Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point June 18-24, 2020 triad-city-beat.com
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JUNETEENTH Black joy as an act of resistance PAGES 2-5
Ex GPD cops threaten violence PAGE 6
GSO’s black murals PAGE 11
Why I protest PAGE 12
June 18-24, 2020
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Juneteenth, explained The subtext of the Juneteenth story contains black jubilation and white shame. The day — June 19 — harkens back to 1865, by Brian Clarey when a Union general rode into Galveston, Texas to read General Order No. 3, which proclaimed that all the slaves were now free. Our national disgrace comes from the timestamp: The Civil War had ended a couple months before, and the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed more than two years earlier. These slaves had technically been free since Jan. 1, 1863, when Lincoln’s proclamation kicked in, and literally since the Civil War had ended in April, but nobody had told them. And it is safe to say that none of them received back wages for their servitude. There were, by some estimates, about 250,000 who got the news that day. It was the original sin of Reconstruction, a precursor to the hollowness of its promise, the Last Great Lie before a begrudging and malformed version of equality. But Juneteenth is also a party — like the Fourth of July for black people, because the original Independence Day is nothing but a punchline to the descendants of slaves. “That day of celebration, it’s really important to offer the counternarrative,” says Greensboro organizer April Parker, who has been putting together Juneteenth festivities in the city since 2016. “July 4 is not our Independence Day. I remember
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 jordan@triad-city-beat.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
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as a kid, spending those hot afternoons standing in front of a statue of Nathanael Greene, people reading Frederick Douglass…. We do believe that black joy is an act of resistance.” Most of the slaves belatedly freed on June 19, 1865 left the state of Texas almost immediately, bringing their stories, their joy, across the South and beyond. Fittingly, or not, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday, in 1980. Now, 46 states recognize Juneteenth, the exceptions being Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Black folks already know about Juneteenth — it’s been a thing for 150 years, celebrated underground in those early years, on the outskirts of towns, and then later in Emancipation Parks — plots of land bought with black money and defiantly anchored to this purpose. The holiday is inextricably linked to black heritage, black struggle, black tragedy and triumph, black fellowship and black tradition. “We’ve got to recognize black women and grandparents who have kept this practice alive,” Parker says. “Folks like Nina Joy who, when it wasn’t in people’s consciousnesses, pulled their money together to make sure the community has something to celebrate.” [For a list of Juneteenth activities, see the calendar on page 3] Juneteenth is a black thing, but white people are invited too — with a couple caveats. Parker says white folks should be mind-
Cont. on pg.3
1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 Juneteenth celebrates the day SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka the last of the slaves were freed — niksnacksblog@gmail.com more than two months after the ART Civil War had ended. [Illustration ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette by Robert Paquette] robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES
KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price gayla@triad-city-beat.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones, Michaela Ratliff
TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2018 Beat Media Inc.
Cont. from pg.2
Parker and fellow organizer Casey Thomas from Greensboro Rising issued a statement on this year’s holiday, which takes on added significance amid protests for black lives and a global pandemic that’s disproportionately affecting the black community. It reads, in part, “Even as Black pain that is often private, moves into our streets and into the news with demonstrations here and across the country, it is important to take a moment and remember and celebrate that we are still here. We recognize the bittersweetness of this moment, in which our city is declaring Juneteenth a holiday, while there is so much pain around the killings of George Floyd and other victims of police violence — some right here in Greensboro — but if Black people had to wait until we were no longer in pain to celebrate, we would never celebrate at all. “We are not just what happens to us — the violence, the systemic racism. We are not just dead and dying, but we are also thriving, and creating communities of care as we have always been. It is how we have survived. Blackness should never be conflated with the conditions of poverty and oppression inflicted upon us but also what is our people’s culture, brilliance, and magic. “We know that although we are a long way from chattel slavery, we are far from free,” the statement continued. “May our recognition of Juneteenth not be a hollow token in a time of unrest, but a promise from the city of Greensboro to address the ways in which our own city keeps Black people from being truly free. May we listen to the people who are calling for change, with their voices, with their bodies in the street and commit to using our power as a city council to make us all more free.”
June 18-24, 2020
ful of this black space. “You should love black people as much
as you love black culture,” she advises. “And if you haven’t spoken to a black person in a week, you probably shouldn’t go.”
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June 18-24, 2020
CITY LIFE JUNETEENTH EDITION
by Michaela Ratliff
A Musical Celebration of Black Men @ Community Theater of Greensboro Virtual Concert (GSO) 6 p.m. The Community Theater of Greensboro celebrates the talents of black men featured in its shows with this virtual concert. The event will be livestreamed from the theater’s Facebook page.
FRIDAY June 19
Juneteenth: A Day of Celebration and Remembrance @ City of Greensboro (GSO) All Day Creative Greensboro, Department of Libraries & Museum and the Greensboro Parks and Recreation department is hosting a day of virtual events, including cooking, performances, and panel discussions, to celebrate Juneteenth. Events will be broadcast on the City of Greensboro’s Facebook page. Black Elm Street @ Haus of Lacks (GSO) 2 p.m. Join Haus of Lacks as they discuss ten global statistics of the plight of African-Americans and how to take immediate action against them. Visit the event page to learn more about how to get involved.
Opinion
News
Up Front
THURSDAY June 18
Culture
Juneteenth Classic @ Winston-Salem Wolves Virtual Streetball Horse Game (W-S) 5 p.m. The Winston-Salem Wolves have partnered with Showcase Sports Syndicate and NC Future of Sports to host the Juneteenth Classic featuring a virtual game of streetball horse. Play from home on your own court. Register here for your chance to win $500!
Where Do We Go from Here? @ YWCA High Point (HP) 6:30 p.m. The YWCA’s Community Builders will be in partnership with Resilience High Point to hold a series of discussions about racial equity and possible solutions against racial injustice. Register for the Zoom meeting here.
Puzzles
Shot in the Triad
Black Lives Matter: Protest to Policy — Policing Reforms that Work @ Winston-Salem Urban League (W-S) 5:30 p.m. Zoom meeting
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Winston-Salem Urban League partners with Alpha Pi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, For Everyone Home Cohort, and Grounded Solutions to discuss policy reform in a multi-part webinar. Check out the event page for info on Zoom registration.
Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC
46,855 38,171 (+8,684 since last week)
Forsyth 2,333 (+408)
Juneteenth Livestream @ United Way of Forsyth County (W-S) 8 a.m. Join United Way of Forsyth County for a Juneteenth celebration. The event will be livestreamed from their Facebook page.
Guilford County
2,167 (+388) News
Juneteenth Pop-Up Market @ 112 S. Main St (HP) 1 p.m. Artsy People of Color and Sabrina McGowens Art Gallery are hosting a Juneteenth pop-up market specializing in Afrocentric products. Find more information and vendors on Tilted Crown Products’ Instagram.
COVID-19 deaths
Sunday Smooth Jazz Brunch @ Historic Magnolia House (GSO) 11 a.m. Take a seat at a table in the Historic Magnolia House for a soulful afternoon of good food and jazz music. Visit the website to reserve your spot.
1,168 (+81)
Forsyth
25 (+7)
Guilford
98 (+11)
Documented recoveries NC
29,219 (+5,566)
Forsyth
1,367 (+1,272)
Guilford
1,110 (+182)
Culture
SUNDAY June 21
NC
Opinion
Virtual Juneteenth Festival @ Triad Cultural Arts (W-S) 3 pm Triad Cultural Arts is hosting an all-virtual Juneteenth celebration full of African history, music, dance and more. Visit the event page for more information.
The Numbers (as of Wednesday, June 17) Up Front
Juneteenth Running Challenge @ Twin City Track Club (W-S) All Day Help the Twin City Track Club accomplish their goal of covering 619 miles to celebrate Juneteenth. Participation is free, but donations are welcome and proceeds from the event will go to the Winston-Salem Urban League. Register here.
Taste of Creole Concessions @ the Beer Growler Winston-Salem (W-S) 4 p.m. A Taste of Creole food truck will be at the Beer Growler ready to satisfy your Louisiana cuisine cravings! Visit the Growler’s Facebook page for info.
June 18-24, 2020
SATURDAY June 20
Coronavirus in the Triad:
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Hospitalizations 846 (+66)
Forsyth
44
Guilford
298 (+35)
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NC
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Culture
Opinion
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Up Front
June 18-24, 2020
NEWS
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Retired GPD officers invoke threat of violence on social media in response to protests by Jordan Green A retired GPD officer invoked the specter of the Greensboro Massacre in response to a peaceful protest for black lives and a retired captain on the force in 1979 accuses the new chief of committing a felony. The mayor and city attorney see things differently
The Facebook post addressed to Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan could be viewed as a warning or a threat. “Is it going to take someone getting hurt?” asked Marc Ridgill, a retired Greensboro police officer who was formerly assigned as a school resource officer to Grimsley High School. Ridgill raised the question in a Facebook post published on Saturday, June 13, as protesters for black lives were shutting down Battleground Avenue and bringing their demands to customers in big-box stores like Target. Reaching his conclusion, Ridgill told the mayor: “You are inviting trouble the likes of which you are not equipped to handle. It is only a matter of time before some idiot group from the other extreme shows up and accepts the challenge.” Ridgill’s comments throughout that and another Facebook thread published, alongside other retired law enforcement officers from the Greensboro Police Department and other agencies, continued to ratchet up the volume. “If a child gets hurt during this nonsense, so help them,” he wrote. “We are headed toward armed conflict.” Other commenters explicitly named the historic atrocity in Greensboro that Ridgill only hinted at. “1979,” one wrote. “Nov. 3,” another said. “We know what happened.” On Nov. 3, 1979, a caravan of Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis drove into a black housing project in Greensboro and fatally shot five antiracist organizers while television cameras rolled and police failed to intervene. In another post, Ridgill publicly accused Mayor Vaughan of “allowing felonious acts against citizens,” referencing a complaint that the protesters had prevented a woman from leaving a Target store in the Lawndale Shopping Center. The discussion of protesters purportedly committing felonies prompted a string of comments by people suggesting they would feel justified shooting at protesters or driving cars into them. Discussion about supposed lawless
protesters and what the commenters viewed as a weak city leadership unwilling to take a firm hand with them escalated into speculation about whether Vaughan would allow some version of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, in Seattle to take shape in Greensboro. One commenter, who identified himself as the nephew of two retired Greensboro police captains, wrote, “A couple well placed snipers (police or civilian) will stop another chaz.” Ridgill confidently characterized the incident at Target as a felony although to date no charges have been filed [check to make sure that’s still the case], but at no point in the Facebook threads did he caution commenters that shooting or hitting protesters with vehicles could put them at risk of being criminally charged for assault or manslaughter. “I was caught up in that traffic, couldn’t see what it was, so quickly turned and got out of it, thankfully,” one woman reported on the thread. “But Marc Ridgill: What if they surround my car? I’ve no plans to stop. What if a citizen like the lady at Target pulls a [concealed carry] gun? What if they shoot a/some protesters [sic] in order to get away? My suspicion is that person is vilified, right?” Ridgill remained silent. Ridgill did not respond to repeated phone messages and a Facebook message for this story. “I think that’s extremely irresponsible from someone who claims to support law enforcement,” Mayor Vaughan said in an interview with Triad City Beat. “To actually encourage lawlessness is extremely irresponsible.” Ridgill ran for an at-large seat on Greensboro City Council in 2015, placing a distant fourth in the contest for the three seats. In 2018, he ran for the atlarge seat on the Guilford County School Board, losing to Winston McGregor by more than 20 points. Public Information Officer Ronald Glenn told TCB that the views expressed by retired law enforcement officers and others on Ridgill’s Facebook page do not reflect the Greensboro Police Department. Glenn also said the incident at Target “is being looked into” by the police department. Guilford Metro 911 reflect a call at 4:51 p.m. on June 13: “Caller said his wife is inside the Target hiding b/c
Marc Ridgill, former Greensboro police officer and political candidiate, at a forum in 2015.
she is scared. She is hiding inside Target scared, trying to find her location now, she wants police to come help her.” Shootings, car-ramming attacks and aggressive responses from drivers have been a regular occurrence at protests across the country over the past three weeks. In Greensboro, a video posted by Spectrum News shows an SUV driver barreling down Elm Street and nearly hitting protesters in Greensboro on the first day of protests on May 30. A woman swerved to hit a protester in Denver on May 28, and a similar attack took place in Bakersfield, Calif. the following day. On May 31, a Kernersville man tied to the white supremacist group League of the South fired a pistol in the air during a protest against a Confederate monument in Salisbury. On June 8, an admitted Ku Klux Klan leader drove into protesters attempting to remove a Confederate monument in Richmond, Va., and on Monday a militia activist fired into the air as protesters attempted to tear down a monument honoring the Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate in Albuquerque, NM. On June 6, a man drove into protesters and brandished a firearm in Elkin, about 75 miles west of Greensboro. And
FILE PHOTO
in Seattle on June 7 a man drove his car into protesters and shot a demonstrator who attempted to stop him. In early 2017, as boisterous protests mounted following President Trump’s inauguration, the Republican-controlled NC House passed legislation to provide drivers with limited immunity if they hit protesters on public roadway. The bill provided “that a person driving an automobile while exercising due care is immune from civil liability for any injury to another if the injured person was participating in a protest or demonstration and blocking traffic in a public street or highway at the time of the injury.” The bill received affirmative votes from all but one Republican lawmaker in the Guilford and Forsyth delegations. The sole exception was Majority Whip Jon Hardister, who was counted as an excused absence. All Democratic lawmakers in the delegation voted against the bill. The bill was referred to the Senate, but was dropped from consideration after neo-Nazi James A. Fields killed antiracist Heather Heyer in a car-ramming attack during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. in August 2017. Fields was ultimately convicted of murder.
June 18-24, 2020 Up Front
Screenshots from Facebook between Ridgill and others
Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
In their desire to see the police crack down on protesters blocking public roadways and entering stores, the retired law enforcement officers commenting on Marc Ridgill’s Facebook page accused Chief Brian James of “dereliction of duty” while also suggesting that the chief is caving to Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who they see as beholden progressive voters. Vaughan vigorously disputed that assertion in an interview with TCB. “The chief is not getting any marching orders from the city council,” Vaughan said. “Chief James is 100 percent in control of his police department. He has free rein over the way he runs his police department. He has had absolutely zero interference from me or anyone else on city council.” Considering the reference to Nov. 3, 1979, one retired law enforcement officer who chimed in on the thread might come as a surprise. Larry Gibson was a captain on the force who was involved in the department’s response to the planned march in 1979 that abruptly ended with the five antiracists’ deaths. The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, which was published in 2006, named Gibson as one of seven officers who were “present in intelligence meetings and participated in key decision-making.” The report found that when Edward Dawson, a Ku Klux Klan member and
Greensboro police informant, requested a copy of the march permit, “Gibson did not inquire about his intentions.” “The GPD knew the Klan had a copy of the parade route and that Dawson had repeatedly stated that the Klan had met many times to discuss plans to follow marchers, heckle them and possibly assault them by throwing eggs,” the report said. “No officer recalls any discussion in any planning meetings of the likely consequences of this assault on already emotionally-charged anti-Klan demonstrators in a black neighborhood.” On June 13, Gibson commented on Ridgill’s Facebook page: “Under NC law it is dereliction of duty, a felony, for a police officer to refuse to carry out their duty. The new chief is guilty of a felony and should be prosecuted.” Gibson’s assessment dovetailed with other commenters, including Harlon Costner — a retired federal marshal who once ran for Guilford County sheriff — who accused Chief James and the officers on duty during the Battleground Avenue protest of failing to uphold their oaths. “Like me, he took an oath to serve and protect,” Costner wrote. “He answers to [Vaughan], yes, but that does not mean he must obey an unlawful order.” Ronald Glenn, the department spokesperson, declined to comment directly on the retired police captain’s assertion that the new chief ’s handling of the protests constitutes a felony.
Opinion
A fierce backlash from retired officers
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“He’s probably right that what happened with the riot [in 1979] is an example of poor judgment at a minimum. As to what the police should or should not have done, it’s possible to make a mistake.” Gibson could not be reached for this story. Jeffrey Woods, a history professor at Arkansas Tech University who testified before the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2005, said the rift between retired officers and the current administration at the Greensboro Police Department could be considered a signal of progress, at least to some degree. In 2005, Woods told the truth and reconciliation commission that North Carolina law enforcement in 1979 “generally shared an ideological culture with the Klan,” which, he said, “commonly linked the threat of communist subversion with racial reform.” The shared culture, he said, “had been part of the majority white racially conservative population of the South for decades, generations even.” In an email to TCB on Wednesday, Woods said, “Our history, especially in the South, is plagued by those in civil authority acting on perceived rather than real threats and employing levels of force rooted in prejudice, blind fear and mechanical sadism. “While the reaction of some retired GPD officers reveals an ongoing misassociation of peaceful racial protests with radical subversion and the instigation of violence, that misassociation does not seem to be shared by the mayor’s office or current leadership of the GPD,” Woods continued. “I think that is a positive step in moving forward with the truth and reconciliation process that began 14 years ago.”
News
Screenshots from Facebook between Ridgill and others
“There is discretion under the law, first and foremost,” Glenn said. “More importantly, the goal of the police department is to be responsive to the community. People feel the need to protest. We want to give people the ability to do that safely, and also in a way that protects the safety of the drivers.” City Attorney Charles Watts also said the chief ’s decision to allow the protesters some latitude is well within the bounds of the law. “As to the decision by the police as to how to address the protesters, what [Gibson is] pointing out is a very important aspect of the role that the police play and the chief plays: That’s when to enforce the law, how much — and it’s a discretionary matter.” Watts added, “As to what happened at the store, that’s private property; the store owner did not want us to take any action.” Watts said he doesn’t see any evidence of dereliction of duty by the police during the June 13 protest, adding that he’s not aware of any felony in the state statutes that remotely fits the description of the police response. “What I’d say he’s right about is there’s always a risk,” Watts said. “We hope and believe the chief is making good judgements. But his discretion to make judgments is not taken away by any criminal law that I’m aware of.” Watts added that worldwide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death “is about police using discretion and authority inappropriately. We want them to have the discretion and use it appropriately. We put guns in their pockets and put them in power to enforce the law. We hope they do it with good judgement.” Watts pointed out an irony in the retired police captain questioning the judgement of the current police chief in responding to the black lives matter protests.
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June 18-24, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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‘We let our guard down’: COVID-19 is hitting the Latinx community the hardest in Forsyth
by Jordan Green Almost two thirds of COVID-19 cases in Forsyth County are Latinx people.
COVID-19 is surging through the Latinx community in Forsyth County with a ferocity that lays bare challenging employment and housing realities that make it difficult for many members of the community to protect themselves from the virus. Latinx people account for 68.1 percent of COVID-19 positive cases recorded by the Forsyth County Public Health Department, but only 13.0 percent of the county’s overall population, according to the most recent Census numbers, although some say that their actual share of the population is higher. Six out of 25 people who have died from COVID-19 in Forsyth County — 24 percent — are Latinx. “There’s two major reasons, one being that the majority of the Hispanic community live very close together, and in order to survive, a lot of people will rent out within their own home, so you’re going to have more than one family in the home,” said William Herrera, a retired police officer in Winston-Salem who is active with the Hispanic League. “A lot are surviving paycheck to paycheck and have to go to work,” he continued. “Even when not feeling good, they still have to work because one day off of work without income can have a big impact.” Mari Jo Turner, the Hispanic League’s executive director, said she believes Latinx people make up closer to 17 percent of the Forsyth County population. Those who are not documented were left out when the federal government began making direct deposits into workers’ checking accounts in April. A previous report by Triad City Beat showed how only 13 percent of respondents of a Latinx survey said someone in their household qualified for the stimulus check. “When we started sheltering everybody in place, a lot of the Hispanic/ Latino people were not able to receive the stimulus check,” Turner said. “They continued to go to work, so they could provide for their families.”
TCB reviewed death certificates for 15 of the 25 deaths from COVID-19 in Forsyth County. Among those 15 death certificates, all four of the Latinx people who succumbed to the virus were born in Mexico. They include a 54-yearold construction laborer, a 66-year-old maintenance worker for an apartment complex, a 61-year-old homemaker and a 72-year-old man whose industry classification is listed as “entertainment.” Latinx people are dying of COVID-19 at younger ages than the population as a whole, with 63 as the average age of death, compared to 69 for the county. “Often times you’re finding people who are Hispanic/Latino, they may have jobs in construction work or tasks that are more labor intensive; they may not be socially distancing,” Turner said. “If you’re working together on a job where you have many people working together, it’s harder to social distance.” Latinx people are also experiencing PHOTO COURTESY OF Members with the Hispanic League have been doing COVID-19 HISPANIC LEAGUE the brunt of the pandemic in Durham. outreach in communities. Like Forsyth, the official Latinx populawhere Latinx people officially make up ‘We let our guard down’ tion in Durham County is 13.7 percent, more than 13 percent of the popula“We let our guard down in North but the county public health department tion — also have the highest numbers Carolina and Forsyth County because reports that they account for 56.4 perof positive COVID-19 cases: 84 per it wasn’t hitting as hard as it was hitting cent of positive cases. Pilar Rocha-Goldcases per 10,000 residents in Durham, bigger cities,” William Herrera, the berg, the CEO of El Centro Hispano in 65 in Mecklenburg and 58 in Forsyth, Hispanic League volunteer, said. “As Durham, said during a June 11 roundaccording to the most recent numbers other places have started to open up, table that in addition to lack of access to available from the we’re going to see more cases because we healthcare, one of state Health and are an essential hub for people traveling the major reasons Human Services through from other states.” for the disproporSince the phased reopening began tionate impact is For advice about COVID-19 in Department. In contrast, Guilin North Carolina, the pandemic has that many Latinx Spanish or English, call the ford County with rebounded in the state, with record levels people work in Hispanic League’s COVID-19 Latinx people of new cases over the past weekend. In the construction making up 8.2 the past week, Gov. Roy Cooper and industry. help line at 336-701-6257. percent of the Health and Human Services Secretary “They are more population has 38 Mandy Cohen have expressed concern exposed to the cases per 10,000 about the trendlines, with Cohen saying virus, but also what residents, and on June 8 that “our metrics have moved we hear is they Wake County, with Latinx people makin the wrong direction,” adding in a later don’t have enough PPE, or personal ing up 10.3 percent of the population, briefing: “I think all of those in combiprotection equipment,” she said. has 28 cases per 10,000. nation — more cases that we’re finding The virus’ deadly inroads into the In Guilford County, Latinx people acthrough testing, percentage positive Latinx community across North Carocount for 13.1 percent of cases, although going up, hospitalizations going up — I lina manifested in a grim milestone: On that number could be much higher think those tell us in combination that June 1, 8-year-old Aurea Soto Morales considering that 35.9 percent of cases we are seeing more virus in our commuof Durham became the first child in the are classified as unknown ethnicity. And nities. And I think you can see… that the state to die from COVID-19. Latinx people account for 4.8 percent of timing is very much linked to the last two Notably, Durham and Forsyth, along deaths in Guilford County. to three weeks. It is very much linked to with Mecklenburg — all counties
News Opinion Culture
Members with the Hispanic League have been doing COVID-19 outreach in communities.
Herrera said he sees communication as the most critical need in the effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the Latinx community. “I would like to see a local Spanish news channel,” he said. “To me, it’s the quickest way to get the news out. The Spanish community has to rely on the local Spanish-language papers. Even though there are Spanish channels, they’re more giving information on the biggest cities. I would like to see something more local.” Forsyth County Public Health Director Joshua Swift briefly acknowledged the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Latinx residents during his most recent report to county commis-
sioners on June 11. “Hispanic outreach continues, with increased emphasis on education about how to prevent COVID-19 through various media platforms and by having staff working out in the community as they have been doing for months,” he said. Turner said the Hispanic League is working with the health department to ramp up contact tracing in the Latinx community. “We’re trying to come up with better messaging so we can make this go away,” she said. “It’s hurting us so bad. Part of that is getting the testing done. If we can do the contact tracing, we can get people to quarantine if they’ve been exposed, and not continue spreading the virus.”
Puzzles
hour-long Facebook Live event every Thursday at 11 a.m., Executive Director Mari Jo Turner said. Dr. Reina Rodriguez with the county health department provides a weekly update, and other guests give advice on mental health and topics such as dealing with anxiety resulting from being stuck at home, grieving and keeping children safe at home. During the Mask Winston-Salem project, Turner said the Hispanic League gave out almost 2,000 masks to dozens of small businesses, which in turn distributed them to their employees and customers. She added that the nonprofit Love Out Loud distributed masks to residents in high-risk neighborhoods of Winston-Salem.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HISPANIC LEAGUE
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The Hispanic League has been working with the Forsyth County Department of Public Health and other community partners to distribute masks in the Latinx community and educate people about the importance of social distancing and other preventative measures. Herrera also said the agency is providing financial assistance to families so they can get rooms at hotels to quarantine if someone gets sick. The Hispanic League hosts a weekly,
Up Front
‘It’s hurting us so bad’
June 18-24, 2020
when we started reopening.” Herrera said he personally knows 20 people who have died from COVID-19 in his hometown of Hempstead, NY — part of the US epicenter of the pandemic in the greater New York City area — including five business owners, a volunteer firefighter and his sister. “I know this is real,” he said. “Unless you personally know people that passed away, the reality doesn’t hit you as much as it hits other people.” Martha Mendez, Herrera’s sister, died in a nursing home in New York in early March. Herrera said his sister was one of the best cooks in the family. And she “had the exact penguin walk” as their father, although she was always getting in trouble with him. “She came from El Salvador at an older age and raised her kids as best as she could,” Herrera said. “She had been through a lot in life. Her ex-husband attempted to stab her to death. The police got to the house and stopped it, but she was stabbed 20 times…. She ended up on her own. And survived. She took second and third jobs to pay for her home. “She had a heart attack, and got past that,” he continued. “She had a stroke and got past that. She had a second and third stroke back to back; that’s what finally knocked her out and put her in the nursing home.” During the early days of the pandemic, Herrera and other family members frequently called the nursing home to check on Mendez. “They kept telling us that she was fine, that the doctors were checking up on the patients,” he said. “She had respiratory issues and diabetic issues, but otherwise she was fine. They told us she asked for a glass of water in the middle of the night, and then the next day she passed.”
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June 18-24, 2020
OPINION
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EDITORIAL
Facebook sucks Facebook has shut down our weeks’ worth of stories in one sitting. newspaper’s page three times since Some still do. But many — almost half Monday, “for violating the Facebook — parachute in to our website from Terms of Service” according to an Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other anonymous email, likely issued by AI. aggregators, stick around for a story This is unusual: Generally, poor two and then split. tentially offensive Facebook posts At the same time, Facebook has get flagged individually; the page’s raided the marketing budgets of what owners get a notification about the were once the most loyal clients of alert, and there is an appeals process. the alternative press, giving nothing We know because a year or so back back to the community in return exsome racists reported our Facebook cept more access to content created posts linking to our coverage of white by people other than Facebook. supremacists. Lately, the In all instances, company our posts were has begun a restored. communityIn order for It’s all part of Facebook’s journalism an unceremoniinitiative, mysterious and proprious shutdown a grant of a Facebook that etary algorithm, one that program business page to “supports happen, compeople and knows when you are in plaints must come organizathe market for a new in great numbers, tions aiming perhaps from difto build pair of shoes, but can’t ferent sources but community discern award-winning perhaps not — it through local may be possible Their journalism from Russian news.” for an individual largesse did to make enough not include propaganda memes. of a virtual stink Triad City to bring down the Beat. And hammer. It’s all the fund is part of Facebook’s a fraction of mysterious and proprietary algorithm, what was taken. one that knows when you are in the Facebook actually charges busimarket for a new pair of shoes, but nesses to access more than 5 percent can’t discern actual, award-winning of their own audiences at one time. journalism from Russian propaganda That’s what “boost this post” is all memes. about. Think about that for a minute. The irony is particularly delicious. And then, seemingly on a whim Without asking anyone, Facebook — but more likely because a small inserted itself into the online convergroup of keyboard warriors made us sation between readers and content their special project for a couple days creators — that’s us, along with meme — they remove us from the public creators, TikTok dancers, serial tweetsquare that we created. ers and the makers of cat videos. We’re currently wending our way But unlike the cat video folks, who through the AI web that governs gained access to much wider audiFacebook appeals. And probably, by ences, for local news the proliferation the time this editorial sees print, we of Facebook changed the way we will be back up. interact with our audience. People Or maybe not. Like so many other used to come to a website like ours things, Facebook has taken that and hang out for a while, read a few power away from us, too.
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By Sayaka Matsuoka
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to create public art. He says that the influx of murals in the wake of the protests is exciting but that black artists shouldn’t be relegated to the sidelines. “In the beginning everyone saw this opportunity to get art up in a place that it never has before and probably will never be again, which is on storefronts on main street,” Marsh says. “We’re in a very necessary moment. We’re doing intentional black art which is political in and of itself because usually we are the token on projects, and in this situation, it’s being led by black artists.” The mural at Elsewhere — which was collaboratively designed and created by McClinton and Marsh, along with artists Jamin Guinyard, Neidy Perdomo, Kidd Graves, Tambra Parsons, Xavier Carrington and Quadasia Prescod — depicts the transformation and growth of a young black girl from childhood into adulthood. The idea, McClinton says, was to show how racism can affect a black individual throughout their life. The young girl that McClinton is painting holds a small flower with her outstretched hand. McClinton explains how she’s SAYAKA MATSUOKA A group of artists organized by McClinton and Marsh innocent and has no idea the kind of hate that painted a collaborative mural at Elsewhere in Greensboro. can exist in the world. In the next panel, she’s older, in middle school and is starting to reflect for needs to be fought for,” they said. “At the end of the day, on her experiences. She smells a larger flower that she holds I know there were a lot of white people and I know they did to her face. Further down the line, the girl is a teenager and have good intentions, but at the same time they did silence a wears flowers in her hair and has her fist raised in the air. And lot of black voices and that is a theme…. It just goes to show finally, at the end of the mural, the girl has transformed into that we have a long way to go.” a woman whose peaceful face is angled back towards her past Marsh, who created several other murals downtown recentselves. She lets the flora around her flourish. ly, says he wants to make sure black artists are represented in “We decided to use a black woman because there’s going this moment and in the future. to come a time soon when black women When Jenna Rice’s mural of George Floyd will rise to become leaders,” McClinton was vandalized a few weeks ago, Marsh says explains. “I mean, we’re already leaders but Mayor Nancy Vaughan released a statement ‘If you have artists we’ll start to be acknowledged as leaders…. condemning the act but failed to include out here that aren’t Having a black woman was intentional.” the fact that other works of art by black artGuinyard finished their own mural a few including ones at a black barber shop, from the community ists, weeks ago on a wall at the corner of South were also vandalized with white supremaElm and Lewis streets. Guinyard, who is that’s affected, it cist phrases. one of McClinton’s students, says they “If you have artists out here that aren’t would be less of an got started creating art digitally but soon from the community that’s affected it moved into working with their hands. Their would be less of an opportunity to get real opportunity to get mural depicts an androgynous black figure, art up, political art up,” Marsh says. “This is real art up....’ painted in shades of gray and black, their a state of emergency. When I saw what was face covered by a large red target. Next to going on, I thought that it was intentional the image in large font, Guinyard writes, “In and it’s actually almost violent…. It’s also an America, it is TRADITIONAL to destroy the black body!!” indictment on the elite in this city that you don’t have working “I felt like I had a duty to be out here as a black woman to relationships with these black artists in the first place.” let my voice be heard especially right now during everything McClinton says she hopes the mural at Elsewhere as well as that’s going on,” Guinyard says. “I think it’s very important for others created by black artists in downtown send a message people to actually take a step back and listen to black people of change. and listen to what they have to say.” “I’m educating people through my work,” McClinton says. “I Even though Guinyard has been creating art for years, they believe that public art is an educational tool that educates the said they didn’t know about the opportunity to create art community. It’s a healing power. It’s a voice. The power of art downtown until Marsh reached out to them. And that’s a can change lives…. The power of art can influence people to do problem, they say. the right thing.” “I think that just goes to show that what we’re fighting
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arlene McClinton gingerly paints the young girl’s afro with black paint, carefully filling in the cloudlike shape of her hair to create soft texture and volume. The artist’s eyes are obscured by the reflective sunglasses she wears, but her vision has always been clear. “Art is a visual language,” McClinton says. “All of us right here, we all communicate visually. One of the things I love about public art is that it’s a stage. Public art is a platform. It is our responsibility as artists to abuse the ears of the people that’s visually listening to the work of art.” McClinton, the co-founder of the Artist Bloc and a professor at NC A&T University, has been creating art and mobilizing artists for years. A painter by trade, she grew up in Greensboro and has been working in the city for the past decade to help foster relationships between the community and the arts. On June 11, McClinton worked with a group of artists in front of Elsewhere in Greensboro painting a vast, bright golden mural — one of the newest to pop up downtown after businesses began boarding up their windows in the wake of protests for black lives. “It started from the protesting and the looting and a bunch of artists at one time were seeing all of the wood panels being placed up in front of the storefronts to protect their property,” McClinton says. “And as an artist, when we see wood panels, we see blank walls, we see blank canvases. We thought it was a great time to express ourselves.” McClinton says she and Phillip Marsh, another community artist, noticed that many of the prominent murals being created were by white artists. Examples include pieces like the portrait of George Floyd outside of Crafted: Art of the Street Taco painted by artist Jenna Rice. Artist Gina Franco worked with Vintage to Vogue’s owner Jennifer Graff to coordinate artists, including many black artists, to create several pieces downtown. “We noticed that it was a lot of white artists painting our stories,” McClinton says. “We needed to come out here and get black artists to paint because we are living through this moment, we’re living through this time and we are experiencing this.” Marsh, who owns Rockers Print Shop, a graphic and fine-art firm, has also been working with the city for years
June 18-24, 2020
CULTURE Black creatives make their voices heard through GSO murals
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by Sayaka Matsuoka
he said. “I can’t count how many times I’ve had a cop point a gun in my face.” Davis said he’s learned how to cope in situations like that and has learned to keep his emotions stable and calm. “I know one of the first things is always keeping your hands in sight but it’s more about keeping your emotions in check,” he said. “From my experience, they really do try to bait you…. I have to be as calm and polite as possible but I’m screaming to do the exact opposite. But I have to do that for my own personal safety and the safety of whoever’s with me.” In a video by WFMY that captured his arrest, officers can be seen aggressively pulling Davis’ arms and hair even though he remained calm and was not resisting. And that’s the kind of thing that Davis said he’s protesting. “They were showing themselves to be who they are,” he said. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with fighting back against an oppressive regime.”
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June 18-24, 2020
CULTURE Why I fight: Protesters share their reasons for fighting for black lives
Malik Perry Davis sits in front of the statue where he was arrested on June 1.
SAYAKA MATSUOKA
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alik Perry Davis — On climbing the Nathaniel Greene statue
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When Malik Perry Davis walked out of his apartment on June 1, he knew he was going to climb the Gen. Nathanael Greene statue in downtown Greensboro. “I picked this location because it was downtown and because it’s Nathanael Greene, a general in the revolutionary army,” Davis said in an interview at the statue. “I was pretty much saying, this is a revolution; the time for all of this is over.” Davis, who protested a few days before he climbed the statue, was arrested on the evening of June 1 for violating the curfew that had been put in place that day. He and three other individuals were arrested that day, two for curfew violations and one for bringing weapons of mass destruction. And although three of the individuals were arrested for the same crime and Davis did not have any prior convictions, Davis’ bail was the most expensive at $500 compared to the $100 set for a white protester and $300 set for an Asian protester. Davis said he sat peacefully on top of the statue for hours to send a message. “I realized that the curfew had nothing to do with looting,” he said. “It had more to do with trying to silence the peaceful protests that were going on. I wanted to distinguish between the fact that there are peaceful protests.” Davis said that he deliberately smoked marijuana while he was up on the statue too, although he was never charged with possession in the end, to protest the thousands of black individuals in jail for nonviolent drug offenses. Davis also wrote the words of the Constitution on his stomach before he climbed up. “In this country, it seems that the Constitution doesn’t mean anything for African Americans or people of color or minorities,” he said. “We don’t have any of the same liberties or civil rights.” Davis, who is mixed race, said he’s been pulled over by police multiple times in the past but has never been charged with anything. He also said that he is perceived differently in society during the summer when his skin gets darker than in the winter, when he is lighter. “I have had so many encounters with the police that never should have happened,”
Terrell Dungee wrote messages on the inside of pizza boxes at his job.
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errell Dungee — On bringing the fight to work
SAYAKA MATSUOKA
Terrell Dungee brought the fight for justice from the streets to his job. On June 7, Dungee decided to write messages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the inside of Papa John’s pizza boxes meant for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. “I thought it would be a beautiful time to send a message,” Dungee said in an interview. “The climate that we’re living in right now and the inaction that the black community has felt for so long from their government on issues like this, I’ve gotten so tired of waiting for people to do the right thing. I thought this was the right thing to do.” Dungee, who is a delivery driver for Papa John’s, was called in to work at about 8 p.m. when a large order by the Guilford County sheriff’s office came in. Dungee and one of his white coworkers, wrote messages like, “Black lives matter” and, “Stop killing us” on the inside of the lids of the pizza boxes.
June 18-24, 2020 Up Front News
Cherizar Crippen has been an organizer and activist for five years.
JASON GRIMES
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Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
“The black transgender migrant is the most vulnerable person in our society,” Crippen said. And despite the fact that women make less money than men and transgender individuals live significantly shorter lives than heterosexual individuals, Crippen points out that most of the people engaging with Black Lives Matter on Facebook are women and so are the people that donate to mutual funds. “I cannot see why men cannot be bothered,” she said. “We are still waiting on them…. What helps me helps black men, and what helps black people helps white people…. It’s a question of whether they are able to not be in a leadership role but in a support role instead.” As one of the organizers who is a part of Greensboro Rising, Crippen and others herizar Crippen — On centering black LGBTQ+ voices have been advocating for police reforms within the city. Cherizar Crippen learned how to organize from her childhood as a Jehovah’s “I would love to abolish the police,” she said. “I would love to abolish prisons…. Witness. We’re not saying we’re going to have the answers tomorrow. It’s also about defund“They are some of the best organizers in the whole world,” she said in an ing the police. I know that it ruffles feathers. People think of all of the worst things interview. “They do canvassing, one-on-ones, Bible study, public speaking, scholarship possible… but we want the county to stop funding police officers in schools. We’ve — we studied a book every year. All the things I learned from that.” seen models that were replaced with therapy and yoga. We see these things in action For the last decade, Crippen has been using the skills she gained from when she was for white people at white schools all the time. That’s what I want is more access for younger to organize and protest for black lives. people.” “When Trayvon Martin died was when I got involved,” she said. “You As someone who has been protesting and organizing for black lives can’t just sit on the couch and let your people perish, especially the for the past five years, Crippen said she believes this moment is different youth.” ‘You can’t just sit because so many things are compounded at one time. Crippen, a bisexual black woman with indigenous heritage, is one of on the couch and “We have every state protesting, we have every country protesting,” the organizers with Greensboro Rising, and laments the fact that black she said. “We were in a pandemic and we saw that our government can’t let your people LGBTQ+ individuals are not always recognized for their work in grasstake care of us. All of these promises of upward mobility came crashing roots movements. perish, especially down on everyone. They woke up and see that everything we’ve been “We can go back to the ’60s and ’70s to see that,” she said. “We can the youth.’ told is a lie. And then you couldn’t be outside…. The mental health toll look at MLK and Malcolm X, but you don’t see the queer folks or the was so immense, and then when I turn on the TV and see that white women that were behind them doing all the work.” people did not take a day off racism, it’s a powder keg.” Crippen points out the fact that many of the leaders in the moveAnd even though it’s hard and it’s tiring and it’s seemingly never-endment, including the founders of Black Lives Matter, are black women or ing, Crippen said she’s prepared and willing to keep fighting. black queer individuals. “I’m going to meditate, I’m going to take a shower,” she said. “And I’m not going She said that to move forward, she wants black men to understand the struggles anywhere. I’m going to fight. I’m not going to leave. I’m not going to fall apart.” that black women and black LGBTQ+ individuals go through.
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“I thought that if they saw it coming from somewhere they weren’t expecting it, it would shock them into action,” Dungee said. “I might not be downtown with the protests, but it’s an issue that I think about every time I walk out of the house as a black queer male. I shouldn’t have to fear other people just because of the color of my skin.” After he wrote the messages, Dungee and his coworker were reprimanded by management and in the end, new pizza boxes were used for the order. But when the officer from the sheriff’s office came inside to pick up the order, Dungee said he decided to have a conversation with him. In a video posted by Dungee, the officer, who was white, can be seen getting flustered and uncomfortable, and eventually leaving the store while Dungee was trying to talk to him. “I ended up going out and talking to him,” Dungee recalled. “I let him know my relationship with cops. I told him how my mom was a single parent and when my brother and I would get out of hand, she would call the cops. They were stern with us but tried to let us know right from wrong.” Still, the officer remained noticeably uncomfortable, Dungee said. Afterwards, one of the other officers who came to pick up the order called the Papa John’s headquarters and filed a complaint, according to Dungee. “They made a comment about how we were verbally abusive and how they were scared to eat the food now,” Dungee said. The next day, Dungee got a call from an employee at the sheriff’s office, who apologized to him for reporting him to Papa John’s. “I told him that this has nothing to do with you personally, this has to do with the structural of policing in our society,” Dungee said. Dungee has not lost his job at Papa John’s, but he said he was fully prepared for that possibility when he made the choice to write the messages. “To me, this moment is bigger than a paycheck,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have constantly put profit before African Americans in this country and I couldn’t do that for one more day…. I am aware of how much the company doesn’t care about me. There was no hazard pay during coronavirus, while they are still making a huge profit. All they sent us was a shirt that said, ‘We’re essential.’ That let me know where I stood with Papa John’s.” Dungee hosted a virtual “smoke in” protest on Saturday in which attendees could talk about the impact of policing on black and brown communities while smoking marijuana at home. He plans to host more events in the future to keep fighting injustice. “I’m challenging everyone that’s going to participate to talk about systematic racism,” Dungee said. “Honestly this whole issue with the black community and police is not going to heal overnight…. I grew up hating my blackness. I had to be seen as nonthreatening, and even as nonthreatening as I’ve been, I’ve just been another n***** to them. This shows that I can’t play their game. For 400 years we’ve been in their custody and they’ve blatantly abused us at every turn.”
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June 18-24, 2020
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8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence at the Educators for Racial Justice Vigil in front of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro on June 14.
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1 Activity that may use multiple dice, for short 4 Friedlander of “30 Rock” 9 Former Soviet spy org. 12 What the snooty put on 14 “Fingers crossed!” 15 “The Matrix Reloaded” role 16 Esoteric bit of pop culture that’s mired? 18 Do a sub service? 19 Keen observer of surroundings 20 Twitch subscription levels, e.g. 22 “Well, ___-di-dah!” 23 Burger topper 26 Concave cooker 29 Ill-mannered guy 31 Decent stand-in ©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 34 Novelist Patchett 35 MLB figures 37 Entertainment awards acronym 38 Use as a bed 40 Carte lead-in 41 Put on ___ 42 “Stay (I Missed You)” singer Lisa 43 “Angels and Earthly Creatures” poet Wylie 45 Tax preparer busy in Apr. (but later this year) 46 Defunct Microsoft encyclopedia made Answers from last issue obsolete by Wikipedia 48 “Tic ___ Dough” 21 Archipelago components 49 Georgia, from 1921 to 1991 (abbr.) 24 Roving adventurously 50 Creature on a slide 25 Electric guitar pioneer Paul 52 Word ignored when alphabetizing 26 2008 Pixar film about a robot 54 Rapper whose hologram appeared at Coachella 27 Ring-making material? 56 Improve 28 Protective covering that released Mega 61 Abbr. at the bottom of some applications Man and Street Fighter? 62 Noodle dish that gears up for skateboarding? 30 Place for paternity testing 65 Bustle of activity 32 Backyard buildings popping up now that 66 “Layer Cake” actress Sienna people have chickens for pets 67 Kirlian photography phenomenon, supposedly 33 Battling 68 May celebrant 36 Pharmaceutical founder Lilly 69 Facilitated 39 One of two presidents with two Ivy 70 Tax form ID League degrees 41 Like an angry cat’s back Down 43 Summer, in France 1 Shed tool 44 Granola concoction, in some places 2 “Escape (The ___ Colada Song)” 47 Falco’s request to Amadeus 3 Bryant Gumbel’s brother 51 “Hello” singer 4 “Friends” spinoff 53 “Let’s Roll” jazz singer James 5 Bunk-bed choice 54 Giants or Titans 6 12 of 12, briefly 55 Backtracking computer command 7 Sch. that’s home to the Sun Devils 57 Commentator’s page 8 Racetrack advantage, theoretically 58 Consequently 9 Notes for sopranos that are only so tall? 59 Some Mr. Potato Head parts 10 Equipment 60 “Knives Out” director Johnson 11 Automated programs 63 “Boyz N the Hood” actress Long 13 Move merchandise 64 Chicago Loop carriers 14 Country/comedy series with Buck Owens 17 Clergy official
EVENTS
June 18-24, 2020
CROSSWORD ‘That’s the Joint’—taking a few. SUDOKU
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