TCB Feb. 18, 2021 — Challah!

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Feb. 18-24, 2021 triad-city-beat.com

CHALLAH!

FREE

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*Pronounced ‘haa -luh,’ not ‘chaa -luh.’ Don’t be that guy.

Pepper Segal’s modern take on an ancient bread PAGE 12 2 questions for GOP PAGE 2

Don’t be racist PAGE 11

Strongwoman PAGE 13

Feb. 18-24, 2021

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Just answer the question

F

rom here Everything changed after Jan. 6. on out, That’s the day everyone on the right who we’re thought they were patriots found out they adding a were traitors. Criminals. Enemies of the piece of reporting state. And some of them still hold elected to all our camoffice. paign coverage: Now, instead of avoiding our right-wing Every Republican relatives at holidays and family gatherings,

by Brian Clarey candidate we we’re wondering if we need to turn them interview — for anything, from soil and in to the FBI. Now, we question whether water board to US Senate — must answer our Republican friends believe in a deeptwo questions: state pedophile ring. Now, we must ask if 1. Who won the 2020 presidential elecour GOP candidates believe the Big Lie, tion? And and if they are working in 2. Do you think Trump service to it. bears responsibility for the We need to know. Now. Every GOP insurrection carried out in his At least one Republican candidate name? candidate we’ve interviewed we interview We do it because we must. so far does not like it, saying These questions acknowlas much in an email that acmust answer edge that the Republican two questions. cused us of inciting divisiveParty has been split in two, ness. and one side is positioning This much is true: We are itself as a domestic enemy of looking to draw a dividing the United States. line between candidates who come in This is what sedition looks like to me: good faith and those who want to poison To ignore the findings of our authorities the system from within, those who inhabit and our courts. To thwart democracy by the objective reality and those who deny disregarding election results. To grant aid facts, those who are loyal to the United and succor to those who have taken arms States and those who are loyal to Trump, against our government. To thwart, by because you can’t be both. means official and unofficial, the forward And we need to know. progress of our nation.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We need to strategically place vaccine clinics in trusted areas like churches, HBCUs, community centers, etc., where Black and Brown people often feel a sense of trust.

— Dr. Padonda Webb pg. 8

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

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

ART ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette robert@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

SALES

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka

CONTRIBUTORS

jordan@triad-city-beat.com

sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.256.9320 COVER: SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka Courtesy photo provided by niksnacksblog@gmail.com Pepper Segal.

KEY ACCOUNTS Drew Dix

drew@triad-city-beat.com Michaela Ratliff, Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

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

Feb. 18-24, 2021

CITY LIFE Feb. 18-21

by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Feb. 18

FRIDAY Feb. 19

Cross Pollination opens @ Reynolda House Museum of American Art (W-S) 9:30 a.m.

Art exhibition Cross Pollination explores pollination in nature and ecology. Museum members, first responders, Wake Forest faculty, staff and students are invited to an exclusive viewing before it opens to the public. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.

SATURDAY Feb. 20

Bike Week Kickoff Party @ Riding High Harley-Davidson (HP) 1 p.m.

SUNDAY Feb. 21

Winter Solo Show @ Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts (W-S) 9 a.m.

Up Front

Black History Month Shorts & Coup 53 @ RiverRun International Film Festival (W-S) Online

Riding High Harley-Davidson is kicking off riding season with a celebration! Enjoy free BBQ and giveaways while receiving a free bike safety check.

Potty Mouth Pottery @ Distractions (HP) 6 p.m.

Stop by Doggos with your furry friend and indulge in delicious tacos. Learn more about Taco Bros on their Facebook page.

Cinderella’s New Shoe Drive @ Piedmont Opera (W-S) 12 p.m.

Soul Revival @ High Point Yoga School (HP) 6 p.m.

A collection of nature-themed works by artist Carolina Corona will be available to view in the Arboreal Gallery until Mar. 27.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Pure Barre Open House @ Pure Barre (GSO) 1:45 p.m.

Culture

Magnolia’s Shoebox Lunch on Wheels @ Historic Magnolia House (GSO) 11 a.m.

Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in February, HMH is bringing a Black history lesson and a good meal right to your door.

Order with Doordash, Grubhub or call 336.617.3382 to place pick up orders.

Opinion

In celebration of Black History Month, RiverRun is screening a selection of short films and Coup 53, the story of the 1953 coup in Iran. For more information, visit RiverRun’s website.

News

Taco Bros Food Truck @ Doggos Dog Park & Pub (GSO) 5 p.m.

Shot in the Triad

Set your soul on fire on Friday nights at High Point Yoga School during soul revival.

Spots are limited due to COVID restrictions, so reserve your space in advance on HPYS’s website.

For just $6, unleash your artistic side at this adult-only pottery event. Guests over 21 will receive a complimentary glass of wine.

Reserve your spot on Distractions’ website.

Pure Barre invites you to a free, sociallydistanced beginner’s workout. Email greensboro@purebarre.com to register.

Puzzles

Piedmont Opera and the Salvation Army are hosting a shoe drive to collect new shoes for infants, children and women.

Drop off shoes at Forsyth Country Day School or Piedmont Opera. For more info, visit the event page on Facebook.

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Feb. 18-24, 2021 Up Front

Coronavirus in the Triad:

(As of Wednesday, Feb. 10, compared to last week)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC

829,507 (+23,609)

NC

1,954 (-337)

Forsyth

30,744 (+1,017)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford County

37,718 (+1,492)

Guilford

126 (-11)

News

COVID-19 deaths NC

10,670 (+498)

Forsyth

323 (+16)

Guilford

488 (+53)

Documented recoveries Opinion

NC Forsyth

765,456 (+35,002)

22,958 (as of 1/16, no new data)

Guilford

33,271 (+2,683)

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Current cases

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Hospitalizations (right now)

NC

53,381 (-11,882)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

3,958 (-1,247)

Vaccinations (statewide) NC First Dose Fully vaccinated

1,168,336 546,479 (+245,245)

Guilford First Dose 51,464 Fully vaccinated

26,711

Forsyth First dose 44,120 Fully vaccinated

24,125

NEWS

Feb. 18-24, 2021

GSO at-large candidates grapple with policing, pandemic and housing

by Jordan Green

Up Front News

Yvonne Johnson, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Michelle Kennedy, Tony Wilkins and Katie Rossabi (l-r) are the five contenders, so far, for the three at-large positions on Greensboro City Council.

an effort to field a mental health-crisis response team as an alternative to law enforcement after Marcus Smith died at the hands of police in 2018 as a result of cardiopulmonary arrest due to prone restraint.

Republican challengers enter the fray

On racial justice and police reform

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

The historic wave of protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis opened a national discussion about redirecting funding from punishment to social needs, and uprooting white supremacy. But the event that defined police-community relations in Greensboro took place almost two years earlier, when police responded to Marcus Smith who was experiencing a mental-health emergency by hogtying him. A medical examiner ruled Smith’s death as a homicide, listing the cause as cardiopulmonary arrest due to prone restraint. Smith’s family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city in the federal courts.

“The whole area of policing and justice and fairness is part of my heart,” Yvonne Johnson said without prompting in an interview. “One of the things I’d like to see us do is settle the case with Marcus Smith.”

She said she also wants to see more accountability.

“When police are in the wrong, they ought to be dealt with,” Johnson said.

“It’s reached a point now where people across the country are really fed up with misuse of force. I think if you start really holding them accountable, [the abuse] may be lessened.”

Johnson said she pushed council to take a vote requiring officers to receive training on racism, which is in the process of being rolled out, and she wants to strengthen criteria for vetting new

Culture

So far, two challengers — both registered Republicans — have indicated they plan to join the at-large race. Tony Wilkins, like Abuzuaiter, hasn’t ruled out a run for mayor or for a district seat. He said his decision will likely rest on which option is the most “mathematically” feasible. Wilkins’ choice between an at-large or district run will be influenced by where the lines fall when new districts are drawn as required by the 2020 Census. Wilkins previously represented District 5, but lost his 2017 re-election bid to Tammi Thurm by 10 points. Wilkins would face an uphill battle in a rematch with Thurm, who announced her plan to seek reelection on Monday.

While Greensboro municipal elections are nonpartisan, Democrats currently hold all nine seats.

“I don’t see anyone on this council asking the questions that I did,” Wilkins told Triad City Beat. “I think that’s needed. As far as me being a fiscal conservative, I feel there is some balance needed.”

Wilkins said he is a Republican because of his identification as a fiscal conservative. In an interview, he only partially distanced himself from Donald

Trump. The former president fanned unrest through months of false statements about purported election fraud, and incited an insurrection with an angry speech on Jan. 6 that prompted his supporters to storm the Capitol, resulting in at least five deaths and threats to murder lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence.

“Yes, Joe Biden is our president,” Wilkins said, when asked about Trump’s false statements seeking to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

But when asked if he acknowledged that Trump incited an insurrection, Wilkins said, “I’ll leave that up to the court system. I don’t know that the speech was any more fiery than other speeches. That’s not my call. That’s up to the legal system to decide.”

Katie Rossabi confirmed her plans to run at large in an email to TCB. She said she decided to run “because I feel Greensboro is not the city it could be.”

She added, “Rather than criticize and do nothing, I feel I should do my part to make a difference.”

Rossabi, who is also a registered Republican, said in an email: “Of course Joe Biden is president.”

She declined to say whether she personally believes that Trump incited an insurrection, writing, “I recognize the ruling of the democratically controlled Senate found former President Trump not guilty during his impeachment trial.

Other than this, I will not engage with you about non-local issues that you are raising solely to incite divisiveness.”

Opinion

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his year’s Greensboro City Council election promises a well-matched contest for mayor and a free-for-all in District 3, where Council member Justin Outling is vacating his seat to challenge mayoral incumbent Nancy Vaughan.

In contrast, elections for the three atlarge seats comprising the middle tier on city council look relatively predictable, with all three incumbents signaling their intention to run again.

Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson, executive director of One Step Further, was first elected to council in 1993 and served one term as mayor from 2007-09.

A progressive who is grounded in social justice, Johnson has enjoyed broad-based support across the city and has dominated the at-large field in election after election.

Marikay Abuzuaiter, a former restaurateur, won her first election 2011 as a progressive activist but has evolved into one the council’s most steadfast police backers. She’s held the No. 2 position over the past decade. Abuzuaiter hasn’t ruled out getting into the mayor’s race, which would likely encourage a flood of contenders for her vacated at-large seat.

The third at-large seat has historically favored conservative candidates, but Michelle Kennedy, executive director at the Interactive Resource Center, defied the trend by unseating Mike Barber by only 102 votes in 2017. In her first term, Kennedy has distinguished herself as a forceful advocate for housing, and led

COURTESY PHOTOS

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Feb. 18-24, 2021 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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officers.

“On some things we’re moving in the right direction; on others not so much,” she said. “We know all this stuff. We don’t need to continue to talk about it.

We need action; I’m for action. Institutional racism is alive and well, and very difficult sometimes to identify and often to correct.”

Abuzuaiter’s stance on racial justice in law enforcement often comes down to backing police Chief Brian James, who took the oath in early 2020, shortly before the beginning of the pandemic.

“I think our police chief has done an amazing job since Day 1,” Abuzuaiter said. “He changed several directives, including not shooting into cars that are fleeing and banning the use of the RIPP hobble [the device used to hog-tie Marcus Smith]. With mental-health issues, he has an internal group of officers trained in social work. They are an internal group going to mental-health calls.

All of the things he has done have made Greensboro safer.” (Public Information Officer Ronald Glenn said the previous chief, Wayne Scott, discontinued use of the hobble, but James formalized the change in departmental directives.)

Soon after the death of Smith, who was a client at the Interactive Resource Center, Kennedy called for the city to establish a mental health-crisis response program.

“I certainly believe the dollars we invest in community-based support are dollars that aren’t needed for policing,” Kennedy said. “It was my baby. I feel strongly about it.”

Kennedy also cited Cure Violence, a program launched in Greensboro in 2019, as an example of redirecting funding from law enforcement to social needs. The program deploys so-called “interrupters” who work independently of the police to deescalate conflict. Cure Violence is administered by One Step Further which is run by Johnson, who has been recused from votes to allocate funding for the program.

“The outcomes are proving that it works,” Kennedy said.

While Wilkins said he was sickened by the manner in which Floyd died — with a knee on his neck — he continued: “As far as defunding the police, I would not be in favor of that. In fact, I would be in favor of increasing funding to police.

Some of that could include some of the psychiatric issues that are being addressed at this time.

“I think we all want fairness when it comes to the enforcement of the law,” Wilkins added. “Isn’t it a great country

“Local businesses are the backbone of when we can peacefully protest?” our city, our economy,” Kennedy said.

Rossabi said in a written statement to “Those dollars stay in our city. We need TCB that she believes the current city to do all we can to prop those businesses council has not supported the police up. department and its chief.

“Looking at some things that hapEchoing Abuzuaiter, Rossabi said, “I pened statewide — giving restaurants the support policing changes that are initiability to serve drinks to go, that wasn’t ated by people with experience in law super popular, but it allowed restaurants enforcement. The great majority of the current city council has no law enforceto find some other areas of revenue,” she ment understanding or experience.” said. “Allowing outdoor dining, which we Katie Rossabi is married to Amiel did, also helped.”

Rossabi, a Greensboro lawyer who has Abuzuaiter said she wished the city been involved in litigation against the was able to make grants to assist busicity. Amiel Rossabi and his law partner nesses that are struggling to survive, but Gavin Reardon are currently representcited a list of outside grants published ing the Greensboro Police Officers Asby the Greensboro Public Library as an sociation in a case that is pending before asset. the NC Supreme Court on whether city Wilkins commended Abuzuaiter for council members should be allowed to setting up a Facebook page to publicize speak publicly about police-body camera restaurant takeout options in the city. video depicting an incident of alleged “I think that was true leadership,” he racial profiling that took place in 2016. said. “I heard many good comments.”

And in 2018, Rossabi He added that he will sued to try to block research potential the city from consubsidies for small The wave of protests in demning property for businesses as the camresponse to the police paign unfolds. a parking deck connected to a downtown indicated killing of George Floyd in Rossabi hotel development. an email that she The suit accused city favors relaxing restricopened a national council members, tions on businesses. discussion about along with now-US “I support opening Rep. Kathy Manbusinesses, with apredirecting funding ning, of corruption. propriate safeguards A spokesperson for for those populations from punishment to the hotel developers at high risk,” she said. social needs, and called the statements “I do not support the “defamatory” at the decimation of small uprooting white time, and the suit was business based upon eventually dropped. politics.” supremacy.

Amiel Rossabi is Johnson said city listed as the “keeper council needs to take of records” in his wife’s candidate comits cues from business owners. mittee statement of organization on “Sometimes they know more about file with the Guilford County Board of what they can do and what they need,” Elections. she said. “A collaborative effort with “As for my husband, Amiel Rossabi, small-business owners works best. With he is a well-respected attorney who acts restaurants, let’s come up with a list of in the best interests of his clients withsafety precautions, and let them open up. out any involvement from me,” Katie I don’t want anybody to catch this coroRossabi told TCB. “Similarly, I will act navirus, but as more people are getting in the best interests of the citizens of vaccinated, I think it’s time to prepare.”

Greensboro without any involvement The at-large incumbents are looking at a variety of strategies, both short- and from him.” long-term, to prevent a potential wave Responding to the of evictions and to shore up the city’s affordable housing stock. pandemic’s effect on local “Housing and homelessness is my businesses, housing With restaurants and other small wheelhouse,” Kennedy said. “It has been businesses struggling to keep their doors priority No. 1 for me since long before open amid the pandemic, candidates I ran for city council. This council has have displayed caution in broaching posdone more to advance issues around afsible local government solutions to help fordable housing and homelessness than sustain them. any other.”

Like Mayor Nancy Vaughan, Kennedy wants to put a new housing bond on the ballot for voters to consider this year. The bond would provide financing for permanent supportive housing, and if approved Kennedy said Greensboro would the third city in the state to launch such a program.

“Safe, affordable housing” was the first priority named by Johnson.

The city of Greensboro recently received a $9 million grant from the federal government for rental assistance, and Johnson said she’s confident Congress will pass a new stimulus package that will include additional funds to cover back rent and utility. Those funds should help landlords and property investors avoid foreclosure, she said.

Some of the solutions presented

by Johnson and other candidates are outside the purview of city government.

Johnson said her nonprofit recently received a grant to mediate evictions.

“We’re going to do all we can to avoid people getting put out on the street,” she said. “That only intensifies the homelessness problem.”

Abuzuaiter cited an idea floated by District 4 Council member Nancy Hoffmann to encourage faith communities to sponsor families experiencing homelessness.

In response to a question about what role city government should play in supporting affordable housing, Rossabi turned the focus to household income.

“The answer to the housing crisis lies to a great extent with economic recovery,” she said. “I will work to address this issue.”

Notably, the two strongest advocates for safe, affordable housing are also focused on the jobs and income side of the equation.

“Jobs and job training, getting more business and industry to pay livable wages is another [priority],” Johnson said.

Kennedy said: “For me, the economic situation and housing go hand in hand.

Those two things have to be addressed in tandem. Living-wage requirements — that still doesn’t get you there if you don’t have housing that supports people at that wage amount.”

Wilkins said he needs to research the options for preventing homelessness and protecting the city’s housing stock.

“That’s something we are going to have to face,” he said. “The exact answer I wouldn’t know until I’m presented with the facts. That is going to be a major concern for the next city council.”

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Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

To schedule a vaccine appointment at NC A&T, call 336-285-2950. For Shiloh Baptist Church, call 336-724-9263. To learn more about where to sign up to get the vaccine in Guilford County, visit healthyguilford.com or call 336-641-7944. For Forsyth County, visit forsyth.cc/covidupdate or call 336-582-0800.

Opinion

‘Black and Brown people are significantly more likely to contract COVID-19 and have bad outcomes or die.’

be because of language barriers or work commitments.

“People need to have access to that open window,” Garcia said. “They have to know when vaccine appointments go public and they have to have some sort of technological savvy experience handling the phone or browsing. They have to say, ‘I need someone to speak Spanish.’ They have to have the availability to call.”

In Forsyth County, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Novant Health are working with the county to increase access to the vaccine for historically marginalized communities. A Feb. 12 press release stated that the county has partnered with the Winston-Salem Transit Authority to offer free transportation to vaccination appointments, which are now available on weekends and evenings.

Garcia also brought up a point that runs counterintuitive to the way most states are currently rolling out vaccines.

“It’s mostly Black and Latinx people that are getting sick and mostly workingage groups of people,” Garcia said. “So, I understand the importance of vaccinating people who are older but if we want to be effective, we’re going to have to look at who’s getting sick and vaccinate those people first. These people are also the caregivers and they’re working in the long-term facilities. They are the essential workers who are keeping us going. They are contracting the virus for the sake of the rest of our lives. It doesn’t make sense to start with an age group. We need to look at the people who are getting sick.”

It is unclear when the next group of individuals — frontline workers that would likely cover the people that Garcia is talking about — will be eligible for the vaccine. Those who work in child care or in pre-K schools will be eligible for the vaccine starting on Feb. 24.

“The biggest challenge is that we need more vaccine,” said Sen. Lowe. “The bottom line is we need more vaccine so we can make sure as many people are vaccinated as we possibly can.”

News

facility staff and residents and individuals have been places we can trust; it makes 65 and up, are eligible for the vaccine things easier. I’ve had people come to me in North Carolina. The next group will and ask, ‘What do you think about the include frontline essential workers. vaccine?’ and I tell them I think it’s safe “Our goal is to encourage Black and to take the vaccine.”

Brown people to trust the science,” Shiloh Baptist Church, located in Webb said. “This is not a Tuskegee northeastern Winston-Salem, follows experiment or a Henrietta Lacks story. in the footsteps of another predomiThe SARS virus is not new and has nantly Black church in Greensboro that been studied for years. We are hoping has partnered with Guilford County community members know that NC to rollout the vaccine. Mount Zion A&T would not stake its reputation on Baptist Church, located off Alamance something that was not well-studied and Church Road in Greensboro, is one of scientifically safe.” Webb is referring three locations run by the county where to the fact that COVID-19 is a disease members of the public can go to receive caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, otherthe vaccine. wise known as the severe acute respira“We are continuing to focus on Black tory syndrome coronavirus 2. and Brown communities,” said Dr. Iulia Despite the disparities that exist in Vann, Guilford County public health who is most likely to get sick or die from director, during a press conference on the coronavirus, Webb said marginalFeb. 10. “We want to make sure we are ized communities may have a harder addressing all of the issues and mistrust. time trusting a large-scale vaccine rollout We are targeting and doing outreach in because of systemic various communiracism in the naties in the county.” tion’s healthcare According to industry. That lack Kenya Smith, of trust combined communications with lack of access manager for the and misinformation Guilford County may contribute to health departthe disparities in ment, the county who is receiving the is working with vaccine, Webb said. churches, cultural “Distrust, politics – Dr. Padonda Webb groups and service and lack of access groups to increase are all issues that awareness about create barriers for the vaccine. Smith Black and Brown people getting vacsaid 35 percent of each COVID-19 vaccinated,” Webb said. “A lot of Black and cine shipment that the county receives is Brown people do not trust the Trump designated to historically marginalized administration. We need to strategically populations. place vaccine clinics in trusted areas like Laura Garduño Garcia with Siembra churches, HBCUs, community centers, NC, a Latinx advocacy group, said one etc., where Black and Brown people of the biggest barriers for members of often feel a sense of trust.” the Latinx community is lack of reliable Webb said that the university is information. requesting 350 doses of the vaccine per “I’m hearing from members that there week but that what they receive depends is a lot of misinformation that’s being on how many the state ultimately doles spread,” Garcia said. “They may not out. know where to turn for reliable informaState Sen. Paul Lowe, who represents tion and because they’re not talking with Forsyth County, told TCB that Shiloh a lot of people who are getting vacciBaptist Church, where he is a pastor, will nated….” be participating in a pilot program to To offset the misinformation, Siembra vaccinate members of the general public NC created a video with facts about the starting on Saturday. He said that they vaccine at the end of January that was hope to vaccinate at least 200 people shared on social media. The organizaeach week. tion’s members are still working on “When you have it at a church, the Afdeveloping more resources, Garcia said. rican-American community, we trust our She said one of the reasons why the churches,” Lowe said. “Our churches vaccine distribution disparity exists may

Up Front

by Sayaka Matsuok lack and Brown people are underrepresented in COVID-19 vaccinations compared to the white population, according to national, state and local data.

When looking at county-level data, the disparity is apparent. In Forsyth County, 77 percent of first-dose vaccines have gone to white individuals (who make up 67 percent of county), 16 percent to Black (28 percent of county), and 3 percent to Latinx (13 percent). In Guilford County, 74 percent of the vaccine has gone to white individuals (56 percent), 20 percent to Black (35 percent) and 2 percent to Latinx (8 percent).

“Vaccinations are the key to ending this terrible pandemic,” said Cone Health CEO Terry Akin in a recent public statement. “But how can we quickly end it by leaving so many people in our community behind? Whites are taking the vaccine in big numbers, others aren’t.”

Findings have already shown that Black and Brown individuals are more likely to become sick and die from COVID-19. According to the most recent state numbers, 62 percent of the state’s overall COVID-19 cases have been white, 21 percent Black and 22 percent Latinx. In Guilford County, Black people make up 36 percent of COVID-19 deaths as of Feb. 12 and in Forsyth County, 29 percent of deaths are Black based on the most recent numbers from Jan. 16.

“Black and Brown people are significantly more likely to contract COVID-19 and have bad outcomes or die,” said Dr. Padonda Webb, the interim executive director at the NC A&T University student health center in an email to Triad City Beat.

Local leaders including those with universities as well as local hospital systems are working to close the disparity gap in who is receiving the vaccine.

“NC A&T is committed to doing our part by providing access, creating PSAs to encourage people to get vaccinated and educate our community to trust the science,” Webb said.

On Feb. 11, the university began vaccinating members of the general public who qualify for the vaccine. The move came a few days after the university began vaccinating staff, students and faculty who were eligible under the state’s current vaccine timeline. Currently, healthcare workers, long-term care

Feb. 18-24, 2021

White people are getting the majority of the COVID-19 vaccine, local data shows

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Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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7 YEARS OF TRIAD CITY BEAT

Feb. 18-24, 2021

OPINION

2014-2021

EDITORIAL

On his way out the door, Richard Burr finally reads the room

C

ount soon-to-be former US Sen. Richard Burr among the seven Senate Republicans who put their country before their party by voting to impeach former President Trump.

For his efforts, the North Carolina Republicans central committee officially censured him, unanimously, in an emergency vote Monday night.

It’s not exactly cancel culture — there is no penalty for Burr, who has already stated that he won’t be running for re-election in 2022. But Mark Walker capitalized on it anyway, making a rebuke of Burr the central plank in his campaign for the Senate seat.

This is, of course, a huge political miscalculation on the part of the NC GOP. They fail to realize that everything changed for them on Jan. 6, when the people most affected by their message committed actual, armed insurrection, as garden-variety Republicans recoiled in horror and disgust.

Politicians are always the last to know what’s happening on the ground.

National and state polling showed support for Trump’s impeachment by as much as 58 percent. Political momentum is flowing away from the Republican Party, as are campaign donations for anyone associated with the insurrection.

The party itself, too, is shrinking in North

Carolina and elsewhere. And everyone who calls themselves a Republican must now answer some very serious questions before they run for office: Do they believe Trump won the 2020 election? And do they support Trump’s insurrection?

As for Burr, who knows why he did the right thing. Maybe it’s because his adversaries have already played their one card against him: that insider-trading thing back in March, which ultimately went nowhere.

Maybe he finally had the crisis of conscience that so many of his party must eventually face: that they have aided and abetted a madman in his quest for power, abandoning the ideal of the rule of law.

Or maybe he did it because he’s retiring, and he wants to have dinner at a restaurant in Winston-Salem without worrying that someone is going to spit in his food.

It doesn’t really matter, though, does it?

Burr’s “stand” was a dollar short and a day late. But every vote counts in making the case that Trump bears responsibility for a violent assault on democratic institutions. Burr is one of 57 out of 100 votes for impeachment, the highest number in history.

In this dangerous moment, Burr picked the right side. History — and his neighbors in Winston-Salem — will remember.

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Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

was the reason for ‘ol’ days’ lingo.”

And while Stamey’s intention might not have been offend, during this shortest month of the year, the bare minimum that the American delegation of the African diaspora asks of people, especially traditionally white institutions, is to respect, reflect and in some cases acknowledge and amplify the contributions that Black people have made to the world without commodifying Black bodies. When it comes to barbecue, America’s first pitmasters were enslaved Africans, tasked with arduous process of slaughtering, butchering, salting, preparing and smoking meat for plantation owners and their families. Preserving meat (predominantly pork in the South) in those times required a look to West African cuisines and the use of the hot peppers mixed with vinegar to season the pork. This pepper-vinegar combination is the foundation of Lexington-style barbecue.

Acknowledging this is the bare minimum any barbecue restaurant should do.

“We definitely are just a family business trying to do the right thing,” says Stamey.

But at the end of the day, the right thing is not always easy and the answers have to mined out from under decades of the status quo. One key to dismantling decades of racism is to have awkward conversations and share uncomfortable truths. There are varying levels of activism that most area food companies are not willing to engage in because they are afraid to alienate the majority of their white customer base. As consumers, it’s easy to employ a cancel culture mentality instead of confronting local businesses about accountability for their business practices. But asking food companies to begin to do the work, continue to research and not be racist is the bare minimum. If companies want to survive and thrive, they must learn to be anti-racist too.

Opinion

Basically, it’s difficult for white-led companies to be inoffensive during Black History Month.

News

history makers,” Vanderpool said. “Given the time we are in, because we are in this pandemic, it was important to connect with a local person with a tie to the South directly helping the community to make life brighter.”

Still, after getting pushback online, Vanderpool revealed that Biscuitville’s new president and CEO, Kathy Niven’s No. 1 mission and task is to make sure the company puts forth the effort to listen, learn and create a place of inclusion and equity for employees and customers alike. At the end of the 2020 fiscal year, an anonymous survey was issued to employees by an independent firm in order uncover biases and to figure out the current company culture. Vanderpool says the survey was the first step to starting important conversations about equality. The local biscuit company may not have gotten everything right, but Niven’s commitment to Biscuitville and its customers is a step in the right direction.

“We could have done better tying the knot,” Vanderpool says. “It’s no surprise we received a little pushback online. We are not going to hang our hat on that. Do we have work to do? Absolutely.”

As larger corporate entities dive into the work of equity and racial justice, smaller local businesses too must reflect on the ways in which they profit off of Black bodies, customers and traditions.

In early February, Stamey’s Barbecue of Greensboro posted a black-and-white photo of six white men sitting at a lunch counter with the caption, “Come have a seat at the counter just like the ol’ days.” This 90-year-old institution’s Instagram post suffered from poor timing and choice of caption. The photo in itself is not overtly racist, but the caption, which uses white-supremacist rhetoric, was inappropriate. After being called out, the post was changed and then deleted altogether. Via Instagram, general manager, Craver Stamey was very responsive and clear.

“I was having some conversations recently about marketing strategy and we were trying to approach the ‘nostalgia’ angle on recent posts,” said Stamey. “That

Up Front

here’s an unspoken rule to refrain from doing or saying anything racist during Black History Month.

People of color live history 365 days a year and as such, the seasonal, performative actions of businesses that depend on conby Nikki Miller-Ka sumer dollars are noticed. Most white-owned businesses try to act somewhat accordingly for these 28 days; others either act out or sit on their hands, afraid to join in the conversation without being labeled divisive or racist. Basically, it’s difficult for white-led companies to be inoffensive, especially during Black History Month. Triad businesses are no exception.

Foothills Brewing company based in Winston-Salem built a brand on a beer based on a band from the 1988 film Coming to America, named “Sexual Chocolate.” The visual representation of the brand was a caricature of a 1970s Blaxploitation-style Black woman. The annual release of the imperial stout coincides with Valentine’s Day, which falls during Black History Month, and in 2018, the company was taken to task by this paper.

Representation matters, but the outlying factors surrounding the brand made it problematic. It made it acceptable to build a business on the representation of a Black woman while reducing the origins of the beer to a joke. While Foothills remained silent on the controversy, the brand’s logo was changed in 2019. The new label depicts a couple kissing in frothy, light-colored foam. The brand failed its Black employees and customers by simply whitewashing the label while continuing to make the beer.

In yet another example of representation gone amiss, this year Biscuitville issued a press release on Feb. 1 outlining their plan to celebrate Black History Month by giving away commemorative bookmarks honoring Capt. Derrick Smith, commanding officer of the Salvation Army in Henderson; Kizzmekia Corbett, the lead scientist behind Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Hurdle Mills; and Jamilla Pinder, assistant director of healthy communities, who designed Cone Health’s Coronavirus testing events.

Each bookmark is good for a free sausage biscuit. As soon as I read the press release, I had questions: Who are these people? What is their connection to the brand? Are they former employees? Are they random Black people that this white-led company decided to print on bookmarks and splash across social media in the name of good biscuits and goodwill?

In a candid conversation, Biscuitville marketing manager Alon Vanderpool outlined the premise behind the company’s commemorative push.

“This is an opportunity for Biscuitville to highlight

Feb. 18-24, 2021

Nik Snacks Don’t be racist during Black History Month

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Feb. 18-24, 2021 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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CULTURE Peppelah Challah’s Pepper Segal bakes love into her Jewish breads

by Sayaka Matsuoka

I

t’s a Friday night thing. second child, Segal was diagnosed with breast As a child, Pepper Segal would cancer. She stopped working, and after giving eat challah bread on most Friday birth, the cancer got worse. evenings to mark the start of “They had to take all my lymph nodes out of Shabbat, a period of rest that lasts my left arm,” Segal says. “I was only 31 years old, from sundown on Friday until Saturday but I feel like I have arthritis in my shoulder. My night, recognized in her Reform Jewish shoulder has extreme tendinitis.” household.

Six months after her surgery, Segal returned “It’s a rest and regrouping period,” to her job but says her body didn’t cooperate the explains Segal, now 34 years old. “You way it used to. say a HaMotzi which is basically a prayer “My whole body gave out,” she says. “It’s over the challah. It’s like thanking God trauma; it’s in my body. I was actually really or the universe for the bread you’re happy to make people happy with my food. I was about to eat.” crushed when I found out that I couldn’t do the Now a mother of two, Segal sends hard labor.” her kids to B’Nai Shalom Day School in Three years later, Segal says that baking chalGreensboro, the same school she went lah has reignited her passion. to decades ago. Every Friday, teachers “Making challah has kept me grounded would send her kids home with some through the quarantine,” she says. “I started challah (pronounced “haa – luh”) to meditating since my cancer diagnosis, but it prepare for Shabbat, but when the panwas hard to find time to meditate with my kids demic hit and her kids had to stay home, home from school. The first six months of the their tradition of breaking bread also pandemic, I was losing myself and what I was came to a halt. A trained chef, Segal had before COVID. Baking was something that was never been one for baking but decided to an aid to stay mindful and present and grateful. try her hand at the braided delicacy to I love making food. It’s always a pleasure. I’m keep her kids happy and maintain some never tired of it.” normalcy in their weekly schedule. She Initially Segal says she looked up a bunch of started baking on Fridays and posting recipes to try and make the challah, but now her challah creations on her Instagram. uses all kinds of flavors in her variations. She “It wasn’t something I was trying to makes the OG — original challah — which she make into a business,” Segal says. “I was says isn’t as sweet as people might expect, in just baking for friends and family.” addition to ones like her Challahpeño, featuring But the more Segal baked and posted, jalapeño and white cheddar, a Za’atar challah the more people became interested in with a sharp blend of Middle Eastern spices, and buying and trying her challah. Now, she an Everything (But the Bagel) challah. She also makes about 40 loaves per week for Pepcreates sweet renditions like a vanilla honey or pelah Challah, her new challah-focused Nutella. Segal’s favorite way to eat the bread business. The name is a play on Segal’s is to rip off a piece and dip it in Kosher salt. All COURTESY PHOTO Pepper Segal started making challah bread at home after first name, Pepper, combined with a Yidof her breads come in the recognizable braided her kids could no longer get the bread from school. dish term of endearment. shape.

“Now I have it down to a science, “It’s very difficult,” Segal admits about the plain challah?’” kind of,” Segal braiding technique. “I’m very tactile so But with tattoos running up and down her arms, Segal says says about the when I’m learning a new braid, I have to that she’s always defied what a stereotypical Jew might look notoriously watch the video like 20 times while I’m Learn more about Peppelah like, and that’s okay. difficult bread. doing it in order for it to register in my Challah, including menu “I don’t think that I fit into what a typical Jew looks like,” “I still adjust brain and become muscle memory.” she says. “But I had a woman who saw my tattoos and said she options, at peppelahchallah.com. things every day.

Segal is currently home-delivering the was scared to show hers until she saw mine. Judaism is about Baking is finicky; breads, which can be ordered online on Segal recommends ordering acceptance. It’s not exclusive…. There are so many different I’m not a baker. a weekly basis. Shipping is an option but

by Wednesday for delivery on kinds of Jewish people. I feel like I try to bring some awareness Everything from mostly reserved for bulk orders. to that.”

Thursday and Friday.

Follow the weather to And while her breads might look In addition to sharing her tasty breads, Segal says she wants her business on Instagram at the flour to the traditional, Segal says that part of the people to be curious and learn more about Jewish culture eggs you buy can fun of making her own breads is that @peppelahchallah. through her food. In the future, she envisions turning her busichange the bake. she can play around with the flavors ness into a food truck so she can drive around selling breads, You’re never she wants, even if some old-school Jews challah sandwiches and French toast. done.” may not like it.

“I wanted to be like, ‘Here’s some challah, come learn about Segal used to work in much larger “I’m in this one Jewish group on Facebook that has a lot of it; come taste it,’” she says. “Jewish traditions are tasty. It’s kitchens, as a head chef for restaurants older bubbes and zaydes,” Segal says, using the endearing Jewfor everybody. I think it’s for anybody who enjoys fresh baked like PF Chang’s and the Cheesecake Facish terms for grandmas and grandpas. “And there’s this one bread. Bread is love.” tory. In 2018, while pregnant with her lady, she’s a spitfire, she was like, ‘Whatever happened to just

by Michaela Ratliff

K

Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

rystina King effortlessly makes then raises her arms parallel to the floor and a burrito of a metal skillet when spins like a helicopter, showing that balancing she bends it, folding it inwards the man is quite literally light work. The second like the pan owes her money, and man heads toward Amina with a running start she’s mad at it. but ends up turning backwards and wrapping his King appeared on the Jan. 28 episode legs around her waist. of TBS’ “Go-Big Show” as Amina the “That’s real strength right there,” says Snoop Great, a woman with super physical Dogg. strength. The “Go-Big Show,” hosted The final two men each place a knee on the by comedian Bert Kreischer, showsecond man’s legs and lift their remaining leg cases contestants’ unique talents as from the ground, as Anima raises the men with they compete for a prize of $100,000. each arm, completing her act. Nettles pointed With her big afro, winged eyeliner, bold in disbelief, eyes wide and mouth agape. Rhodes maroon lipstick and sequined jumpsuit gave props to Amina for maintaining the wheelwith a fringed neckline, King appears as barrow position while holding the men, a task feminine as can be. But her act chalhe personally knows isn’t easy. lenges the old-school ideas of a woman’s “I know firsthand how difficult it is to hold strength, which geared more towards that,” Rhodes says. “And you didn’t just hold it. being caretaker rather than being physiYou held three other people as well.” cally strong.

King has been performing since she was “When I was growing up, I had to around 3 years old, first taking the stage with COURTESY OF TBS Amina the Great rolls a skillet like a burrito. clean, learn to take care of kids, and my her family as part of a rap performance. She favorite, ‘Go in the kitchen and grab a soon realized she did not have a knack for musipan or something,’” she says while raiscal talent. ing the skillet on the show. “So I did.”

“I cannot rap to save my entire life,” she says.

She continues, “I’ll show you what I did Instead, she realized her passion was dance, with it.” beginning lessons at 11 years old. She joined The celebrity judges — actress RoKenya Safari Acrobats, her family’s traveling sario Dawson, singer Jennifer Nettles, performance troupe of circus-style Kenyan acroprofessional wrestler Cody Rhodes and batics, at 15 years old to become a better dancer. rapper Snoop Dogg — stared in awe and Little did she know, in 2010 she’d end up as the confusion as Amina leaves the stage and troupe’s female base of the human pyramid. walks towards them, knocking on the During a show in Kentucky, King settled on pan to show them it was the real deal. dancing during the show when three male While she regularly has hundreds of performers needed a base for their pyramid. pairs of eyes on her during her acrobatic Amina’s mother Karen surprised the group and performances, a small audience of four said Amina would be the base, shocking her and celebrity judges, the host and her oppothe male acrobats who were against the idea nent had Anima feeling uneasy. because of personal beliefs.

“It’s more inti“Traditionally with African mate and it’s so acrobatics, females don’t do awkward for me,” the heavy lifting,” King says.

‘Go-Big Show’ airs Thursshe says.

“You cannot be strong.”

Ignoring the Bending metal and lifting days at 9 p.m. on TBS. butterflies in her men may seem like a skill COURTESY OF TBS View a clip of Amina the King, aka Amina the Great, anchors a human stomach and leaning that requires strength train- Krystina pyramid.

Great’s performance on on her left thigh ing, but it’s natural to King. for stability, Amina “I don’t work out for my YouTube. Learn more “I haven’t been training, and everything with COVID…,” she flawlessly alters the strength yet,” she says. says she thought at the time. about the Kenya Safari shape of the pan.

She relies on training to maintain her Constant reminders in the following weeks from producers Acrobats on their website.

“Hold up,” Snoop strength, not build it. Most of her strength about how much they’d love for her to be there made Amina Dogg says. comes not from the gym, but from her take Nike’s advice.

Without missing heart.

“Just do it!” she told herself. a beat, Amina replies, “Wait a minute,” “I get all of my strength from my mom,” Amina says on the Although she did not win against her opponent Leonid the unintentionally referencing his song show. “She believes in me 1000 percent.”

Magnificent, an extreme burlesque performer who balanced with Dr. Dre, “The Next Episode.”

Despite her mother’s encouragement to take part in the swords in his mouth and on his head, she said she would conAnima takes the stage again with competition, King says her “Go-Big Show” appearance almost sider doing something like this again, but for performance, not four men joining her, to which Kreischer never happened. A talent agent at a Kenya Safari Acrobats competition. Until then, she will be spreading her message: hilariously guesses they will try to “beat show saw her perform and contacted Amina’s mom, who “strong girls turn into strong women” to young girls everyher up.” She proves him wrong as the doubles as her agent, to see if she’d be interested. Amina felt where, shape-shifting cookware along the way. first man hops on her shoulders. Amina apprehensive.

Feb. 18-24, 2021

CULTURE GSO strongwoman Amina the Great hits national stage

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Guilford College Road, Greensboro

Feb. 18-24, 2021 Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Puzzles

Freezing rain and ice caused tree damage and power outages for thousands of Triad households over the weekend. More icy weather is in the forecast.

12

CAROLYN DE BERRY

CROSSWORD ‘Gimme a Reason’—when you know... SUDOKU

©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

7 YEARS OF TRIAD CITY BEAT

Up Front News

Answers from previous publication.

2014-2021

Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

1 Heat source?

6 “Isn’t that ___ much?”

10 Clinton preceder or follower 14 “Quaking” tree 15 City NNE of Lake Tahoe 16 Capri or Elba 17 Copper-colored coin last minted in 1958 19 Karmann ___ (classic VW model) 20 Part of S&L 21 Knight’s transport 22 My reaction to this ice storm I’m stuck in right now 25 Alfred E. Neuman line 29 Scan in 31 Show announcer © 2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 32 Overabundance 35 “March Madness” sponsor, for short 36 Relaxing sound 39 Sport featured in the 2005 documentary “Murderball” 42 Heart-wrenching 43 Actor Bailey of “Band of Brothers” and “Almost Famous” 44 E flat’s alias 45 Skim, like with homemade chicken stock Answers from last issue 46 Follow closely, these days 47 “Never in a million years!”

22 Makes some tea 53 Dashboard Confessional genre 23 Singer Bebe 54 Tiniest bits 24 Competed at Daytona 55 Roswell crafts 26 Renters 57 ‘80s-’90s German chancellor Helmut 27 80 years into the future, in movie credits 58 Discover (or how to determine what the (will we even have movies?) four circled answers have in common) 28 Animated alternative to mailing a greeting 64 Swedish store to get lost in 30 “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” vocalist Kiki 65 “My Life as ___” (1985 Swedish film) 33 Catches some Z’s 66 Add to the pot 34 “Futurama” genre 67 Macedonian’s neighbor 36 Colorful quartz 68 “Ermahgerd Gersberms!”, for one 37 Former U.S. President James ___ Garfield 69 Time on a job 38 Prefix with therapy 40 “Ashes to Ashes” novelist Tami Down 41 Conversation lapses 1 It may be gaping 45 Crime investigation facility 2 “Black-___” (ABC sitcom) 47 Collaborative websites 3 Magilla Gorilla, really 48 Robert who introduced the term “cell” to biology 4 Brunch, e.g.

49 Air beyond the clouds 5 Being dragged along 50 Chocolate candy cut into cubes 6 Hockey site, maybe 51 “Summer Girls” boy band 7 Actor Whishaw 52 Succinct letter signoff 8 “Newhart” establishment 56 Fantasy football figure 9 Stocking stuffer 58 Kinfolk, for short 10 It may get stubbed 59 Ending with fluor11 “The Fall of the House of ___” 60 ___ de plume 12 Comparatively cunning 61 Nintendo Switch predecessor 13 Intoxicating, as liquor 62 Channel for buying stuff from your couch 18 Oom-___ bands (Oktoberfest entertainment) 63 By this point 21 Contributes to the jar?

Feb. 18-24, 2021

Across

by Matt Jones

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