TCB July 2, 2020 — Black self-care matters, too

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

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black self-care The importance of mental healthcare in the Black community, right now PAGE 8

matters, too Trapped at Neuse PAGE 5

The lady with the gun PAGE 2

NCGA’s midnight secrets PAGE 7

July 2-8, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The lady with the gun

Three days later, I’m still thinkIt was a white woman, just a couple clicks up the generaing about the gun. tional ladder from me. According to an organizer, she took It happened on June 26, as I out a pistol and placed it on the seat next to her, making was embedded with the protest sure that everyone who passed her car saw it. group known as the Three, who The protestors seemed surprised. “We don’t got no spent most of the afternoon guns,” one shouted. But they went their way and, eventushutting down Friendly Center ally, the lady with the gun went hers. It was just a footnote, in Greensboro with marches, really, one of a thousand such brushstrokes that make the

by Brian Clarey street takeovers and other acts of picture, and ultimately inconsequential to the story. disruption in service to Black Lives Matter.

So why do I keep thinking about the lady with the gun, We’ve been covering these protests for a while now, and what she thought was going to happen, what she would each has moments that stick with us, small points on the have done if it did? narrative arc that grab us, pull us along.

I read an article in the Washington Post in 2014 referencThat day I saw retail workers come out of their shops, ing a study about relationships between white people and fists raised in solidarity. I saw a young, Black organizer inBlack people, and also a quote from Chris Rock: teract with an older woman stuck in her “All my black friends have a bunch of car in a moment so affecting it ended white friends. And all my white friends in cathartic tears. I saw Harris Teeter have one black friend.”

According to the set out water for 40 or so occupying But it’s a bit worse than Rock’s anecorganizer, she took protesters, and allow their employees dotal evidence implies. to take part. I saw a car muscle through This study by the Public Religion out a pistol and placed a line of bicycle protesters near Ben & Research Institute found that more than it on the seat next to Jerry’s, where the #BLM crew had just 75 percent of US white people don’t her, making sure that gotten free ice cream. have any Black friends — nor any Asian I saw cops in riot gear and weaponor Latinx people in their friend circles. everyone who passed ized bicycles, as well as the LRAD sonic Astonishing. But revealing. her car saw it. disruption device — a non-chemical Maybe the lady with the gun doesn’t form of crowd control — mounted atop know any Black people? Maybe all she’s a police vehicle and pointed right at us. seen are looting videos? Maybe she was I saw so much anger and passion on the unable to discern between emphatic faces of protestors, rage and fear all around. political protesters and a roving gang of marauders set on Rage and fear. dragging ladies from their cars?

I never saw the gun. This was when the group had taken And maybe I shouldn’t be making excuses for her. over the intersection at Northline Avenue just outside the Because, when faced with an energetic group of young Green Valley Road entrance, that incorporates the West people using their time to bend the arc of justice, her first Wendover exit. Traffic had backed up about a dozen cars instinct was not to reflect on the injustices they may have or so on the ramp, and some of the protestors marched experienced and witnessed, or listen to their message, or down to Wendover, past the growing line of cars, chanting even drop it into Park and turn on the radio. and taunting as they went.

Instead she reached for her gun.

Then one of the organizers shouted, “This one’s got a And the protest went on, undaunted. gun!”

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 Cover image: Amid protests and pandemic, SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka Black self-care matters, too. [Design by Robert niksnacksblog@gmail.com Paquette]

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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ART ART DIRECTOR 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.

July 2-8, 2020

CITY LIFE July 2-5, 2019

by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY July 2

Taco Thursday @ Craft City Sip-In (GSO) 4 p.m.

Kona Ice Fundraiser @ Sam’s Club (GSO) 12 p.m.

Kona Ice of Greensboro is hosting a fundraiser at Sam’s Club to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Stop by and cool off with a Kona!

PineStock 2020 @ Pine Stock Tavern (W-S) 6 p.m.

Taqueria El Azteca Taco Truck will be at Craft City every Thursday for a while, ready to satisfy your taco cravings! You can find more information on their Facebook page.

Tintypes @ Winston-Salem Theater Alliance (W-S) 6:45 p.m.

Join the theater as they perform this Tony-nominated musical tale of American history from 1890-1917, told through the stories of five representatives of the time period. All performances will be outside the venue. Visit the theater’s event page to purchase tickets and to learn more information.

FRIDAY July 3

Virtual Food Drive @ Blue Ridge Companies (HP) All Day

Blackonomics @ Hooper Funeral Home (W-S) 10 a.m.

Thirsty brings to you Blackonomics, an outdoor market that encourages shopping with Black businesses. Meet them at the corner of 14th Street and Clairmount to show your support.

Fourth of July Celebration @ Rody’s Tavern (GSO) 3 p.m.

Join Roosevelt Heights at Rody’s Tavern for a musical celebration of Independence Day. Check out the band’s Facebook page to learn more about them.

Gather your tie-dye and love beads and head to Pine Stock Tavern for this 1969-themed, weekend-long musical festival of peace and love. Admission is $2 per person per day. Check out the event page for more info.

SATURDAY July 4

Bountiful Land Food for All Farmers Market @ 701 E. Washington Drive (HP) 10 a.m.

Icons Drag Dinner Show @ Chemistry Nightclub (GSO) 8 p.m.

Greensboro Drag Brunch is hosting a celebrity illusions drag show for all to enjoy. Strict social distancing is enforced so capacity is limited. Visit the event page to purchase your ticket and reserve your space.

SUNDAY July 5 The Piedmont Triad Apartment Association needs your help to fight against childhood hunger and are hosting a virtual food drive. All proceeds will directly benefit Second Harvest Food Bank, who will use the money for meals for families, children, seniors, and displaced hospital workers.

Use this link to donate.

The Bountiful Land Farmers Market aims to bring fresh affordable food to local food deserts by selling fertilizer-free, pesticidefree, and herbicide-free produce. Volunteers are needed! Visit the event page to sign up.

Drive Through Food Drive & Sock Drop @ Fellowship Presbyterian Church (GSO) 11 a.m.

Greensboro Urban Ministry is hosting a drive through food and sock drive. The food will stock GUM’s pantry, and the socks will go to men living in Weaver House Shelter. To see a list of items needed the most, visit this link.

Disclaimer: A lot of events are being canceled — please call or check websites before you commit.

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July 2-8, 2020

Coronavirus in the Triad:

News

Up Front

(as of Wednesday, July 1, compared to last week)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC

66,513 (+10,339)

Forsyth

3,077 (+398)

Guilford County

2,891 (+409)

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

COVID-19 deaths NC

1,372 (+100)

Forsyth

35 (+4)

Guilford

115 (+5)

Documented recoveries NC

45,538 (+8,617)

Forsyth

1,952 (+290)

Guilford

1,648 (+230)

Puzzles

Hospitalizations

4

NC

901 (-5)

Forsyth

55 (+5)

Guilford

359 (+36)

NEWS

News

Left to right: Danny Costner, Frank Baber and Perry Pitts are all incarerated at the Neuse Correctional Institute in Goldsboro.

Shot in the Triad

‘Neuse Correctional is lying to the public saying we’re back to normal.’

Puzzles

Public Safety, writing that her client “has several underlying conditions that put him at high risk if he contracts COVID.” She added, “I understand there has been a resumption of transfers, but this is terrifying — Neuse has had the largest outbreak.”

Harrison responded: “I am not sure what you are asking me to do here.

While it is true that Neuse did have an outbreak of COVID-19 in April, Neuse CI has resumed normal operations (‘normal’ meaning subject to the same COVID-19 restrictions to which all facilities are subject). Mr. Pitts was transferred to Neuse because he was promoted from medium custody to minimum I, and the facility he was previously housed in (Pender CI) is not a minimum-custody facility.”

Harrison said that while she understood Pitts’ concerns, “I would respectfully point out that those are concerns that are likely widely shared by many offenders and, while understandable, the department is not in a position to permit COVID-19 concerns to prevent it from utilizing available space at operational facilities.”

Pitts suffers from asthma, hypertension, seizures and obesity, Mannette has said, and an intellectual disability compromises his capacity to make good decisions to protect his health.

Pitts said when he arrived at Neuse, he was placed in a “recovery dorm for COVID-19” after reporting a sore throat.

“My bunkie said he had been in there 14 days; he’s still got sinus and cough-

Culture

they’ve been sending here,” Baber said.

Institution in Columbus County.

Jerry Higgins, a spokesperson for the “They did not test me for COVID-19 state Department of Public Safety, said when I transferred,” said the 44-year in an email to TCB that at the time of old Costner, who is serving time for an the May 27 transfer, “Neuse Correcobtaining property by false pretense contional Institution may have been one of viction as a result of writing bad checks. the safest prisons to move offenders to “I had an upper respiratory infection…. considering that the offender population I started raising hell…. They put me imeither tested positive and were presumed mediately into population.” Costner said recovered (meaning they are not contahe has Type 2 diabetes. gious) or were found to be COVID-19 Perry Pitts, a 49-year-old Winstonnegative.”

Salem man who is serving time for 2018 Baber and other incarcerated persons drug conviction, said he had expected said they were not to be transferred to tested before they Randolph County were transferred into Correctional Center, Neuse. Baber said a minimum-custody he pleaded for a test facility in Asheboro after suffering from that has reported headaches. He got only nine COthe test on June 17 VID-19 cases. Pitts and it came back has maintained an negative. But he unblemished record said the sample was of conduct since he taken from a throat started serving his – Danny Costner, an inswab instead of the sentence in October standard nasal swab, mate at Neuse Correctional 2018 and is classiand he doesn’t trust fied as a minimumInstitute the accuracy of the custody prisoner. results. Baber said But instead of he was under quargoing to Randolph antine for COVCounty, Pitts wound ID-19 symptoms at up joining Baber Pender, before he transferred to Neuse. and four other prisoners from Pender on “Neuse Correctional is lying to the the bus to Neuse. public saying we’re back to normal,” After learning from his sister that he said Danny Costner, who like Baber, arwas at Neuse, Kellie Mannette, Pitts’ rived at Neuse on May 27. Costner was lawyer emailed Jodi Harrison, deputy previously housed at Tabor Correctional general counsel for the Department of

FILE PHOTOS

Opinion

Seven weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak swept through Neuse Correction Institution, infecting more than half of the men housed there, the NC Division of Adult Correction began resuming transfers among the dozens of facilities in the system on May 27 to make room for new offenders arriving from county jails after sentencing.

Many of those transferred between facilities on May 27 are people with underlying health conditions, including asthma, diabetes and hypertension, and they were horrified to discover that they were headed to Neuse, the facility with the highest number of infections and deaths.

The state Department of Public Safety reports that 466 out of 795 incarcerated persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 are housed at Neuse, and three out of the five incarcerated persons who have died from the virus are at the 788-capacity, medium- and minimumcustody facility in Goldsboro.

Three men housed at Neuse who contacted Triad City Beat described a rising sense of frustration with the prison and fear that the virus will rebound due to crowded conditions that make social distancing impossible, uneven use of masks, the intermixing of healthy and sick people, and haphazard testing as the virus spread through the system over the past three months.

“Everybody that got off that bus that day had chronic health issues,” Frank Baber told TCB. “How you gonna send someone with chronic issues to a hotspot?”

The 57-year-old Baber, who went to prison on a drug charge in 2016, said he suffers from a lung disorder and a chronic heart condition. He relies on a CPAP machine — short for “continuous positive airway pressure” — to help him breathe at night, but he said he’s unable to use it because there’s no electrical outlet near his bed and he doesn’t have access to cleaning supplies to keep it sanitized.

“They’re playing guinea pigs with anyone with an underlying health issue

Up Front

Prisoners with underlying medical conditions question why they were transferred to Neuse CI, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the North Carolina prison system.

July 2-8, 2020

‘I wasn’t issued a death sentence’: Prisoners in poor health question why they were sent to the state’s worst COVID hotspot

by Jordan Green

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

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ing,” Pitts told TCB on June 26. “I’ve been having light symptoms — headaches, throat swolled up and my body aching. I don’t know whether I have it or not.”

As of Monday, Pitts said he still had not been tested for COVID-19.

‘Deliberate indifference to substantial risks of serious harm’

On June 18, the Department of Public Safety announced a plan to test everyone for COVID-19 in the state prison system, a process that’s expected to take 60 days at a cost of $3.3 million. The state said testing will begin at Albemarle Correctional Institution and also prioritize new offenders arriving from county jails.

The decision came just two days after a superior court judge issued a written order finding that the ACLU of North Carolina and other plaintiffs suing the state “are likely to establish deliberate indifference to substantial risks of serious harm created by (1) overcrowding and cohort-based social distancing, (2) transfers, and (3) disparate levels of COVID-19 protections at different facilities.” The judge also ordered the state to halt transfers, other than for medical reasons or to address immediate risk to inmate safety, unless they’re first tested for COVID-19.

Ben Finholt, director of the Just Sentencing Project at NC Prisoner Legal Services, said it’s understandable that the state didn’t immediately test everyone in the prison system in mid-March when the pandemic arrived in North Carolina, considering that testing was not widely available. But by mid-April, that was no longer the case.

“Once you have the Neuse outbreak, if you decide you’re going to keep transferring people around the state, then I think it’s irresponsible not to test everybody,” Finholt said. “The decision to transfer people could have been defended if they had tested everybody in their custody. If you don’t do the testing, then you’re telling everybody who works for you: ‘We’re not that concerned about you.’ Yet I haven’t seen a single thing that indicates we shouldn’t be extremely concerned about the pandemic.”

Higgins, the Department of Public Safety spokesperson, responded that “COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges all across the country.”

Asked why the state didn’t implement universal testing in prisons earlier when public-health experts were warning that detention facilities provide ideal condition for the spread of COVID-19,

Higgins responded that “the division of people in your care. In this case, when prisons reviewed the existing policies and COVID-19 arrives, that responsibility procedures in preparation to battle the requires social distancing. I think the way virus,” and followed guidance from the to do that is to say, ‘Okay, this is difficult, Centers for Disease Control and Prevenbut we need to reduce the population.’” tion.

‘I wasn’t issued a death Higgins told TCB that “state prisons are not overcrowded” — a statement at sentence. I want to go home.’

Echoing the constitutional claim in the odds with the determination published ACLU lawsuit, Baber, Pitts and Costner in Judge Vinston Rozier Jr.’s June 16 are all seeking early release based on the preliminary injunction.

Eighth Amendment prohibition against Baber and Costner provided descripcruel and unusual punishment under the tions of their proximity to others housed US Constitution, or a similar provision at Neuse Correctional Institution that in the North Carolina Constitution. consistently portray a facility where In a motion for appropriate relief filed social distancing is impossible. Speaking through his lawyer in Forsyth County by phone to TCB on June 25, Baber said court, Pitts argues that under the circumhe was sitting next to a table of people stance of the COVID-19 pandemic, playing cards and was close enough that requiring him to complete his sentence he could have touched two of the playas it was originally imposed would be ers. He said inmates eat in the cafeteria cruel punishment.

10 inches apart. Baber and Costner Baber, who is scheduled for release said those housed at Neuse have limited in early November, wrote in his grievaccess to the yard, where they might get ance that he was exposed to COVID-19 fresh air. because Neuse Baber and Correctional Pitts also said Institution failed that some of to test prisoners those housed at and staff coming Neuse wear faceinto the facility. masks provided “The warden, by the prison Mr. [Morris] and others Reid and his don’t; there’s no staff knew the enforcement. correctional of“Given that ficers had tested they’ve been orpositive for the dered to test evvirus, but failed erybody, I think to keep them they should take from coming to a much harder look at who – Ben Finholt, director of the Just work, which was deliberate indifneeds to be in Sentencing Project ference,” Baber prison and who said, reading doesn’t in an his grievance to effort to reduce TCB over the phone. “NC Department the number of people in their custody,” of Public Safety and Neuse Correctional Finholt said. “The best way to deal with did not respond in a safe way or in a COVID-19 is through social distancing. reasonable manner to stop the spread That’s not possible with the numbers of of COVID-19. Prison officials knew on people being housed by DPS right now.”

3-25-20 that some correctional officers Finholt added that it’s not easy to contracted COVID-19 and purposely make a determination about which ignored the prison’s duty to keep me safe people can safely be released early or and protect me from unreasonable risk.” allowed to complete their sentences Responding to Baber’s claims, Higthrough some type of home confinement gins, the DPS spokesperson wrote, “All arrangement. staff, including wardens, were provided “It would be hard to be the person information regarding COVID-19 and at DPS who should make the decision what to do if they thought they may about who should be in prison and who have contracted the virus. Medical shouldn’t,” Finholt said. “But that’s the screenings have been in place for all staff job the state takes on when it decides entering a prison. No-touch thermomit’s going to house over 30,000 people in eters are used in all screenings. Entry is prison. What comes with that is the redenied to anyone who has a temperature sponsibility to ensure the welfare of the

‘The best way to deal with COVID-19 is through social distancing. That’s not possible with the numbers of people being housed by DPS right now.’

of 100 degrees or more, has symptoms of respiratory illness or who have been exposed in the past 14 days to anyone who may be suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19.”

Costner, who is scheduled for release in January 2021, also made an Eighth Amendment claim in his grievance.

“They put us in harm and they put us at risk because they made the [correctional officers] sign a paper saying they would come to work even if they had COVID-19, and that they would not talk to the press,” he told TCB. “They would come to work if they were sick or not, or they would be terminated, yet again putting us at unreasonable risk.”

Baber said anger among those housed at Neuse about the administration’s seeming lack of concern for their safety is reaching a boiling point.

“As far as riots and stuff, it’s lucky someone hasn’t been killed the way we’re being treated,” he said. “They’re stirring a pot.”

In 2016, inmates reportedly broke windows and set fires during a riot at Neuse, and it took the prison response team and local law enforcement several hours to get the situation under control.

The clash resulted in one inmate and one staff member being hospitalized.

In early April, after two inmates tested positive for COVID-19, prison staff reportedly used force to get inmates to go back into their cells in response to what the Department of Public Safety called an “organized prison protest” while Warden Reid and members of custodial and medical staff attempted to speak with a small number of inmates outside their dormitory.

Costner said his bunkmate told him about the COVID-19 outbreak in April.

“He had to help these guys when this shit went down in April,” he said. “They were crapping on themselves, urinating on themselves; they’re throwing up on themselves. They could barely keep themselves fed. They’re in their sixties and seventies, and they said, ‘Help me, help me.’ And the staff just walked on by.

“It’s very cruel and unusual,” Costner continued. “I wasn’t issued a death sentence. I want to go home.”

He said he thinks about his two sons, who live with their mother in Pfafftown, outside of Winston-Salem.

“I don’t want my boys to come to my grave and say, ‘Daddy, I miss you,’” he said.

OPINION In the NCGA, nothing good happens after midnight

by Clay Jones

Up Front News

claytoonz.com

Opinion Culture

These things that pass for governance until now they were considered public in a failed state happen all the time now: record. bad bills, dirty tricks, deliberate misinPerhaps this doesn’t sound like a big formation — or worse, disinformation deal. But if it weren’t for this exception, from what are supposed to be our most we would not have seen the coroner’s retrusted sources. port on Marcus Smith, the one that ruled It’s been going on for years in the it a homicide. And it could potentially North Carolina General Assembly, since block records for citizen deaths at the even before the Republicans took conhands of police. trol in 2010. And this most current revolt By the time the Senate ratified it, well against the very notion of representative after midnight, it was 17 pages, with the government is but a lone exrecords restrictions left in, ample in what have become plus rules for involuntary annals of deceit. commitment, restaurant We would SB 168 began life as a rules, disbursement changes cannabis bill — three pages for DHHS block grants and have missed expanding the use of CBD more. the coroner’s oil for certain treatments: Still nothing about canThe North Carolina Alterna- report on nabis. tive Treatment Act. Then It was passed by both the Marcus Smith. House and the Senate — it became Bethany’s Law, allowing for straight-up caneasily, eventually, at 1 a.m. nabis oil in some circumAnd it wasn’t until a raft of stances. journalists cried foul that House MajorBy its fifth edition, in late February, ity Leader John Bell told the News & it had become a health and human Observer that a fix was in the works. services omnibus, with no mention of Before that, rapper Ice Cube weighed cannabis at all, but with some benefits in on Twitter, imploring that Gov. Roy for at-risk juveniles charged with crimes.

Cooper veto the bill.

Also tucked in was this: “Establishment “You know most crooks do their crimes of confidentiality for certain death invesafter midnight,” he tweeted. “Governor tigation information.” This piece renders Cooper do not sign this into law. Don’t death records from the chief medical give more cover for Killer Cops.” examiner as confidential, whereas up

Claytoonz

July 2-8, 2020

EDITORIAL

Take charge of your mind, body and spirit

3723 West Market Street, Unit–B, Greensboro, NC 27403 jillclarey3@gmail.com www.thenaturalpathwithjillclarey.com

Puzzles

(336) 456-4743

Shot in the Triad

Test pH balance, allergies, hormones Balance diet, lifestyle and emotions Create a personalized health and nutrition plan

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July 2-8, 2020 Up Front

by Sayaka Matsuoka

F

irst came the virus, then came the uprising.

At virtually every turn this year, Black Americans have been dealt blow after traumatic blow on top of the ongoing burden of centuries of mistreatment from an unjust system built on racism and white supremacy. And with uprisings against systemic racism and police brutality bubbling up in every state, it’s hard to escape the perpetual reminder that this country wasn’t built for them despite being built by them.

Black lives matter, but Black mental health matters too. As activists take to the streets to fight for their lives and as front-line workers — who are often people of color — continue to bear the brunt of the virus, local Black mental health professionals and activists talk about the importance of self-care and mental health awareness in the Black community, especially now.

Culture

Opinion

News

CULTURE Amid protests and pandemic, Black self-care matters, too

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Tamara Jeffries

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JANIYAH SHELTON

‘Yoga brings you back to balance’

Tamara Jeffries never intended to become a yoga instructor.

A Bennett College journalism professor and former editor in chief of Essence magazine, Jeffries initially began practicing yoga in the ’80s when she was going through a difficult time in her life. She decided to take yoga teacher training to deepen her practice but didn’t actually use her license to teach others until much later.

In 2013, after she was employed at Bennett, Jeffries decided to teach a small yoga class on campus. It filled up immediately.

“I had 30 people in each class and

then people were coming to me like, ‘Can you please let me in?’ And I was like ‘What’s going on? Why do y’all wanna be here?’” Jeffries says.

She asked the women who were taking the class through a survey whether they had anxiety or depression and found that many of them did. That’s when Jeffries realized that yoga could be a form of therapy for her students.

“What we know is that mental health is an issue on all college campuses but when you’re looking at the subsets in our population, depression and anxiety tends to be high among women, it tends to be high in teenagers, and it tends to be high in Black folks,” Jeffries says. “On our campus there’s almost no way out; you’re at risk one way or another.”

Since she started teaching years ago, Jeffries also started teaching weekly classes at Rise and Flow yoga studio in Greensboro because she kept hearing from women, particularly Black women, that they wanted to take her classes. And for many, having a Black teacher can mean that they are able to experience the class without any inhibitions.

“If you are coming to Rise and Flow, you’re going to get a Black teacher,” Jeffries says. “That makes a difference to people because the reason that a lot of people come to yoga nine out of 10 times is to stretch and to relax, but if you are in a situation and you’re concerned about microaggressions, you can’t do that…. I go to studios all the time and I might be the only Black person in the room, but it’s a different feeling and a different sense when I’m in a room with other Black folks with a Black teacher.”

Jeffries talks about whole yoga, or the idea that yoga is more than just the physical movement of one’s body. Rather, she thinks of it as the breath and the body, the philosophy and the science behind the practice. She also tries to teach her students how to practice the principles of yoga off of the mat.

“Like when you are taking a test, did you practice truthfulness by not cheating? Or when you were having a disagreement with your roommate, did you practice ahimsa or nonviolence by not harming her?” Jeffries explains. “It’s about how are we living our lives according to yoga philosophy.

And in these stressful and unprecedented times, Jeffries says everyone can learn to care for themselves through yogic principles.

“The thing I keep preaching is to be still, stop, take a breath,” she says. “There’s a lot going on; take a breath. Take the time that you need. I think of my grandmother who after dinner would sit on the porch. She would just sit. It wasn’t about chatting; it was just sitting. Just be still and quiet at the end of the day…. Doing your activism is an important thing to do psychologically. You can take action, and it helps you feel less out of control…. But you still have to be still. The meditative part of yoga is being still. Get off your phone. Give yourself some quiet time and see what bubbles up and then honor your gift and then be gentle with yourself. This ain’t new. None of this is new to us. We’ve swallowed it down and swallowed it down. Now it’s bubbling up for everyone. Be gentle with yourself.”

‘Seek out your local counselor’

Michael Brooks has been pretty busy these last few weeks.

As a NC A&T University counseling professor who specializes in mental health for Black men, Brooks has been getting a lot of calls and requests for interviews in the wake of recent

police shootings of unarmed Black men and women.

“There have been upticks in the attention that Black men have received,” Brooks says. “It started with Trayvon Martin in 2013. After Trayvon, there were others who popped up.”

As a licensed counselor as well, Brooks says he started looking into how counseling and mental wellness professionals were reacting to the police shootings and what effect that had on Black men. In 2016, he co-authored a study titled “Hands up: police shooting of young Black males: Implications for social work and human services” in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. The work took about two years to get published, and Brooks worried that the material wasn’t going to be relevant by the time it was finalized. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Michael Brooks

TONI SHAW

In recent weeks, Brooks says Black fathers have contacted him to ask how to have conversations with their kids about police brutality. He says he’s had to have that conversation with his own kids as of late.

“We are honest with our kids,” Brooks says. “I say, ‘This man was killed. Police made a mistake and killed him.’ My kids have a healthy fear of law enforcement naturally. Fortunately, we have a good friend who is a sheriff, but they see him as being an exception.”

As a Black male counselor, Brooks says he understands the weight many Black men carry on a daily basis.

“That’s the unfortunate tax of being a Black man in America,” he says. “We have to live, eat and breathe with it. I think that you become accustomed to this way of life. The America that I live in, I have to have a different type of spatial awareness.”

Despite the difficulties, Brooks says therapy remains a taboo in many Black communities.

“The stigma is huge in counseling and I think it’s even larger for populations of color,” he says. “So rather than people engaging with some telehealth, we call our pastor, we call our friends, we call our family members. Counseling is way down at the bottom of the priorities list.”

And for those that aren’t comfortable yet with finding a therapist, Brooks says it’s fine to rely on other systems for help.

“Rely on entities and institutions that have been consistent in the Black community,” he says. “The church, the family — and then limit your exposure to toxic conversations. The things that kept you healthy in the past are what are going to keep you going. Just chill out, whatever that means for you.”

Cunningham, who moved to Greensboro about five years ago, says she started building her own community after she discovered the now-closed People’s Perk coffee shop run by artist Karen Archia.

“That’s where I started to build my community that would support me and hold me in this time of devastation and deep, deep grappling,” she says. “You need to follow your intuition and reach for people who are local who demonstrate the ability to enter into reciprocal relationships with you where you feel balanced and you feel held.”

Both the Good Neighbor Movement and NeTWerQ were built on the tradition of forging those kinds of lasting relationships within the Black community as a form of resistance, Cunningham says.

“It’s informed by some core principles that tap into Black folks’ religions and the hush harbor tradition,” she says. “During the Antebellum period Black folks gathered in secret and organized outside of plantations.

They would take blankets to absorb the sound. That where Black folks began to organize, and they created movements. These were pockets of resistance. That’s where we’re drawing from. Where we hold each other accountable. Where we have radical friendships.

“I don’t know how we stay committed to this movement long term if we don’t care for each other and find ways to deeply care for ourselves,” she continues. “It is absolutely necessary. It has to happen, or we won’t make it.”

Puzzles

Rather than marching in the streets, Hendrix-Wilson thinks of herself as fighting the battle by offering a safe space for others to heal.

“I support the young folks on the back end,” she says.

In her sessions, Hendrix-Wilson says she didn’t see a huge uptick in clients or stress levels when the pandemic hit or when the uprisings started. Instead, she noticed a shift in the kinds of conversations that her clients were having.

“I do couples counseling,” she says. “And now couples are really forced to look at each other. In my mixed-race couples, there are issues that they never talked about.

They just loved one another. But this issue of racism is kicking up in their marriage. A lot of times they have

JASON GRIMES

Shot in the Triad

AUSARIAH SAÑYA WILSON

Lauren Cunningham

Culture

L. Niajallah Hendrix-Wilson

Activist, artist and educator Lauren Cunningham doesn’t really use the term “self-care.”

“I feel like if we go down the rabbit hole of self-care, it becomes individualistic,” she says. “I feel like there’s a whole lot of self-care that comes from a part of community care. That sense of belonging and commitment to something bigger is a huge part of my self-care.”

Cunningham, who is a minister and organizer with the Good Neighbor Movement in Greensboro, recently helped to establish the NeTWerQ, a healing community for LGBTQ+ Black, indigenous and people of color.

Formed right before the pandemic hit, the group meets once a month in a space where individuals can share resources for mental healthcare, art and storytelling.

“I really believe that healing for us as Black people and Black LGBTQ folks is an act of resistance,” she says.

“It’s vital that it happens in community, that we’re able to support that in one another.”

In addition to helping facilitate the NeTWerQ meetings, Cunningham has been involved with organizers of Greensboro Rising during protests and rallies for Black lives.

“This doesn’t feel like a moment, it feels like a movement,” she says. “There is real transformation happening, which is unearthing a lot of trauma for a lot of people.”

And to ensure the wellbeing of the protesters and or-

Opinion

‘Community care is self-care’

News

L. Niajallah Hendrix-Wilson is very aware of her boundaries and her stress levels.

As a licensed clinical mental-health and rehabilitation counselor, Hendrix-Wilson tends to the needs of dozens of clients every month, listening to their worries, their struggles and their stress. And in order to do that, she has to make sure she’s balanced first.

“I don’t watch the news,” she says. “That’s my safe space, I don’t do news.”

She also meditates and limits how often she interacts with the outside world. She doesn’t have cable and lives in the country where it’s quiet.

“I had to make a choice,” Hendrix-Wilson says. “I have to be present and available to those who need me, or I can be in the world. I’m very empathic, so I have to ground myself to be ready for all of what’s going to be in the space with my clients.”

ganizers, Cunningham says its vital to hold each other accountable and to look out for one another.

“When I hear our elders in the movement talk about the impact that the work had on their lives, the weight of it, it didn’t always seem like they had community care built in or tools to care for themselves,” she says.

“I feel like it’s something that we’re doing differently.

We are really paying attention to each other and how to care for each other in this moment.”

Part of that is starting an online resource list of places and people that those in need can reach out.

Examples include yoga teachers and nutritionists and farmers.

As a queer Black woman, Cunningham says interpersonal connection is vitally important for LGBTQ+ individuals.

“Our care is not prioritized,” she says. “Our identities are so incredibly complex. They’re layered, and many of those identities push me to the margin…. So a part of what I feel is happening in this moment is that we’re having to find our people and gather with those people.”

Up Front

‘Healing is a journey, not a destination’

a child — a mixed-race child — and now there’s real conversations happening…. I’m finding myself having to bring couples back to the love.”

Like Brooks, Hendrix-Wilson sees hesitation among many in the Black community to reach out to therapists to help them through their problems. Instead, those in need will talk to their beauticians or their barbers or their preachers.

“I’m the last resort,” she says. “They may not ever get to me.”

And she understands why that barrier exists.

“There’s a history of medical apartheid,” she says.

“I think we rightfully have to be cautious, but we have to do a better job as therapists about educating that therapy is just about unraveling your authentic self. It’s taking away the layers of the family, the system, the people and figuring out what you want.”

Hendrix-Wilson says taking time for oneself is a good way to start practicing self-care.

“I think that in our tradition, we have been such assimilators that we try to prove that we’re worthy that we don’t realize that we are worthy,” she says. “What matters is my wellness. I am deserving. I deserve to be internally happy. Take quality time to look at your unhealed spaces. We need to be mindful that healing is a journey and not a destination. It’s never gonna end.”

For those who are feeling despondent, Hendrix-Wilson says she tries to talk about hope.

“I remind them about our history and our strength,” she says. “It helps to empower them and inspire them.

We did it and we’ll get over it again. It’s hope because there’s nothing else you can give. The hope is taking care of yourself…. We have to be present for ourselves before we can be present for others. I need people to be present so we can actually change. Not just go with our reactionary work. There is so much work to do.”

July 2-8, 2020

Brooks says he’s been seeing a therapist since the ’90s.

“I have several self-care practicing methods,” Brook says. “At the top, I’m in counseling. I do the work that I promote. I have a therapist that I see. Outside of counseling, I’m pretty aware of boundaries and my stress levels.”

Brooks says exercise is key for him. He cycles about a 100 miles per week and goes on walks with his kids. He also limits any stressful factors like media.

“The self-reflective person is the one who is evaluating who they are and how they engage with people,” he says. “The self-reflective person says, ‘What can I have done to make this better?’ And part of that is this person saying, ‘I’m not well; I’m not good.’ Self-care helps keep self-reflection in its proper place. It helps me to stay balanced.”

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South Elm Street, Greensboro

July 2-8, 2020 Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

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Up Front

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Puzzles

The Black Lives Matter street mural takes shape in downtown Greensboro.

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CAROLYN DE BERRY

by Matt Jones

Across

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Up Front

©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

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602 S Elam Ave • Greensboro

Answers from previous publication.

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Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

1 “Abnormally Attracted to Sin” singer Tori 5 Interest 9 Helped out at a rave, e.g.

13 Draw from a pen 14 “___ a dull moment” 16 Bank 17 Turn-of-the-century style 19 ___ Stanley Gardner (author whose Perry Mason character inspired the 2020 HBO series) 20 Comparatively chilly 21 Activity with tanks 23 Lamentable 24 Vowel sounds in “naysay” 26 “I identify with that GIF” ©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 28 Romantic duet in “The Phantom of the Opera” 34 Drugstore container 37 Actress Kendrick 38 Eighth day of Christmas figures 39 Age verifiers 40 Edison’s ___ Park 42 One-all, for one 43 Hitchcock film named for a gem 46 Tiniest of noises Answers from last issue 47 Jury member 48 Where to order individual items 15 Early 1980s craze creator 51 Take back 18 Type of exam 52 They help you get a handle 22 Chemistry class model 56 Glass of “This American Life” 25 Poetry competition 58 Take up broom?

27 Advanced deg. for musicians 62 Jack of kids’ rhymes 29 Bumbling 63 Latvian capital 30 “Bonne ___!” (“Happy New Year!” in French) 65 Super Mario World 2 character that pops 31 Home of my Oregon alma mater up from underwater 32 Slobbery dog of the comics 67 Important work 33 Software buyer 68 Profession deserving of nightly applause 34 “La Dolce ___” (Fellini film) (at a minimum) 35 Symbol of immunity, on “Survivor” 69 Clickable pic 36 Spears on the table 70 Part of CSNY 41 Play before the main act 71 Slightest bit 44 One in a deck 72 Grandmotherly nicknames 45 Hits with a laser 47 Gourd used in some Thai curries Down 49 “Blackadder Goes Forth” star Atkinson 1 Be of assistance 50 Space shuttle letters 2 “Polo” preceder 53 “Loveroot” author Jong 3 Agree to participate 54 Boca ___, Florida 4 Dakar’s domain 55 Gobsmacks 5 Bearded grassland grazer 56 Metal for old skillets 6 Pushes the engine 57 Kelly of “Live! With Kelly and Ryan” 7 “Voulez-vous coucher ___ moi ce soir?”

59 Prefix before “distant” 8 Jeff Bridges’s brother 60 Currency introduced in 1999 9 “Black-ish” father 61 Before times, so to speak 10 Newark resident, slangily 64 Forest fire output 11 “Enchanted” Anne Hathaway role 66 “Back to the Future” costar Thompson 12 Turned green to gold?

EVENTS

July 2-8, 2020

CROSSWORD ‘Gilded Age’—theme answers surrounded by gold. SUDOKU

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