the drag world.

“These have been our debut in drag,” Roseanna said.

A grey cat flicked his head back and forth, watching a woman sitting on a nearby couch reveal casually that her

13

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23 Tropical fruit with pink flesh 25 Baby Yoda, eventually (one presumes) 26 Prime minister between Major and Brown 27 “Head Like ___” (Nine Inch Nails song) 28 They may be recorded for quality and training purposes 29 “Hello, ___ Be Going!”

(Phil Collins album) 31 Barbera’s animation partner 32 Diminished 33 Do a haunted house job 36 Catches 40 Raw silk shade 41 Annoying ones 46 “Two-bite” bakery item, maybe 48 Actor Gibson of “2 Fast 2 Furious” 50 “The Daily Show” correspondent Chieng 51 Neighbor of Nev. 53 Rafter’s need 55 Disney movie about computers 56 Lifesaver, maybe 57 Subway fixture 59 “I know” 61 Wriggly tankful 62 “Dallas Buyers Club” Oscar winner Jared 63 Sandy golf hazard 65 Hotel offering 66 “Give ___ go!”

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1 Beer ingredient 2 Symphony orchestra woodwind 3 “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” character 4 Onomatopoetic name for motorized rickshaws 5 First N.L. player to hit 500 home runs 6 “Hold up!”

7 Company’s bottom line 8 When doubled, a guitar effect 9 Job opening fillers 10 Only state name starting with two vowels 11 Head the cast 12 Reports 14 Feature of a font 17 Assist 18 Sched. guess

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1 Coat of arms inscription 6 Dir. from NYC to Seattle 9 Sibilant sound 13 In the vicinity of 14 “The Beatles at ___ Stadium” (music documentary) 15 Minimal amount 16 ?keep a kaenS 19 Collapsible shelter 20 Paleozoic and Cenozoic, e.g.

21 What baby shampoo avoids 22 Hybrid citrus from Jamaica 24 Propped open 26 ?loot s’tsirucinaM 30 “___ a Rainbow” (Rolling Stones tune) 34 ___ apso (dog breed) 35 Prescriptions, briefly 37 “Mixed-ish” network 38 “You’ve Got Mail” ISP 39 With 49-Across, ?retsis s’anereS 42 Blazers’ org.

43 Unhealthy 44 High or low cards 45 “Li’l” guy in the comics 47 Take five 49 See 39-Across 52 “___ be surprised” 54 “... ___ it seems” 55 Birch of “Ghost World” 58 “Flashdance” director Adrian 60 Paintball mark 64 ?rekrowoc s’rotcudnoC 67 Precious metal sources 68 “Eat, ___, Love” 69 ___-Whirl (amusement park ride) 70 Second to ___ 71 Wood used to make baseball bats 72 Fabled tale-teller

EVENTS

Jan. 2-8, 2020

CROSSWORD ‘You Turned Up’—I’m just following directions. SUDOKU

15