TCB Sept. 3, 2020 — Wakanda forever! by Triad City Beat

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Sept. 3-9, 2020 triad-city-beat.com

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WAKANDA FOREVER Chadwick Boseman 1976-2020

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Why do the story? PAGE 10

Elections PAGES 5-9

Jasmine, blooming PAGE 12

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Sept. 3-9, 2020

Fake news and the hanging curve ball

Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the 100 Days Since George Floyd 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? 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: Miranda Jones

Teacher, activist, and founding member of Hate Out of Winston.

Anthony Morgan aka

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

In every young government officials and, usually somebaseball player’s where towards the bottom of the list for so career there many Americans, reputable and verifiable comes a moment news sources. at the crossroads. We — that is, the purveyors of this inAfter a few years formation — are the pitcher. Except some of Little League, of us are only interested in getting the the kid’s learned ball into the strike zone, where a receptive by Brian Clarey to swing a bat batter can properly connect with the ball pretty good. He’s crushing the ball until — which for our purposes is the news, in the pitchers start to become more skilled, case you haven’t figured it out. more intent on getting him to miss than These other pitchers, though… maybe throwing into the strike they’re not interested in zone. And sooner or later, giving you anything you he will come into contact can hit. Maybe they just Baseball with a hanging curve ball. want to make you think the The hanging curve is a pitch is going to smash you metaphors, pitch that breaks too late in the face. amirite? Where before diving into the strike The analogy pretty would we be zone, and an errant one much falls apart here, as all looks, to a young batter, of them eventually must. without them? like it’s coming right at his In baseball, a pitcher’s job head. To an experienced is to make the hitter miss. player, it’s a gift: stay on it and it will surely And I wouldn’t get picked to play in a bar drop right into your wheelhouse. Everyleague if all I threw were arcing, easy-toone else just dives out of the way as the understand meatballs meant to be swatted ump calls a strike. out of the park. Baseball metaphors, amirite? Where But my point remains: If you want to would we be without them? play in the game, understand where your In this one, you, dear reader, are the pitch is coming from, don’t just swing at batter — a consumer of news in its myriad anything and keep your eye out for the formats: memes and social media posts, hanging curve. announcements and press releases from

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

A m er ica h a s a h i s t o r y o f c re a t i n g B l a c k d a u g h ter s b u t d i s re g a rd i n g t h e b e h a vi o r th a t is ve r y a n t i - B l a c k t o w a rd s t h e m .

— Jasmine Best pg. 12

Dr. Brittany Battle

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.

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: SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka We say goodbye to the Black niksnacksblog@gmail.com Panther. [Illustration by Robert EDITORIAL INTERN Michaela Ratliff Paquette] 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

Sept. 3-9, 2020

CITY LIFE Sept. 3-6 by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Sept. 3

Trivia @ Natty Greene’s Brewhouse (GSO) 7 p.m.

SATURDAY Sept. 5

Food Freaks Food Truck @ the Beer Growler (W-S) 4 p.m.

Pop-Up Crepe Station @ Reto’s Kitchen (GSO) 9 a.m.

Shot in the Triad

Thursdays are for trivia at Natty Greene’s. Gather your team of no more than four people and wear your thinking caps as there are prizes to win. Beer pitchers will be available for $15 and food trucks will be stopped outside for dinner. Wear your mask and come prepared to play!

Wise Man Brewing is teaming up with Angelo’s Artisan Market to bring you their fourth annual fall market, featuring vendors selling handmade art, jewelry and more. Interested vendors can visit this page for more information about participating.

Culture

Toiletry Drive @ Center City Park (GSO) 9 a.m. Dana Daughtry knows what it’s like to struggle with homelessness. Now back on his feet, this is the fourth annual toiletry drive he has hosted to give back to those experiencing hardship. This is not only a drive, but a chance to distribute the collected items to those in need. To help out, meet at Center City Park on the Friendly Ave. side.

Fall Market @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S) 12 p.m.

Opinion

Vegan Chalking Night @ Country Park (GSO) 5 p.m. Piedmont Area Vegan Educators are hosting a vegan chalking night, giving you the chance to unleash your artistic side while showing compassion for animals and veganism. Head to Country Park with chalk in hand or use some of PAVE’s. PAVE expects participants to wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines. Visit World Vegan Chalking’s Instagram for art ideas.

SUNDAY Sept. 6

News

Bike Night @ Kickback Jack’s (HP) 7 p.m. Bikers, this one’s for you. Stop by KickBack Jack’s and show off your ride while enjoying live music by Vinyl Tap.

Fleet Feet in partnership with American Red Cross is hosting a blood drive. Visit Red Cross’ website and search “Fleet Feet High Point” to schedule your appointment.

Free Farmer’s Market @ the Farm at New Garden Park (GSO) 10 a.m. The goal of this farmer’s market is for any Guilford County resident experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic to receive up to $30 worth of locally grown, fresh produce at no cost. Donations to the market are also welcome.

Up Front

Academic Day Camp @ Old Town Gymnastics Academy (W-S) 8 a.m. Until Oct. 1, Old Town Gymnastics Academy wants to assist in your child’s virtual learning! Lessons coincide with Forsyth and Yadkin County school systems. Visit Old Town’s website to register and view future dates.

Blood Drive @ Fleet Feet (HP) 1 p.m.

FRIDAY Sept. 4

Crazy about crepes? Head to Reto’s Kitchen for yours at this pop-up station taking place rain or shine. Try your usual or one of the new options they’ll have to offer. Debit/credit is preferred.

Food Freaks will be at the Growler bringing you their menu of burgers, pepper dogs and more! Don’t forget to follow up with a fresh craft draft beer from the bar.

Puzzles

Virtual Auditions @ Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra (GSO) All Day GSYO auditions for the 2020-2021 season are via video this year. The deadline for applications is the end of the day Sept. 13 so visit GSYO’s website to start your application. The season will include sociallydistance activities and virtual music performances.

Sept. 3-9, 2020

Coronavirus in the Triad:

News

Up Front

(as of Wednesday, Sept. 2, compared to last week)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC

170,553 (+11,568)

Forsyth

6,266 (+314)

Guilford County

6,891 (+589)

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

COVID-19 deaths NC

2,769 (+162)

Forsyth

76 (+7)

Guilford

170 (+7)

Documented recoveries NC

145,884 (+9,254)

Forsyth

5,461 (+275)

Guilford

3,985 (+250)

Puzzles

Hospitalizations

858 (-146)

Forsyth

18 (0)

Guilford

596 (+14)

NEWS

Sept. 3-9, 2020

Democratic challenger Blake Odum looks to unseat Republican incumbent Pat Tillman on Guilford County school board by Sayaka Matsuoka

Up Front News Opinion Culture

Blake Odum (left) says his experience working in public schools makes him a better fit for the board. Tillman argues that his accomplishments from the last four years speak for themselves.

Then the pandemic and the racial justice uprisings hit. “Many constituents in District 3 started reaching out to me,” he said. “The support has been coming in and I don’t think [race] is as big of a barrier as it was in March or February.” Tillman currently works as a senior business development executive at THS Creative and served in the Marines for 13 years. In a recent phone interview, he called Odum a “great guy” but said that he believes that he’s done good work in the last four years and deserves to keep his seat. He pointed to his work which helped secure five new CTE, or career technical education, programs that he said will help students during the uncertain economic future. “I’ve gotten to see so much in the last four years and that experience is

Puzzles

excitement with my choice to run for the Odum said he was told by many when board of education because educators he filed to run for the seat that there was want a voice from the frontlines as opno way he was going to win as a Black posed to the sidelines.” Democrat. Tillman, who is running for re-elec“I was actually crushed by some of the tion, won the seat in 2016 after beating words of some influential individuals in Democrat Angelo Kidd, another canthe area because my district is predomididate with nantly white an extensive and I was For more 2020 election coverage, education told that I background. wouldn’t visit triad-city-beat.com/category/ Tillman won be able to election-2020. by less than win,” Odum a percentage said. “To point. be told that District 3 starts in the heart of the I couldn’t win because I was a Black county in the Greensboro neighborcandidate in a predominantly white hood of Lindley Park, a predominantly district in 2020, there were times when Democratic area, before spreading to the I thought about dropping out. I didn’t northwest into Oak Ridge and Stokesknow if I could deal with the trauma of dale which trend more Republican. that.”

Shot in the Triad

Democrat Blake E. Odum considers Republican Guilford County School Board member Pat Tillman to be a friend. “I think he is a great guy,” Odum said in a phone interview. “I think he has served the best he’s known how in his position.” But just because they’re friends doesn’t mean Odum will hold back in the race for Tillman’s seat this fall. Odum, who currently serves as a youth development coordinator for Vandalia Elementary faces Tillman, who works in business development and has held the seat since 2016. Odum said he believes he is the better candidate to represent District 3 because of his experience working in the public school system. “I think experience matters,” Odum said. “A lot of educators have expressed

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Sept. 3-9, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

unparalleled by Blake or anyone that I’ve run against,” Tillman said. “It’s not a resume contest but even if it were, I think my background experience runs deep and wide…. It’s been a privilege and an honor to serve the people of District 3 and beyond. I’m just very grateful to have had the opportunity and I look forward to continuing that work.”

On the pandemic and reopening schools

Odum said his biggest concern going into the election is advocating for proper technology and access for all kids across the school district while they learn remotely. In October 2019, Odum said he saw the lack of resources at Vandalia Elementary for the most marginalized students and advocated for a device for every student in the school. He eventually worked with school administrators and outside sources like Technology for the Future of High Point to make his goal a reality. When the pandemic hit, Odum took his success story from Vandalia Elementary and made suggestions to Winston McGregor, the at-large member on the school board, to do something similar across the district. “That is the type of person we need on the board of education,” Odum argued. “People who are resourceful enough to help solve some of these problems.” Tillman agreed with his opponent that technology and access remains a problem for students as they learn virtually. That’s why he is advocating for students to return to schools and quickly and safely as possible. “I just think that if we’re looking out for our most vulnerable students, getting back into schools in a safe manner is of the utmost importance,” Tillman said. “We know that from data from Hurricane Katrina that the achievement gap will widen the longer kids are out of schools.” Odum differs with his incumbent opponent on when to send kids back to schools. “We need to make sure that we are acting responsibly and appropriately to make a decision on when to return,” Odum said. “I miss my students. I would want them here just to see their faces, but we know that’s not the safest choice yet.” Tillman acknowledged that COVID-19 poses a threat but said the widening achievement gap poses a greater risk. “I think we need to reopen schools as quickly as we can,” he said. At a school board meeting at the end

of July, Tillman argued for five weeks of online learning rather than the nine weeks that eventually passed. The two candidates also differ on the issue of students playing sports during the pandemic. Tillman said he supports it because it helps students’ mental health and their grades. “I think sports are a great tool for young men and women,” Tillman said. “In a lot of cases I think you’ll find that student athletes work hard to keep their grades up because of athletics.” Odum said participating in sports is not worth the risk. “I am a huge fan of sports,” Odum said. “But as much as it breaks all of our hearts, it’s just not safe right now and to have someone pushing to resume it would put lives in danger.”

On school funding and the state of school facilities

Odum said he was disappointed to see that the county commissioners only passed a bond referendum for $300 million when the requested amount for school facilities from the school board was $1.6 billion. “There was no accountability for our local elected officials,” Odum said. “Our students deserve the best. That would be another one of my priorities.” Tillman voted for the $1.6 billion request in during a March school board meeting along with six of his colleagues. He said there’s no use dwelling on past decisions by other boards and that the school board needs to focus on how to best to spend the $300 million if it gets passed by voters in the fall. “While $300 million is not enough to address the issues that we have, that’s the number we got,” Tillman said. He added that he would support a future bond. Odum said he was disappointed by the amount approved by the county commissioners for school facilities, and like Tillman, he would advocate for a future bond. “In order for us to be a cutting-edge district, we need people to make decisions to ensure that our students are learning in some of the best facilities,” Odum said.

On racial equity and policing in schools Odum got his start in public education as a student instructor for an after-school program in Michigan at a predominantly Black and Brown school. A few years later, Odum expanded his advocacy of

racial justice in schools by starting the Motivational Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for historically Black colleges and universities and helps students get into colleges. When he moved to North Carolina, he said he took the job at Vandalia Elementary, a school that has a majority-minority student population with 73 percent Black and 16 percent Latinx students. Because of his experience, Odum said he understands the nuance of race in schools and how it can play out in discipline. In November 2019, the school board voted to allow parents and students to appeal short-term suspensions in the school district. Supporters of the measure argued that there were disparities in discipline based on race and that the appeals would allow for more due process. During the November board meeting, Tillman expressed concern that the appeals process would create more work for principals, and he voted against the measure. “I just think that when we start taking tools away from principals, to me, that’s not productive,” Tillman said in an interview. Odum said he supported the change. “There is data that tells us that children of color are suspended at much higher rates for the same or lesser infractions as others,” Odum said. “A policy that allows marginalized parents, primarily, to have a voice in a decision that they may not necessarily agree with is important to address inequities in the system.” Tillman said he would want to “see the data” that people’s “civil liberties being violated” but after being told the disparities that exist in discipline between Black and Brown students versus white students in Guilford County, he acknowledged there might be a problem, but said he believes discipline is an “individual issue.” “It’s not targeted at a group,” he said. “But if the collection of those individuals end up being a certain race, that’s hard for me to make a decision because I’m not there.” Odum and Tillman also differ on policing in schools. Odum said that he thinks it’s an important conversation to be had and that one solution may not work for every school. “Too often we try to do a one-size-fitsall fix,” Odum said. “We want to hear from parents. Ultimately, if the majority of parents feel safe with an officer in the building, then let’s put an officer in the building.”

Odum said there might be another prevailing opinion at schools where students of color comprise the majority. “Having an officer in the building means something different based on what building that is, and there is data to support that,” he said. “In some schools, SROs are a community liaison. They are not viewed as a threat… and at other schools, they may not be viewed as a friendly resource. They may be viewed like, If I make one mistake, I’m going to jail.” Tillman said he supports having officers in schools. “They develop meaningful mentortype relationships with students,” Tillman said. “These SROs have prevented so many students from ending up in the criminal justice system; it’s not the other way around. These SROs prevent acts long before they happen. They are a deterrent.” Both candidates say Guilford County schools need additional support staff such as psychologists. Odum said again cited his classroom experience as a reason voters should trust him to make decisions about police in schools. “The difference between Pat and I boils down to experience,” Odum said. “It’s much different to see it from the outside than to be in the center of it all on a day to day basis…. To be in the building with [students] is much different. Some things that we might think are minute issues are major issues, but how you know the difference is based on experience. It doesn’t make Pat a bad person or a bad politician, but at the end of the day, I’m not going to allow a dentist to perform heart surgery on me. It doesn’t make the dentist a bad doctor, it just means that’s not his expertise.” Tillman, who has three kids in the public school system, pushed back on the notion that he can’t know what’s going on in schools without working in them. “To say that I don’t see what’s going on is a little bit short-sighted,” Tillman said. “I think many times people in education maybe don’t see the wider perspective. I come from a background in military, business and I have three kids in schools. I have a much more wellrounded perspective.”

Sept. 3-9, 2020 Up Front

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Sept. 3-9, 2020 Opinion

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Democrats’ dream of retaking NC Senate runs through eastern Forsyth by Jordan Green

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Culture

Incumbent Joyce Krawiec (left) faces Democrat Terri LeGrand in the Senate District 31 race.

The contest in Senate District 31, which conjoins the eastern end of Forsyth County with Davie County through a narrow strip south of Winston-Salem, pits a staunch social-conservative lawmaker against a progressive challenger. Redistricting last year made District 31 more competitive, but the partisan index published by the conservative Civitas Institute still gives Republican incumbent Joyce Krawiec a four-point advantage. In an election year seen as a potential blue wave, Democrats have a much more narrow path to the majority in the Senate than in the House, and they’re pinning their hopes on Terri LeGrand, a Wake Forest University administrator, to take them across the finish the line. “It’s likely this seat will determine whether we have a Democratic majority,” LeGrand told Triad City Beat in a Zoom call. “The most important first vote I will cast will be for independent, nonpartisan redistricting. I look forward to restoring democracy and making sure the district lines are fair. After that par-

ticular vote, we’ll get started at the other important work of expanding Medicaid and investing in a job-training program.” Krawiec, a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention who has made restrictions on abortion the centerpiece of her seven-year tenure in the state House, defends the current system, which allows the majority party to draw district lines — a process that has produced a succession of maps over the past decade that have been struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. “Our North Carolina Constitution clearly defines the process for redistricting,” Krawiec said in an email to TCB. “According to the constitution, redistricting will be done by the legislature. Democrats, who controlled the legislature for 140 years, never saw fit to change the constitution. I find it strange that now we hear a clamor for a redistricting commission.” The two candidates also differ on the issue of expanding Medicaid to cover those who do not earn enough to qualify

FILE PHOTOS

for federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, with Krawiec opposing expansion. “This pandemic has shown us how many people lack healthcare coverage and what the dangers are when people become unemployed and lose coverage,” LeGrand said. “It’s critical that we expand Medicaid and cover as many people as possible. If we did it tomorrow — and I hope we do — hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians would have coverage. It’s more important than ever.” Krawiec said her first priority is covering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “These severely disabled people have been on a waitlist for an average of seven to 10 years,” Krawiec said. “I want to see Medicaid expanded to cover this population first.” The race has attracted significant national attention from Democraticaligned groups. One such group, Swing Left, is targeting the race as part of its

“Super State Strategy,” which aims to flip the White House, the US Senate and state legislatures with the express purpose of “rolling back Republican gerrymandering.” In May, LeGrand received the endorsement of EveryDistrict, another national organization focused on flipping seats from red to blue. And in August LeGrand was one of 10 North Carolina candidates who received the endorsement of President Obama, who spotlighted them as “sticking up for working-class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans — not just those at the top.” LeGrand is a prodigious fundraiser whose receipts as of the most recent filing period ending on June 30 totaled $465,942, compared to only $85,417 raised by the Krawiec campaign. But fundraising totals don’t necessarily predict success: In 2018, as a candidate in the right-leaning House District 74, LeGrand raised $746,473 for the entire campaign cycle, but still lost to Repub-

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Sept. 3-9, 2020

In terms of specific reforms, LeGrand told TCB that she supports lifting restrictions on access to police body-worn camera footage, but said she would have to study a proposal to create a registry to prevent problem officers from migrating from agency to agency. In the wake of revelations that John Neville died from asphyxiation during an encounter with detention officers at the Forsyth County jail, protesters in Winston-Salem have called for a ban on the use of prone restraint. District 31 (blue) conjoins the eastern end FILE IMAGE of Forsyth county with Davie county. “As a lay person who’s not schooled in any kind paign website to “support common-sense of restraint techniques, it seems like gun safety laws, including universal that would be unnecessary,” LeGrand background checks and a ‘red flag’ law said. “Especially now that we know that would allow petitioners to ask a that caused the death of John Neville, I judge to issue a gun-violence restraining can’t imagine that any law enforcement order to remove firearms from people agency would think that would be an found to be a risk to themselves or othappropriate means of restraint.” ers.” Krawiec’s response to Floyd’s death Krawiec declined to state her posiand the months of protests that have foltion on a number of gun-safety issues, lowed has been relatively muted. Asked including red-flag laws, responding only what legislative changes, if any, she generally by saying, “I would like to see would support to address systemic racgun laws enforced.” Asked specifically ism and police abuses, Krawiec attemptwhether background checks should aped to turn Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough’s ply to gun shows, Krawiec responded, endorsement against her opponent. “All gun laws should always apply, “John Neville died under the care of everywhere, even at gun shows.” (North Democrat Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, Carolina does not currently require sellwhose endorsement Terri LeGrand was ers at gun shows to conduct background strongly touting until recently,” Krawiec checks for long guns.) wrote in an email to TCB. She added: “I Both candidates present themselves as am the law-and-order candidate, but I supporters of public education. only want the best and safest officers.” Krawiec calls herself “one of the bigLeGrand has also gone on the attack gest champions of education,” saying against Krawiec, calling a bill filed by she “helped pass $9,000 in raises for Krawiec accelerating the termination public school teachers, bringing their the parental rights of expectant mothsalaries to $54,000 on average.” ers struggling with substance abuse LeGrand said the General Assembly disorders after nine months “lack[ing] in needs to do a better job of consulting understanding and empathy” and repteachers before setting the budget. resentative of “a cruel and paternalistic “Before we pick a number, we need to approach to governing.” talk to teachers,” she said. “We need to Krawiec defended the bill in an email have committee hearings and bring them to TCB as a way “to expedite permanento Raleigh. What are they spending their cy for children in foster care.” She wrote: money on? I see teachers spending $500 “Currently, children are languishing out of pocket for classroom supplies. in foster care, being moved from foster What are their needs? We need to look family to foster family. Children become at the data. What are teachers making more difficult to adopt as they age. All in surrounding states? What does the children need and deserve a stable peraverage bachelor’s degree holder make manent home.” compared to the teacher? Like other Democrats attempting to flip Republican-controlled seats in the Triad, LeGrand pledges on her cam-

TRUTH IS POWER

lican Debra Conrad, who only raised $189,528. Reflecting national support for LeGrand’s candidacy, several contributions of $5,000 or more come from donors in places like California, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, DC. Her biggest supporter is the NC Democratic Party Senate Caucus, which has been paying her campaign manager’s salary since the beginning of the year. Beyond her overwhelming fundraising advantage, LeGrand has also attracted broad support, with 2,086 separate contributions averaging $223, compared to Krawiec, who has reported 66 contributions averaging $1,294. Krawiec’s largest donation, at $10,800, comes from Truist North Carolina PAC, while she’s raised a total of $14,750 from various sources in the daycare industry. Krawiec has responded to the challenge from LeGrand by attempting to paint her opponent as an outsider, noting that LeGrand moved into the district shortly after the new lines were drawn and that she’s garnered support from out of state. Her attack line against LeGrand echoes President Trump and the national GOP in an effort to undercut her opponent by accusing her of being in favor of “defunding the police.” Krawiec cited an article in the Kernersville News as the basis of her claim, telling TCB: “My opponent uses misleading language to attempt to hide the fact that she wants to defund police. She recently told the Kernersville News she wanted to ‘reallocate’ police funding but denied wanting to defund.” LeGrand reiterated her position that she does not support defunding the police in a statement to TCB. The Kernersville News article raises the issue of defunding the police — a demand of many protesters who have been in the streets decrying police abuse — and then states: “LeGrand said, no, that’s not something she supports. What LeGrand does support is taking a hard look at how funding is dispersed and then funding what we value. For LeGrand, that would be putting more money into mental health and social services.” The article quotes LeGrand as saying, “I think that it’s important that we fund social services in a much better way. We should take a look at that.” LeGrand responded to the death of George Floyd by issuing a statement in late May pledging to “follow the lead of the Legislative Black Caucus,” while acknowledging that as a white person she hasn’t lived the experience of people of color.

EDITORIAL

Why write the story?

We tackled a piece of fast-breaking and created another post about the news last week about an officer-involved release of the footage with clips of shooting in Greensboro with contradicteverything to back it up. ing claims. Police said the man accidenThere’s so much to glean from this. tally shot himself while running with a For one, police can release bodygun, but the guy with the bullet in him camera footage pretty damn quickly — along with a couple witnesses — said when they want to. For another, it shows he was shot by the police. that body camera footage can exonerIn the absence of definitive proof — ate the police , too. Either way, every like, for instance, single recorded police body-camera minute of a police footage of the officer’s body-camOur investigation was event, which by era footage should state law the public be public record. unresolved, compiling is not allowed to This, of course, eyewitness accounts see without a court would require a order — and, if change in state law. and info from the we’re being honest, It also raises the incident report, because of a degree question of whether of general mistrust we should have because that’s what in law enforcement done this story at all. journalism is. institutions, we Our answer: checked it out. Absolutely. Our investigation We were presentwas unresolved, just ed with conflicting a compilation of eyewitness accounts stories of a police altercation in which and information from the incident rea citizen took a bullet. Unable to verify port, because that’s what journalism is. what actually happened, we presented In between the time we posted the the facts we were able to uncover. story online and the day our weekly Without our reporting, we believe the newspaper came out, Greensboro Greensboro police would never have police released the body-camera footreleased the video of this altercation. age of the incident, in which the suspect And it puts all local law enforcement clearly admits to shooting himself by agencies on notice that we will be agaccident to an officer on the scene. gressively reporting on them when we As the new information came in, we find something that doesn’t add up. made an update to the original story,

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Sept. 3-9, 2020

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Sept. 3-9, 2020

‘My favorite thing was that he liked us’ — Fans mourn loss of on-screen and real-life superhero Chadwick Boseman By Michaela Ratliff

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the movie was released. Black people lined up outside theaters dressed in African garb to see an ensemble cast of Black actors portrayed as royalty. They crossed their arms over their chests shouting, “Wakanda forever!” According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide and became the highestgrossing film by a Black director. On Sunday night, ABC aired Black Panther with no commercials and was viewed by 6.1 million people, followed by a special honoring Boseman’s life, A Tribute for a King, viewed by 4.7 million. The soundtrack to the film was a success, too, with King’s Dead winning a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. Black Panther was a role model to children, showing them that they could be superheroes, too. Nikolaus Knight, a North Carolina A&T alum who now GAGE SKIDMORE Chadwick Boseman speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, works as a teacher at Dunfor Black Panther at the San Diego Convention Center. bar Elementary in Memphis, entered his classroom the “I didn’t understand what they were telling me,” he says, following Monday and allowed his students space to process “but an internet search revealed the news was true.” the loss. He says this loss hurt so much because there was finally He created a PowerPoint template that asked if the kids someone to fill the big shoes of the Black Panther role, only to recognized some pictures of him. lose him to an illness even the Black Panther could not defeat. “These slides did not require me to explain what death was “This is a type of loss that I don’t think the world has felt or to inform students that he had passed away,” he says. before,” he said. “Yes, actors have died young, but not quite an “It gave everyone, including the teacher, a chance to process actor who so exemplified a one role of such great importance their emotions and make the connection between Chadwick to so many.” and the moments that brought us joy, light, and empowerExum says Boseman’s death should be viewed as a wake-up ment.” call to young adults, and that people should focus on the huHe then showed a YouTube video, courtesy of WokeKinman, not the role he portrayed. dergarten, explaining who Boseman was and the different “Now is not the time to consider how the Marvel Cinematic roles he played on- and off-screen. The last slide included the Universe of movies may continue,” he says. “Now is the time song from the film All the Stars and gave students the chance to study Chadwick Boseman’s path to success to see how it to share their favorite memory of the superhero. Students’ may be duplicated. Now is the time to consider the brevity of responses were positive, saying, “I love how he flipped off life and the importance of monitoring health.” the car,” or, “I liked that he was bulletproof.” Something one Boseman’s death comes as a crushing blow to those that student said stuck with Knight, and that is why he found it so adored him not only because of what he embodied, but who important to include this in his class. he was. President Barack Obama shared his thoughts on Twit“My favorite thing was that he liked us [Black people].” ter about Boseman stating, “To be young, gifted, and Black; to To Exum, Black Panther represents the importance of Black use that power to give them heroes to look up to; to do it all characters fiction having unlimited potential, not having to be while in pain — what a use of his years.” confined to roles that portray negative stereotypes. When he heard the news, Exum recalls being in a state of shock.

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ermaine Exum breaks it down. “After much racially-charged taunting from the Red Skull,” he says, “T’Challa made a promise to the Skull that he would break his jaw. He does just that and the Red Skull is defeated in hand to hand combat, not by Captain America, but by the Black Panther.” Exum, an avid comics reader who has been employed by Acme Comics for 24 years, says his favorite Black Panther story neatly explains why Black Panther is a hero. The tweet from Chadwick Boseman’s account announcing the actor’s passing on Aug. 28 became the most popular tweet of all time, with more than 5.7 million likes. And Boseman’s death comes during a modern-day civil rights movement. Boseman had suffered from colon cancer since 2016. Despite being terminally ill, he managed to deliver outstanding performances in films highlighting Black excellence, starring as Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get on Up and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall. He first appeared as the superhero Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War in 2016, but it was his leading portrayal in Black Panther in 2018 that earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. To his fans everywhere, especially the Black community, his death is somber, but his body of work makes his life worth celebrating. Marvel moguls Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Black Panther in 1966 after noticing a lack of Black representation in comics at the time. Black Panther broke barriers during the Civil Rights Movement as the first Black superhero to appear in mainstream American comics. Many people think he was named after the Black Panther Party — a Black nationalist political party founded that same year — but that was merely a coincidence as he was named after the animal. Black Panther, aka T’Challa, king and protector of the fictional African nation Wakanda, relies on his strength, wealth and knowledge of technology in battles against his enemies. The world went into a frenzy when

Sept. 3-9, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

CULTURE Jasmine, blooming: UNCG alum returns to exhibit new show by Sayaka Matsuoka

he figure kneels in front of the spectator in a subservient pose, her arms bent forward in offering and her head bowed low, obscuring her face. Dandelions and wild strawberries ornament her pitch-black body. Her name is “Baby Girl.” “It was a specific moment,” artist Jasmine Best remembers. “I was like a tween, maybe 12 or something like that. I was at a cookout, a friend of the family’s. The cookout had slowed down and everyone was outside chilling. I was inside… and this guy comes in and he’s just like ‘Can you make me a plate, baby girl?’” Best describes her memory from more than a decade ago. She’s transported to a family friend’s cookout and is minding her own business when a man comes inside the house and asks her to fix him a plate. She doesn’t know him. This isn’t her house. She just looks at him until he realizes she’s not going to get him anything. The memory is solidified in the form of a large, digital and gouache painting by Best which hangs on a wall in the Gatewood Gallery at UNCG. “Baby Girl” and other paintings in the series describe names that the artist has been called throughout her life and the subsequent feelings that arose when she was called them. “That’s how I was thinking about this pose,” Best says about the painting. “If you’re about to present a platter in a bowing motion because the expectation there was for me to just jump up and be like, ‘Oh yeah! No problem.’ But in reality, it was like, I don’t know you, I don’t know why you felt comfortable calling a strange 12-year-old girl ‘baby girl.’” The piece encompasses the core message of Best’s new show at the gallery titled, American Weeds Growing Through Docile Garden, which opened on Aug. 21 and runs through Sept. 13. “This show was born out of a few different experiences I had where I was seeing that there wasn’t as much callout to misogynoir both in and outside of the Black community,” Best says. “I’m not always the best at communicating with people, which is why I think I make art. So, I thought that the best way to discuss it was to create pieces around it.” Throughout the show, Best tackles issues of sexism and racism and microaggressions surrounding her experience as a Black woman. She parallels the lives

Artist Jasmine Best stands next to her piece “Pulled Out at the Root” in the Gatewood Gallery at UNCG.

and labor of Black women and femmes with weeds that were brought from other parts of the world to America to serve a specific purpose, only to be cast aside and demonized once they began to thrive. In her series of paintings named after the show, with the Black figures that resemble bodies by Henri Matisse, Best recalls other monikers she’s been called like “negress,” “Nubian queen” and “uppity.”

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

“These ones were focusing on uncomfortable, unnatural positions,” Best explains. “And the idea that there’s sort of this expectation for Black femmes, and women in general, but I know there’s just this certain level of labor that Black femmes are expected to do… extra effort that goes into making other people comfortable in their presence. This idea of not just shrinking yourself but really bending over backwards to make sure other people are comfortable, whether that’s physically

Sept. 3-9, 2020 Up Front News Best says her text-based works display sentiments that she has been SAYAKA MATSUOKA too polite or Southern to say out loud.

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or socially, but it’s at Black femmes’ own In the most straightforward piece in expense, that could be body, spiritually, the show, Best projects a claim onto a mentally or a mixture of all of those.” black canvas with woven letters made of On the bodies of each of the figures found fabric. The statement is bold and are luscious depictions of wild strawberclear, “Black daughters are not excuses ries, dandelions, celandines and pinefor poor behavior.” apple weeds. Best explains that the piece is part of a “Those are all weeds that serve series of text-based works that describe another purpose,” Best says. “These are sentiments that she was either “too things that have specific other tasks polite or too Southern to say.” that they were brought here to do, but She describes interactions she’s had they’re considered weeds but the only with Black men in which she calls them difference between a weed and a flower out for saying something sexist and is what is deemed more useful or more being met with the argument that they beautiful.” couldn’t be sexist because they have a In the center of the gallery hangs daughter. She says that recent pop cullooming sculpture made up of fabric ture events with Kanye West, in which dolls created by Best. Their skins reflect he talked about convincing his wife Kim the skins of the figures in her paintKardashian to not abort their daughter, ings and are black with the wildflowers and rapper T.I., who made headlines and plants. They wear individual white when he said that he makes his daughter dresses, each strung up into the mass by go to the doctor regularly to make sure her hair. Best titled the work “Pulled Out her hymen is intact, made Best’s stateat the Root.” ment even more relevant during the She says she learned dollmaking at a pandemic. young age from her grandmothers and “It started off more as a personal great-grandmothers. She came to view thing of wanting people to stop and dolls as protecthink about tors and decided the Black to use them to women in American Weeds Growing signify Black their lives,” women’s pain Best says. through Docile Garden will be on and suffering. “Like, What display at the UNCG Gatewood “Black women are my actions Gallery through Sept. 13. Best are expected to doing that will host a virtual gallery talk via die off the frame is affecting or off the page,” them? rather Zoom about her show on Sept. Best says. “Black than being 10. Learn more about Best at men at least have immediately jasminebest.com or follow her on this visualization defensive. of lynching that Also noting Instagram at @jasminebestart. is often used in that that art and literature behavior isn’t for symbolism, coming from but Black women don’t. So I was stealing nowhere…. America has a history of a little bit of that lynching symbolism, creating Black daughters but disregardbut using it where they’re held by their ing the behavior that is very anti-Black hair which is often a very feminine trait, towards them. The Black community and Black women have a very political didn’t just get that from nowhere.” history of their hair.” As the pandemic rages on, Best says Best, who started conceptualizing and she unfortunately sees more and more working on the show a year ago, worried relevancy to current events in her work. that by the time the show opened this But the hope, she says, is for her pieces year that the themes and stories she to create meaningful conversations was trying to tell wouldn’t be relevant. between people. But as the pandemic progressed and the “I want to create a platform for things racial justice uprisings spread across the that I don’t think people are discussnation, she found that her messages ing enough,” Best says. “There’s a lot of were more relevant than ever. discussion around call-out culture and And although most of the national cancelling, but that’s not what I’m tryconversation around racial justice ating to do. I want people to just be more tempts to hold white people and white aware of what some of the people in institutions accountable, Best also their lives are going through.” extends the same critical questioning to Black patriarchy.

American Weeds Growing Through Docile Garden: “Baby Girl” on display in the Gatewood Gallery at UNCG.

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