TCB Aug. 27, 2020 — A light in the night by Triad City Beat

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020 triad-city-beat.com

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A LIGHT IN THE NIGHT Graham’s Confederate statue gets painted by a projectionist’s light. PAGE 10

Election coverage PAGES 6-9

Magnolia drive-in PAGE 13

COVID on campuses PAGE 2

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The new best schools in the UNC System I’ve got two needs to drop below 5 percent statewide in Boone, and before we can enter Phase 3. And ECU I’m meticulously registered 262 new cases in the last week. checking the App Their positive-test rate for that period: State coronavirus 25.9 percent. dashboard for A few layers of reporting reveals the updates (35 active culprit to be a party culture, bolstered cases among by fraternities and sororities and other by Brian Clarey students as of socially-minded students who shrugged Tuesday) and texting questions to the kids off the warnings, just like everybody said about the COVID culture on campus: Are they would. people wearing masks? Are they enforcNow, I’m not throwing stones at the ing the rules? Are people throwing parties kids. If this had happened while I was anyway? in college, I likely would have caught So far, so good. COVID-19 the first day back. So, I’m The ridiculous clusters not really surprised at the at NC State frat houses, proliferation of coronavirus the stupid parties at ECU on these campuses. I’m not really and UNC-Chapel Hill’s What surprises me are surprised at the outrageous positive-test the campuses that are farpercentage get all the ing so well. proliferation of press, but the rest of the The race is not over; in coronavirus on UNC System schools are fact, it’s barely begun. We these campuses. have three more months in quietly getting the job done, particularly in the the semester — no breaks Triad. — during which a lot could UNC School of the go wrong. But I’m hopeful. Arts, for example, has three cases right I must be. now — one student and two staff memMy oldest, a junior at App, texted me bers. A&T has had 16 cases total among today asking if the surge in cases at NC students since July 1, and UNCG has State, ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill might reported a total of 21 among students, cause the entire UNC System to go that faculty and staff since that date, with nine way: online-only classes and all the resicurrent cases among students. WSSU has dent students come home. reported five cases among students, three Neither one of them wants to come on campus and two off-campus. home. Compare that to Chapel Hill, where 633 “They could never do that,” I texted students have tested positive since Aug. back. “It wouldn’t be fair.” 12. NC State added 63 new cases in the But we’re keeping their beds made, just last seven days, with a positive-test rate in case. of 18.6 percent. Remember, that number

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

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 Cover: The Confederate statue SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka outside the county courthouse niksnacksblog@gmail.com in Graham turns into a piece of EDITORIAL INTERN Michaela Ratliff protest art. (photo by Carolyn de ART Berry) 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

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

Coronavirus in the Triad:

(as of Wednesday, Aug. 26, compared to last week)

158,985 (+11,053)

Forsyth

5,952 (+351)

Guilford County

6,392 (+417)

News

Up Front

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses

COVID-19 deaths 2,607 (+180)

Forsyth

69 (+9)

Guilford

163 (+3)

136,630 (+8,881)

Forsyth

5,186 (+319)

Guilford

3,735 (+151)

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Documented recoveries

Opinion

Hospitalizations 1,004 (+3)

Forsyth

18 (-2)

Guilford

582 (+19)

Puzzles

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

CITY LIFE Aug. 27-30 by Michaela Ratliff

Thursday Aug. 27

Friday Aug. 28

Soft and Sublime 4-Pack and Draft Release @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S) 2 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 29

Grand Opening @ Sunny’s Shoes (W-S) 9 a.m.

News

Up Front

John Lewis: Good Trouble @ Marketplace Cinemas Drive-In (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

RiverRun brings its ethos to Winston-Salem’s newest drivein with a screening of John Lewis: Good Trouble, a documentary highlighting the life of the late great activist John Lewis. Be sure to purchase tickets so you don’t miss out on 60-plus years of civil rights activism, including a meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wise Man Brewing is excited to announce the release of their new Indian pale ale Soft and Sublime hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Loral and Cashmere flavors. Moji @ the Streatery (W-S) 5 p.m.

Drive-Thru Job Fair @ the Resource (GSO) 9 a.m.

Culture

Opinion

Fit Hustlers Fit Camp @ Gibson Park (HP) 9 a.m.

Coronavirus got you (and your hours) down? The Resource has plenty of positions in all shifts with competitive pay rates available. The best part is you can apply from the comfort of your car! Sign up to let the Resource know you’re coming.

Coffee isn’t just for the morning. Moji will be at the Streatery, downtown Winston-Salem’s outdoor dining experience, serving their full menu of desserts, smoothies and more! Visit Moji’s website to purchase a ticket for 1 or 2 that includes dessert and a beverage. Late-Night Vendor Market @ Hempress Farms (W-S) 7 p.m.

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Suffrage Stories: A Complicated Narrative Zoom Meeting @ Greensboro Public Library (GSO) 6 p.m.

Join the staff of Sunny’s Shoes for their grand opening! There will be deals on summer sandals, giveaways and drawings for free shows and the chance to win free tickets to a Happy Feet screening at Marketplace Cinemas. Visit the store’s Facebook page for more information.

Join Fit Hustlers for this full-body, high-energy workout for only $10! Only 25 spots are available so CashApp $FitHustlers365 to reserve yours. Tie-Dye Tank Pawty @ Doggos Dog Park & Pub (GSO) 2 p.m.

The 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, giving most women the right to vote for the first time. This program hosted by Greensboro History Museum and Greensboro Public Library features a broadcast from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History discussing the suffrage movement of the activists of the time. This Zoom meeting requires registration and can be done here.

Join Hempress Farms and other vendors at this rooftop, spa-like shopping experience. Product tastings and samples will be available and attendance is free. Vendors, CashApp $40 to $HempressFarms to reserve your table space. Be sure to mask up. They’re required at this event.

Doggos is throwing a tie-dye pawty. Just $20 gets you a white, unisex tank and all the supplies you’ll need to dye it. Non-members, be mindful this ticket price does not include admission for your dog. You will need to purchase a day pass. Visit the event page to reserve your tank and space.

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

Sunday Aug. 30

Lobster Dogs @ Foothills Brewing (W-S) 1 p.m.

Up Front News

Kettle Cigar Social @ the Brewer’s Kettle (HP) 6 p.m. The Brewer’s Kettle in partnership with Drew Estates Cigars is bringing you a Sundaynight social. Tickets can be purchased on the event page and include one Drew Estates Cigar and one beverage.

Culture

Pop Culture Trivia Night @ the Speakeasy Tavern (GSO) 7:30 p.m. Do you think you’re pretty well versed in pop culture? Prove it at trivia night at Speakeasy Tavern. There will be multiple categories of trivia — including music and movies — giving you a chance to show your stuff. Come ready to compete as there are prizes for the winners!

In the 100 days since George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, protests and calls for systemic change have roiled American communities and shifted the national conversation in fundamental ways. How have the last 100 days impacted Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the greater Triad region? How have local activists and organizers used this moment to generate action and policy, and what have been the disappointments or lessons-learned along the way? What’s next for Black Lives Matter and the larger movement for racial justice?

Opinion

Lobster Dogs is back at Foothills Brewing ready to serve lobster rolls and more. Take a look at their website to view the full menu.

Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the 100 Days Since George Floyd

MUSE Winston-Salem and Triad City Beat invite you to this Facebook Live event on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7:00pm, for a panel discussion featuring Black activists and leaders from both cities, including: Teacher, activist, and founding member of Hate Out of Winston.

Anthony Morgan aka

Free Dope Major

An organizer with Occupy Winston-Salem and the Triad Abolition Project and Assistant Professor in Wake Forest University’s Department of Sociology.

April Parker Greensboro artist and community organizer, Elsewhere fellow.

Puzzles

Greensboro-based activist, leader of the group known as The 3.

Dr. Brittany Battle

Shot in the Triad

Miranda Jones

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

NEWS

Garrett and King vie for one of Democrats’ most vulnerable seats in Guilford by Jordan Green For the better part of the last decade, NC Senate District 27 was held by Republican Trudy Wade, but Democrat Michael Garrett flipped it two years ago in a nail-biter election that turned on less than 1 point. Although a recent round of redistricting made 27 more Democratic-friendly, it’s still rated the third most vulnerable district for a Democratic incumbent, and holding it is essential for any hopes the party has for taking control of the chamber. The pitch that Garrett, a 36-yearold Greensboro resident who owns a marketing firm, makes to voters is clearly angled to what he can achieve as a member of a new Democratic majority. Lamenting on his campaign website that Republicans “failed to make critically needed investments in healthcare and education” to match economic growth over the past decade, Garrett asks for voters’ support “so that I can join a new legislative majority that will no longer ignore our state’s needs.” Considering the Democratic lean of the district, perhaps it’s not surprising that Sebastian King, Garrett’s Republican opponent, downplays his party affiliation. King, a 27-year-old Greensboro resident who is vice president of a regional golfing magazine, previously served as a policy advisor for House Majority Whip Jon Hardister, who earned a reputation for bills with strong bipartisan support, according to King. “I feel like Guilford County is purple,” King told Triad City Beat. “We don’t represent a party. We represent Guilford County and the state of North Carolina. When I served as Rep. Hardister’s policy advisor, that led to the most bipartisan bills filed, and I’ll do that in the Senate.” Both candidates tout their support for public education. Garrett says he supports Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed 2019-21 budget, with a 9.1 percent average teacher raise spread over two years. In 2019, teacher raises proposed by the Republican majority in the General Assembly got snagged on a partisan battle over whether to expand Medicaid, and Garrett voted against the budget. King lamented in an interview with TCB that “unfortunately, politics got in the way” of teacher raises. Garrett has sponsored legislation to restore supplemental pay for teachers with master’s and other advanced degrees,

and King said he also supports the measure. Likewise, both candidates support a statewide schoolinfrastructure bond, which in the past has been a point of agreement between the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled House, but has run into opposition from the Republican Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger. “We have to do something in Guilford County to make sure our students have a safe learning environment,” said King, who added that his sister suffered from mold exposure as a student at Oak Ridge Elementary 10 years ago. The issue of expanding Medicaid to cover those who don’t earn enough to qualify under the Affordable Care Act FILE PHOTOS Democratic incumbent Michael Garrett (left) will face Republican Sebastian is where the two candidates King in the fall. part ways. Garrett has sponsored legiswork to bring a Carolina Comeback that $50,000 wasn’t taxed,” Garrett said. “We lation to expand Medicaid. will help promote economic mobility know small business is the backbone of “Pre-COVID, Medicaid expansion and opportunity for every North Carothe economy. Economists would tell you would have covered over 600,000 North linian,” and he says “North Carolina the first $50,000 is the most difficult. If Carolinians,” Garrett said. “Today, it’s must have a tax environment that is we have the majority in 2021, we’re gocloser to 800,000 or 900,000. Healthcare competitive with our neighboring states ing to have to look at the tax code. The and education are still critical issues in that will attract jobs.” tax code has been turned upside down this campaign. Republicans in the North With Republicans in control of the since 2013, where large corporations Carolina Senate have blocked attempts governorship and both chambers of the and wealthy individuals are paying less to have conversations about Medicaid legislature, North Carolina slashed the and less, and families are paying more expansion. In the House, they at least tax rate on wealthy earners from 7.75 and more. That’s unsustainable. We talked about. In the Senate, we can’t percent to 5.8 percent in 2013. There is need to perhaps ask some of our large even have the conversation.” little evidence that low tax rates promote corporations to pay their fair share since King’s campaign emphasizes his social mobility. A 2016 study for the they benefit from our strong university personal story of growing up in poverty, Charlotte-based John Belk Endowment system.” and he talks about being enrolled in found that North Carolina ranks near Medicaid as a child whose mother got the bottom of the nation for social moCOVID-19 and protests pregnant at 15 years old and about how bility. In the Greensboro region specifiagainst police brutality he was raised by his grandparents. But cally, the study found that 39.5 percent The COVID-19 pandemic has opened his campaign website clearly signals his of children born into the lowest income another wedge between the two candiopposition to Medicaid expansion, statquintile remain there. And social mobildates. ing, “Sebastian has been working hard to ity in the United States as a whole has While King acknowledged that Demonot have more people on Medicaid.” fallen compared to Western Europe and cratic Gov. Roy Cooper has a difficult Instead, like other Republican candiCanada as the government has succesjob in determining what emergency dates, King favors a proposal to create sively cut taxes on the wealthy over the orders are necessary to protect public health savings accounts in which state or past four decades. health, he said he thinks the state needs federal government provides assistance Garrett wants to provide a boost to to be more accommodating to small through vouchers to match personal small business by making exempt the first businesses. contributions. $50,000 earned. To make that happen, “When you see people at the outset of he acknowledged the state would need the pandemic were lined up outside of Differences on tax policy to overhaul the tax code implemented in Sam’s Club and they’re rioting outside Rebooting former Republican Gov. 2013 Louis DeJoy’s house, but bars can’t serve Pat McCrory’s 2012 campaign slogan, “Prior to the 2013, tax reform, the first people outside, the level of hypocrisy is King says on his website that he “will

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

review boards are comprised,” he said. “The conversation we need to have is about giving those boards subpoena power. If you’re a body that’s responsible for oversight, it’s made it hard for them to do their job without that.” Garrett noted that the current law on police body-camera footage, which was filed by Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford) prohibits the release of footage and even prevents city council members from discussing it without a court order. COURTESY PHOTO District 27 “It’s been very detrimental to community relations,” Garrett said. “Any time you try to hide something four others at a government building in from people, there’s going to be a level Virginia Beach. A former student fatally of distrust.” shot two students and wounded four othAs for whether North Carolina should ers at UNC Charlotte in April 2019. develop a registry to track officers who “I would expect that if Democrats resign under clouded circumstances, take control of both chambers, there will Garrett said: “Absolutely. 110 percent. be an effort on gun control,” Garrett That’s something the state can do on said. “Any commonsense individuals can its own. I think for it to be impactful, look at mass shootings that happened we need federal action because the way and gun deaths, and say we have to do people move pretty easily, as close as we something. We can’t do nothing. You will are to Virginia, you would need some see an effort to pass control measures. kind of reciprocity.” “Some things we would probably look Garrett said he also wants to see legat are universal background checks; islators pass a law imposing a statewide red-flag laws are something we desperban on the use of chokeholds by police. ately need to look into,” Garrett added. “I would be on board with banning Who holds power high-capacity magazines and bump As important as the District 27 race stocks. I’m also in support of an assault is to which party claims the majority in weapons ban.” 2021, control of the legislature is key to King said when it comes to gun viodetermining how district lines will be lence, the focus should be on addressing drawn over the next decade. While both mental illness. Democrats and Republicans have used He would be wary of efforts to close their majorities to draw district maps loopholes on background checks to favorable to their respective parties in include private sales. the past, both Garrett and King both “I think that’s too far,” he said. “Then say they are committed to reforming the the government gets involved if a grandprocess so that redistricting is indepenfather sells a gun to a grandson. I don’t dent and nonpartisan. think the government should play a role Garrett points out on his website that in that.” Hardister, King’s former boss he has voted against every “politicianin the state House, has used the same drawn map,” and says, “You can rest astalking point. sured that I will always support nonpartiA ban on high-capacity magazines? san redistricting.” “I’m open to listening to the debate. I King said in an email to TCB: “I fully haven’t made my mind up.” support independent redistricting, and Banning bump stocks? I worked on it as a policy advisor. I will “Likewise, I’m still trying to feel it out work to get it done in the Senate.” to see what the benefits versus downsides The two candidates and their respecare.” tive parties would pursue starkly difKing said he would be reluctant to ferent paths on gun legislation. After support an effort to pass a red-flag law in Democrats took control of the legislature North Carolina. in Virginia last year, they pursued an “I don’t know what the due process ambitious legislative agenda to curb gun [issues] where they could take your guns violence. Both states have recently exaway based on someone saying you pose perienced significant mass shootings. In a danger,” he said. “I think there are May 2019, a disgruntled city employee constitutional questions there.” fatally shot 12 people and wounded

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

concerning.” (Asked about his characterization of peaceful protesters outside DeJoy’s house on Aug. 15, King quickly amended it to say “protesting.”) “The one thing I would stress to the governor is to have a little bit of responsiveness,” King continued. “For the most part, aside from the small businesses, we’ve done what we can with the mask mandate to keep people safe. I would be a little more responsive to small business.” Garrett said he’s had plenty of conversations with small-business owners who disagree with Cooper’s executive orders. “I applaud the governor and I’m very proud of his leadership,” Garrett said. “He has stayed above the political fray. In contrast to his opposition, he’s made decisions that are soundly backed by science…. I think most of the business community is also in support of the decisions the governor has made. Most people recognize you can’t have a healthy economy if you’re failing at a public health crisis because if people don’t feel comfortable going out of their homes, businesses will suffer.” The protests that erupted across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death in late May have also reshaped the political conversation in North Carolina. King said the issue hits home for him: His stepfather was a police officer, and another family member on his mother’s side was fatally shot by a police officer. “They didn’t have a warrant, and he came into the house,” King said. “I can relate to how it felt to have a family member gone. I think the majority of police want to do a good job.” King makes a point to say in conversation and on his campaign website that he does not support defunding the police. Notably, Democrats at the top of national or state ballot also oppose defunding the police, much to the frustration of many people protesting for Black lives. King said he’s looking forward to hearing the recommendations of a new Select Committee on Community Relations, Law Enforcement and Justice appointed by House Speaker Tim Moore, and he said legislators need to “have tough conversations” on issues like citizen oversight boards, creating a database on troubled officers and access to police-body camera video. Garrett said he’s been “incredibly disappointed” by the lack of bipartisan dialogue on policing issues in the Senate. He’s already taken positions on the issues King raised. “I think we need to look at a minimum standard for how community

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Democratic Guilford county commission candidates emphasize education funding, while Republicans tout fiscal responsibility by Sayaka Matsuoka The Democratic women in the districts 4 and 5 Guilford county commission races differ with their Republican counterparts on school funding and policing in schools.

Opinions on school funding fall along party lines In District 5, current Republican incumbent Jeff Phillips’ retirement leaves the seat open for Democrat Carly Cooke or Republican Troy Lawson this November. Cooke, who won the Democratic primary by a landslide against Macon Sullivan, will face Lawson, who previously served as the chairman of the Guilford County Republican Party and ran unsuccessfully for state House two years ago. The district radiates from the center of Greensboro, in and around downtown and then makes its way up north, ballooning out to the northern edges of the county, picking up all of Summerfield. So far, Cooke is outraising Lawson with $22,133.75 ending cash on hand as of a July 9 campaign finance report compared to Lawson who reported less than half of Cooke’s total with $9,972 for the same time period. During the primaries, Cooke expressed education funding as a large part of her platform and said that the pandemic has laid bare the lack of support that public schools have received in terms of funding the last few years. “It’s become really clear as our county has navigated this that there’s a need for resources and support for the school system as a whole,” Cooke said in an interview with Triad City Beat. “We need to help the administration tackle the achievement gap that we see in our community, and the coronavirus has brought that to the surface.” Cooke, who runs a real estate company with her husband, said she was disappointed in the county commissioners’ recent decision to pass a $300 million bond referendum to be put on the ballot in November. The original ask from the school board was $1.6 billion to fix school facilities. “I think it was really unfortunate,” Cooke said. “I think it was shortsighted

L-R: Democratic candidate Mary Beth Murphy faces incumbent Republican Alan Branson in District 4. Democratic candidate Carly Cooke will face Republican Troy Lawson in District 5.

and a Band-aid for a gaping wound. We had an opportunity to address the facilities issues that are dire. Some of these buildings are at an emergency status. We had the opportunity to address that while also injecting a ton of investment into the community when our economy is going to need to be rebuilding postCOVID.” In an interview from February, Cooke’s opponent, Troy Lawson, stated that he worked as a consultant for higher education and has worked as the director of admission for different schools in the area. He expressed concerns with the state of several school facilities like the ones at Page High School and Grimsley High School. However, in a May 22 Facebook post, Lawson supported the Republican majority’s decision to vote for the $300 million bond amount. “I want to express my support for the Republican majority on the GC Board of Commissioners for their continued support of our schools,” Lawson wrote. “[T]he commissioners have paved the way, in a balanced and responsible way (in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis) for voters to decide on another $300 million to address the most critical needs or our school facilities. Now that’s fiscal responsibility at its finest, if I do say so myself.” Cooke said that she wished the county

commissioners had taken advantage of the low interest rates and low project costs in the midst of the pandemic to make drastic changes for the schools. “$300 million will just address leaky roofs and AC units but won’t move us forward into the future,” Cooke said. Emails and messages to the Lawson campaign were not returned for this story. District 4 makes up all of the eastern part of Guilford county, spreading from north of Julian near the Piedmont Dragway, through Whitsett and Sedalia to Browns Summit. The district has been held by Republican incumbent Alan Branson since 2012 and leans Republican as a whole. According to July campaign finance reports, Branson had $7,502.50 ending cash on hand for the latest reporting period while his opponent, Mary Beth Murphy, reported $4,043.84. Murphy, a first-time political candidate, knows firsthand what it’s like to teach in an underfunded school. Murphy, who currently teaches at Western Middle School, said before her school was rebuilt three years ago using money from the 2008 school bond, the roofs would leak, and the mobile units were infested with mold. “We had a kind of routine where everyone knew where to pull the trash cans from and where to put them to

FILE PHOTOS

catch the rain,” she said. “We had poorly functioning systems and crumbling tile and grout. The mold in our mobile units was by far the worst. You could just open the door and instantly smell it.” Like Cooke, Murphy said she was disappointed to hear that the current county commissioners voted for $300 million. “I’ve watched over the last eight years the Republican county commissioners divest from Guilford County Schools,” Murphy told TCB. “Because local funding is the only funding for maintenance and capital outlay, what we’ve seen is a situation where our school buildings were already not in the best of shape turning into a crisis.” One of the Republicans Murphy is talking about is her opponent, incumbent Alan Branson, who defended the $300 million bond in a phone interview on Tuesday. “There’s never enough money for Guilford County Schools,” Branson said. Branson, who was elected to the board in 2012, lamented the fact that there was $6 million left in the Guilford County schools budget last year for facilities maintenance that was never used. “They are getting more money every year, whether it’s for salaries or benefits or whether it’s slated towards rebuilding schools,” Branson said. The commissioner also reiterated

Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Looking to the past and moving forward

News

The Democratic candidates and Branson also differed in opinion when it came to the issue of law enforcement officers in schools. Currently, both the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office and Greensboro Police Department have officers in the school system. Murphy said she wants to see more investment go to hiring social workers, nurses and counselors for students and added that the need for officers in schools might change if schools had more support staff like the ones she mentioned. “What we need to be investing in is helping students by meeting the needs of the whole child,” she said. “Law enforcement officers are not trained in child development. They are not trained in child psychology. They are not trained as mental-health practitioners. While they often have to serve in those kinds of roles, that’s not the role that they are trained for…. I think there are people who are trained to do those things and that’s who I think should be functioning in those roles.” Branson expressed outright support for officers in schools. “We definitely need them,” he said. “In my opinion, if you do the crime you pay the time…. If you mess up you need to be held accountable. I strongly support having SROs in schools.” In a rambling explanation of support, Branson also mentioned that having a diversity of students from different cultures and countries could result in “sex, drugs, trafficking and violence.” When asked if he was equating immigrant students with crime in schools, Branson said that’s not what he said but that, “We live in America” and that “students have a choice to live within a reason of

Branson said some of the things that he’s proudest of that he’s accomplished as a county commissioner are the new renovations and construction in the county like a new animal shelter off of Guilford College Road and a mental-health facility that is being built off Wendover Avenue in Greensboro. He said if re-elected, he would continue to work to bring jobs to the area like a new Publix in Jamestown and the Amazon distribution center in Kernersville. He also said he would continue to support schools. “I voted to put the bond referendum out there,” he said. “I know that it’s not what 100 percent what fellow noisemakers would have liked to have seen, but we will get there.” If elected, Cooke said that she would suggest having a standing joint-facilities committee made up of school board members as well as county commissioners to meet regularly to discuss how to make school repairs. A joint committee was temporarily created last year during the school facilities study, but Cooke said she believes there should be a permanent one. Murphy said she wants to address the opioid crisis at the county level and facilitate conversations with the local health department and hospitals to create a joint plan. She also said that wants to move towards a “backwards design model” for developing the county budget. A method that is used in education, Murphy describes the model as thinking about what end product is wanted and working backwards to determine what path will lead to the desired outcome. “We have to ask ourselves, What do we value in our community?” she said. “What do we envision our community being like and what data do we have to support which programs will help us achieve that?” Murphy also said she wants to conduct disparity studies at the county level. Murphy said she wants to do one to understand the scope of available minority and women-owned businesses across the community to help them leverage purchasing power. The general election takes place on Nov. 3. To find more election coverage, visit triad-city-beat.com/category/election-2020.

Up Front

On law enforcement officers in schools

professionalism.” When the issue of disparity in discipline in schools between students of color and white students was brought up, Branson said, “I don’t think you’re going to see excessive force if you listen to the officer.” Cooke echoed Murphy’s sentiments about having additional support staff to help students in schools rather than relying solely on law enforcement officers. Cooke did not give a definitive answer on whether she supports decreasing the number of officers in schools. “I think that the root of it [is] we have to think about how are SROs meant to be supporting the educators in the building and is that the best way to provide support?” she said. “Are there other ways to support our educators that don’t lead to arrests of Black and Brown children? Maybe more therapists and nurses in every school to support the whole child.” “I’m going to talk with the stakeholders,” she said. “To figure out how to get the best outcome for the kids…. It’s a conversation we need to have.” While Lawson, Cooke’s opponent did not post anything about law enforcement in schools, he did share his opinions regarding the racial justice uprisings on June 2. In the post, Lawson, who is Black, expressed frustration with the killing of George Floyd, saying that he has tried to live his life “not as a color.” He wrote on June 2 about his experiences of overt racism as a young teen in Boston during courtordered desegregation and recalled how he was called the “N word” and rocks were thrown at him. “I understand and share the pain of protesters here in Greensboro and across the nation,” he wrote. “I welcome peaceful protest…. However, blaming every police officer for the insanity of bad cops is not right or helpful. Nor is burning or wrecking businesses where people’s livelihoods are at stake. My hope going forward is that here in Guilford County and Greensboro we all will take more time to look at each other as men and women as God intended. Instead of looking at each other as colors.”

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

that if voters pass the $300 million bond this November, the county commissioners can always vote to have another bond on the ballot in 2022. Branson said if this bond is passed by voters and the projects are completed successfully, that he would support another future bond. He also said a bond amount higher than $300 million would have failed in the midst of the pandemic.

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020 Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

A light in the night: Activist projects message onto Graham Confederate monument

An art activist illuminates the Confederate monument in downtown Graham during the Vigil for Black Lives on Aug. 25. There have been multiple protests calling for the removal of the monument since the death of George Floyd.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

by Clay Jones

The Republican National Convention: What’s the point?

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So we’re having a Republican Narebut the Democrat’s convention and tional Convention in Charlotte after all, platform —that was done in real time on though it’s been reduced to just a few Twitter by Trump, by talking heads and hundred delegates and perhaps just as party operatives, occupying every inch many, if not more, protesters and counof bandwidth on media channels sympater-protesters and assorted looky-loos thetic to the cause. And frankly, most of looking to buy MAGA hats and “Fuck Trump’s supporters don’t care about the Your Feelings” T-shirts on the street. platform anyway, as long as the rest of We should be thankful. Even without us hate it. the coronavirus, even before George It could be argued that the convenFloyd, the convention promised to be a tion could be a booster for candidates in shitshow: Trump’s irresistthe Senate and House, ible force against the imas well as state and movable objects of those county races. And there All dissenting who resist, including our are a few of them on the voices have been governor and Charlotte’s speaker list, rounded out mayor. With those facby the gun-toting couexcommunicated tors, it would have been ple from St. Louis, the from the GOP. apocalyptic. horrible teenager from And even now we a viral-video confrontamust ask: What is the tion, every member of point? his brain trust that’s not indicted or in jail, It’s not as if there’s any serious chalformer NFL player Herschel Walker and lenger to Trump within the Republican the president of the UFC. Party. All dissenting voices have been And, of course, his children and their effectively excommunicated from the spouses will have speaking slots each GOP. There’s not likely to be a vigorous night. Because that’s totally normal. exchange of ideas about the party platFor the city of Charlotte, this was supform, which is the same it’s ever been posed to be about the money — rememexcept more so, with a little QAnon ber, in 2016 Hillary Clinton destroyed and some straight-up white supremacy Trump in Mecklenburg County, winning thrown into the mix. it by almost 30 percentage points, so it And there is, in fact, no official Rewas an unpopular decision. publican platform this year. They didn’t Now, the money’s gone and so is the bother to write one. conflict. All that’s left will be virus-rich It’s not as if there’s a pressing need to droplets in the late-summer air.

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Nik Snacks Love and family in the time of Corona

ookouts and family reunions are to summer as hot chocolate and gift exchanges are to Christmas. My mother’s side of the family has been gathering regularly to celebrate our familial bonds for the better part of a century. Evby Nikki Miller-Ka ery August for as long as I could remember, we would trek to my grandmother’s birthplace in eastern North Carolina for food and fellowship with hundreds of family members. “Down home,” was what Grandma called it. For 62 years, we celebrated with the smell of roasted pig and fried catfish wafting over community centers, churches or parks (fried chicken, potato salad and various pound cakes always make the rounds too), the cacophony of voices of family members being heard over music playing in the background. This year, due to COVID, we moved our festivities online via Zoom, ushering in a new era of our family tradition. My family celebrated its 63rd annual reunion in midAugust. Determined not to let the tradition go by the wayside, we used computers, laptops, mobile phones and socially distanced gatherings in Norfolk, Va., Greensboro, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Powellsville, NC, where relatives reveled in catching up, breaking bread and group prayer. Family members from 10 states made an appearance. We shared stories about our lineage, jokes, recipes and praises for being able to see one another again after a year’s long absence. The weekend fun included a roll call of everyone joining in the Zoom celebration, a group prayer and a COVID-19 information update provided by my aunt, who is an MD, followed by the annual banquet, where relatives ate their meals at the same time on Zoom. My family isn’t the only one who had to make plans to gather online in lieu of an in-person celebration. Shaheen Towles and her husband Nick had to do an about-face and change their 2020 nuptial plans to accommodate COVID-19. After a whirlwind engagement in August 2019, the pair planned to wed at Milton Rhodes Center in Winston-Salem on Easter weekend when COVID-19 trumped their plans. “We had 175 RSVPs from all across the country and India,” says Shaheen. “We had to make a decision.” A planned Friday night family gathering where the two families would meet for the first time at 6th And Vine in Winston-Salem (where the couple met) turned into a Zoom gathering where 65 family members “met” for the first time on Zoom. Shaheen says, “I wanted people who cared and loved me to be present. But we felt that love in a different way.” The morning of their wedding, they walked to Cobblestone Farmers Market, had coffee, got ready and drove to Raleigh to have a small ceremony in her parent’s backyard.

“My dad had wedding music playing on his cell phone,” she says. “We drove home, got takeout from Nawab and were asleep by 10.” John Yeagley and Frank Vagnone of Winston-Salem had no immediate plans to get married when COVID hit, but the pandemic intensified their desire to join together in matrimony. “We’ve seen ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ We know what could potentially happen,” says Vagnone, in reference to the novel turned Hulu series where a totalitarian society and environmental disasters take over the United States. “Nothing about our wedding was traditional except having a cake. The cake was pretty much the centerpiece of everything,” says VaCOURTESY PHOTO gnone, who is president John Yeagley and Frank Vagnone of Winston-Salem got married virtually recently. of Old Salem Museums and Gardens. “Since like many organizations, Old Salem has been undergoing so many challenges, I think we wanted to be very mindful of any sort of public celebration during this particular time period.” Before the mid-March shutdowns, the couple were connecting with many friends and museum colleagues both nationally and all over the world via Google Hangout, Skype, FaceTime and Zoom. They were able to check in and see how other countries were handling the pandemic at particular moments in time. “We just preferred to keep it COURTESY PHOTO very quiet and simple,” Yeagley Shaheen Towles and her husband Nick had a virtual wedding because of the pandemic. says. “There were six of us, including my mom and aunt, matching napkins with the remaining fabric. They used physically-distanced and everyone wearing masks.” silver bracelets they got in Bali instead of wedding rings. The couple got married in a short ceremony in June Afterwards they all had coconut-chocolate cake. on Yeagley’s mom’s birthday at her home in Ocean View, Del. A friend made them three sets of masks and

by Sayaka Matsuoka

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that the house is there and the significance of the structure’s history. “We’ve tried over the last couple of years with the community to try to get them to join the Magnolia movement,” Miller says. “Tonight, I feel like everybody has wrapped their arms around this house. It’s the community that needs to help build this house with me.” As attendees enjoy the live music, they also eat shoebox meals which Miller says are reminiscent of meals that Black mothers would make for road trips during Jim Crow. Foods that would last like fried chicken, devilled eggs and pound cake were the norm, and CAROLYN DE BERRY The music set for the Magnolia House Drive-in concert ranged from jazz to hipare also seen in the boxes hop to singer-songwriter music. tonight. April Parker, the orgaboro, recognizes that art and protest and Black power all nizer for the event, says she wants to see the Historic Magnointersect and exist simultaneously. Many of the musicians lia House become a Black cultural institution again. and artists involved with the event on Saturday marched in “Like after church, I want people to be like, ‘Are you guys Greensboro during Black Lives Matter protests in the weeks going to Magnolia for a drink?’” she says. “I want it to be a after George Floyd’s murder. Virginia Holmes, who led some part of the ritual here. I want it to be a meeting place. I want of the earlier protests works with Emilio Marz on painting a it to feel like home. It’s such a prime location. It’s within the trailer near the stage. Vibrant curls of pink and purple act as a neighborhood…. I want it to be a staple in our community for background for large, flowering magnolias painted in a street years to come. Outside of churches and the Beloved Comart style. munity Center and the Civil Rights Museum, Black folks don’t Nearby, Mutsa Mukahanana, an attendee at the concert really have a space we can say that is created at the root of who sits on the roof of her car as she listens to the concert, blackness.” says she found out about the event because of her connecParker who has been working with Elsewhere to put totions to the protests. gether events throughout the “I didn’t know Greensboro city, including the concert at had a place like this,” she says. Magnolia, says that as part of “I think its history is important Learn more about the Historic Magnolia her fellowship, she wants to be to preserve because of the Black House at thehistoricmagnoliahouse.com an architect of Black space. lives that it has saved. There’s “I’m really thinking about and watch the full concert on their not enough Black stuff for this Black women as the pillars of to not be preserved.” Facebook page. the community and our porches As musicians come off of the and our kitchen tables as instistage, Demeanor works to keep tutional structures that we have the audience engaged while as Black power,” Parker says. the next artist sets up. He issues a repeated call and response She says she rejects the notion of a “sharecropping mode,” for the crowd, one that’s less of a reminder, and more of a in which artists are paid by community institutions but aren’t declaratory statement of celebration. given platforms to have real power or a voice. “Black is beautiful,” he says. “It’s using Black artists and using a very monetary ex“Yes indeed.” change,” she says. “It’s like, ‘We’re going to give you a small “Magnolia is beautiful.” amount of money and we’re going to build social and political “Yes indeed!” capital off of it.’ That doesn’t give us real equity. Post Covid “You all are beautiful.” and post uprising we need to talk about, ‘How can we push “Yes indeed.” towards equity?’” Parker, who has long been a community activist in Greens-

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he smell of freshly fried chicken hangs heavy in the humid summer air as Demeanor begins to strum the strings on his electric banjo. The plinky-plunky sounds of the instrument mingles with chirping cicadas as the sun sets beyond Plott Street in Greensboro, illuminating the Bennett College water tower. The light is golden. “Tell ‘em how the banjo is Black!” yells activist April Parker from the lawn behind the Historic Magnolia House, where dozens have gathered for a sociallydistanced outdoor concert. The event on Saturday evening served as a fundraiser for the historic building, which was included as a stop in The Negro Motorist Green Book during the Jim Crow years. Demeanor, aka Justin Harrington, an activist and musician based in Greensboro, helped put the set list together for the evening’s event. He explains to the crowd on the lawn, as well as those listening to the concert from their cars and at home from their laptops, that the origin of the bluegrass instrument comes from enslaved peoples in the Caribbean and in Africa. “The banjo has its ancestry in Africa with instruments like the akonting,” he says, “and the type of banjo that I play was basically what happened when Americans picked up what the banjo is.” Demeanor’s set runs the gamut from banjo music infused with Egyptian chords to jazzy folk accompanied by the lyricist’s seamless rapping. And as the night goes on with more Black artists like J. Timber, Debbie the Artist and the Leroy Pridgen quartet taking the stage to showcase their talents, viewers are given a taste of what might have been like for Black artists and musicians like James Baldwin and Sam Cooke when they stayed at the house decades ago. “It feels good because they’ve supported Black artists for so long,” Demeanor says about the house. “So, it’s nice to be able to support them.” The house, owned and run by Natalie Miller and her father Samuel Penn Pass, closed its doors in March when the pandemic took off and reopened to the public for the first time on Saturday. Miller has been hosting jazz brunches at the house, and hopes to eventually restore it to an exact replica of the 1940’s Green Book bed and breakfast. She says they’ve struggled financially because of the pandemic, and that people in the community still don’t seem to recognize

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

CULTURE ‘Black is beautiful’ at Historic Magnolia House concert

Historic Magnolia House, Greensboro

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020 Shot in the Triad

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SHOT IN THE TRIAD

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Attendees enjoyed live music while social distancing at the Historic Magnolia House in Greensboro on Saturday.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

(#177, Nov. 2004)

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1 Like blue material 5 More up to the task 10 Curtain holder 13 Cookie with a Thin Crisps variety 14 Really bad invitation turnout 15 “H to the ___ ...” (Jay-Z lyric) 16 Farm structure 17 Destines to destruction 18 Deride loudly 19 Set of which all seven elements are fittingly hidden in the grid 22 Org. taken over by Mahmoud Abbas in November 2004 23 Those, in Toledo 24 Campus activist gp. of the 1960s ©2004, 2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 27 Problem for a valet 31 Popular place to hang out 33 Base x height / 2, for a triangle 34 Bread served with vindaloo 36 He said “Say hello to my little friend!” 37 Heavy president and family 39 Court figure 41 Drill bit, usually 42 Mean 44 Big galoot Answers from last issue 46 Namer of Einstein as Person of the Century 47 She played Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend 15 1040 org. 49 One who gives up too easily 20 Under the weather 51 It may be hard to follow 21 Abbr. on a cornerstone 52 Own (up) 24 Pep rally intangible 54 Get to the poi? 25 “She ___ Wrong” 55 What you should hear in the background 26 Closet organizer, maybe as you’re solving/playing 27 Daughter of Muhammad 60 Pilgrimage to Mecca 28 Pertaining to a radioactive element 63 Kirsten of “Wimbledon” 29 ___ the altar 64 Word after guard or third 30 Roofing goo 65 Gore, as distinguished from his father 32 Lawyer/novelist who wrote 66 Clear a videotape “Presumed Innocent” 67 Mixture 35 Keanu, in “The Matrix” 68 Rule opposed by Gandhi 38 Screw-up 69 German dissents 40 Web page for newbies 70 Word repeated in an NPR game show title 43 The ___ Dolls (cabaret/punk band) 45 Former MTV personality Daisy Down 48 Guarantee 1 Dominic Monaghan TV show 50 “Who’s ready?” response 2 Buffalo’s lake 53 Cedars-___ (L.A. hospital) 3 Whipping reminder 55 ___ Nabisco (bygone corporation) 4 They may show actors’ or doctors’ names 56 Part of AMA 5 Et cetera 57 Room in a Spanish house 6 Betty of cartoons 58 4, on some clocks 7 King of Katzenstein, in a Dr. Seuss story 59 Form a scab 8 Fit together 60 Belly laugh sound 9 Fix a botched job at Baskin-Robbins, e.g. 61 Pie ___ mode 10 Wu-Tang member aka Bobby Digital 62 Monogram of Peter Parker’s publisher 11 ___fest (Osbourne-hosted tour) boss, in “Spider-Man” 12 Egg carton amt.

EVENTS

Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2020

CROSSWORD ‘Mental Blocks’—The answers will fall in line. SUDOKU