Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Jan. 19 - 24, 2018 triad-city-beat.com
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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Jan. 19 - 24, 2018
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After nearly two decades of raising children in our small home, my wife and I have finally figured it by Brian Clarey out. We thought we were making a home, preparing our brood for adulthood and administering some basic house training on these kids. But as our kids have hit teenagerdom, we realize that, in their eyes, what we are actually doing is running a bed & breakfast, and a fairly crappy one at that. For example, we seldom have more than one breakfast option, and our laundry service is often limited to clothes that have been put in the hamper, which can sometimes leave favored items unwashed. Our dinner selections are often repetitive and uninspired, or so we’ve been told by our guests, and though they haven’t said this out loud, we suspect they think we’ve become a little too involved in their private lives.
We do try to make their stay at our little concern a pleasant one. There are plenty of snacks, though we admit sometimes they are of the wrong type, and we offer a nearly 24-hour car service to everyone who resides under our roof. We offer free wifi and television screens in nearly every room. Our guests are entitled to unlimited coffee and tea, as long as both are in stock, and though it has been insinuated that our wake-up system is often not as gentle as it could be, it is generally a reliable amenity. Lately our guests have become a bit more… difficult, stockpiling dishes in their rooms before our bus team can get to them, extending their shower times to lengths that other hoteliers might find unreasonable, though it’s our fault for not having a hot tub, I suppose. And they’ve taken to requesting that their coffee and tea mugs be washed by hand instead of being run through the dishwasher, a concession I admit I am having some trouble accommodating. But I’m working on it. The last thing we need is a bad Yelp review.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
We became so preoccupied with the dream that we fell asleep. This is the generation of people staying woke. The dream has been reduced to black faces being put in high places to sell this idea of American exceptionalism. -Black Lives Matter organizer CJ Brinson, in Unsolicited Endorsement, page 6
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Jan. 19 - 24, 2018
CITY LIFE Jan. 19 - 24 by Lauren Barber
FRIDAY
Drag Brunch @ 1618 Midtown (GSO), 11 a.m.
Cobblestone’s Winter Market @ the Chatham Building (W-S), 9 a.m.
News
Up Front
Aaron Draplin @ High Point University, 10 a.m.
SATURDAY
Award-winning graphic designer Aaron Draplin speaks in the Extraordinaire Cinema at High Point University. Draplin is known for bold, simple corporate logo designs and has produced work for Esquire, Nike, Ford Motor Company and the Obama administration among dozens of others. Find the event on Facebook.
Kick off the weekend with bottomless mimosas, brunch specials and drag queens. Jean Jacket and Giselle Cassidy Carter (Mrz Carter) host with special guest Chloe Cassidy starting at 12:30 p.m. Find the event on Facebook. Seed swap @ Old Salem Visitor Center (W-S), 11 a.m.
Opinion
Alma Fiesta @ Alma Mexicana (W-S), 6:30 p.m.
Culture
Find Cobblestone’s vendors indoors between Aperture Cinema and Washington Perk every Saturday until the market returns to Old Salem on April 7. The market offers locally grown and produced vegetables, herbs, meats, cheese and breads and accepts SNAP/EBT and WIC FMNP. Find the event on Facebook.
Puzzles
Shot in the Triad
Books & Black Youth read-in @ Scuppernong Books (GSO), 11 a.m.
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With support from Old Salem Horticulture and garden volunteers, Beta Verde welcomes future and veteran heirloomseed growers to its annual seed swapping event, including a community potluck lunch. Seeds must be open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties. Find the event on Facebook.
Get a sneak peek of Porch Kitchen and Cantina owner Claire Calvin’s next restaurant venture opening in the Bailey Power Plant later this month during this cocktail party. Tour the restaurant, eat from the new menu and try signature cocktails. Find the event on Facebook. Limón Dance Co. @ UNCG School of Dance (GSO), 8 p.m. One of the world’s most-renowned dance companies visits UNCG as part of the University Concert and Lecture Series. Limón is known for technical finesse, dramatic expression and an extensive repertory. Learn more at vpa. uncg.edu.
Children read along with a community volunteer and pick a free book to take home. A black author will conclude the event with a reading, and adults accompanying the children and donors will win raffle prizes. Find the event on Facebook.
Triad Women’s March on the Polls @ Corpening Plaza (W-S), noon On the 1-year anniversary of millions of women and allies demonstrating worldwide, march in downtown WinstonSalem to re-commit to justice and learn how to become involved in the political process. Community organizers, activists and candidates for local office will speak in addition to poetry and musical performances after the march. Find the event on Facebook.
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Build-a-tea workshop @ Chad’s Chai Blending Room (W-S), 3 p.m.
Up Front News
Colin Cutler & Farewell Friend @ Scuppernong Books (GSO), noon Colin Cutler returns to Greensboro to perform songs on guitar and banjo that are based on Flannery O’Connor short stories from his new EP recorded with Rinaldi Flying Circus. Farewell Friend complements Cutler’s sound with a slight detour towards, folk, rock and alternative country as Reto’s Kitchen serves crepes. Find the event on Facebook.
Chad’s Chai guides tea lovers during a light-hearted tea-making workshop in the new blending room. Attendees explore a wide variety of ingredients and benefit from expert’s tips and take home their personal blend. Find the event on Facebook. Opinion
Hoppers Night @ Greensboro Coliseum (GSO), 5 p.m. The UNCG men’s basketball team hosts a Greensboro Grasshoppers night. The baseball players cheer on the men’s team as they face-off against Mercer College. Learn more at uncgspartans.com.
Brown Girls Winning photoshoot @ Revolution Mill (GSO), 2 p.m.
Culture
SUNDAY
Create & Caffeinate @ DeBeen Espresso (HP), 11 a.m.
Annual potluck dinner @ High Point Theatre, 6 p.m. Round out the weekend getting acquainted with the personalities of the Triad theater scene while sharing in a warm potluck dinner. While you mingle, learn about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved. Find the event on Facebook.
Puzzles
Gather your sketchbook, pastels or tablet and head to DeBeen Triad Visual Artists’ free-form event. This is an unstructured time to refine works in progress or explore new mediums in the company of other visual artists and creators of all skill levels. Find the event on Facebook.
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Meet in the mill’s private studio and let Cierra Graham of Grahams of Glam style your makeup for five edited headshots that will upgrade your professional brand this year. Lady Bizness is throwing in her marketing package, including an E-book called “Top 10 To Do’s for a Glow Getter Brand.” Find the event on Facebook.
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Jan. 19 - 24, 2018 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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20 cities being considered for Amazon’s new US headquarters (none of them us) by Brian Clarey What wouldn’t the cities of the Triad have done to lure Amazon’s new $5 billion HQ? We met three of the four criteria — more than a million residents, an international airport within 45 minutes and a stable business climate. But despite 11 area colleges and universities, we fell short on the “highly educated workforce” requirement as Guilford and Forsyth’s college-education rate is about one-third, right about at the national average which be definition is unexceptional. This week, Amazon whittled the list of 238 applicant cities down to 20, and we are not on it. Anyway, yay Raleigh! 01. Atlanta 02. Austin, Texas 03. Boston 04. Chicago 05. Columbus, Ohio 06. Dallas 07. Denver 08. Indianapolis 09. Los Angeles 10. Miami
11. Montgomery County, Md. 12. Nashville, Tenn. 13. Newark, NJ 14. New York City 15. Northern Virginia 16. Philadelphia 17. Pittsburgh 18. Raleigh 19. Toronto 20. Washington, DC
Rooting King’s legacy in current struggles by Jordan Green
Since I attended my first Martin Luther King Day service as a pre-teen in Frankfort, Ky. in the late 1980s, I’ve observed a common theme from speakers who were King’s contemporaries or slightly younger: The dream remains unfulfilled. There’s still work to be done. That frame was always hard for me to embrace. Of course, there’s still unfinished work. But that assumes that progress is linear. Some things have improved since King’s 1968 assassination, but in other ways conditions have deteriorated. The drug war and mass incarceration, deindustrialization and the loss of jobs that sustained working-class black families coupled with the dismantling of welfare — that all transpired after the crest of the civil-rights movement led by King. And that doesn’t even grapple with what aspect of King’s dream we’re measuring. Is it civil rights as a cornerstone of equal protection under the law as a constitutional guarantee for people of all races, women, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities? Is it black America? Is it the Poor People’s Movement, labor unions and the struggle against militarism that preoccupied King in the last few years of his life? I don’t want to attend any more valedictory King Day celebrations. So I was happy to learn that a group of community leaders loosely connected to Black Lives Matter Greensboro organized the first annual King Day Holiday Special and State of the Community at the Triad Basketball Academy in northeast Greensboro on Monday. While showcasing local black music artists, and providing free childcare and a meal, the event included presentations on a host of topics, from local elections and police accountability to minority contracting, the conditions of city sanitation workers and violent crime. I asked CJ Brinson and Brandi Calhoun, two of the event organizers, how they might see their work in the struggle as different or not so different from King and his contemporaries. “We became so preoccupied with the dream that we fell asleep,” said Brinson, a 29-year-old community organizer who ran for city council last year. “This is the generation of people staying woke. The dream has JORDAN GREEN been reduced to black faces being Charles French from the Greensboro City Workers Union put in high places to sell this idea of American exceptionalism. “For the masses of people of color, the promises of civil rights have not been fulfilled,” he added. “In 1968, King was aware of that. The forces that took his life stifled that voice.” Millennial activists possess a sense of urgency that is lacking in older leaders who have become complacent with the acquisition of status and material wealth, Brinson said. But for Calhoun, the 26-year-old childbirth education manager at the YWCA of Greensboro, intergenerational linkages look like a source of strength. While expressing gratitude for elders, she also said she was happy that her 11-year-old daughter could attend a celebration in a black-centered space that is welcoming and inclusive while promoting what she sees as the “core” of King’s message. “This is an opportunity for my daughter to conceive and carry out his work,” she said. “My daughter is one of those radical babies who’s going to pick up the struggle and move it forward when I die.”
Victim challenges attempted-murder charge against Jose Charles by Jordan Green A victim’s account undermines the attemptedmurder charge against a defendant who was at the forefront of a high-profile campaign against police misconduct in 2016.
Up Front
Jose Charles, with his mother, Tamara Figueroa, was charged with attempted murder in Gibsonville last week.
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doesn’t extend to someone who happens to be on the scene, but is not intentionally helping…. The fact that someone is in a car, that alone is not enough. But if they’re in in a car and intentionally helping, i.e. a getaway driver, then they become an accomplice and perhaps a conspirator.” Charles has been held in the Alamance County Jail on a $250,000 bond since Jan. 4. “If he would only talk and tell the police, he knows who they were,” Stanfield told TCB. “He can help himself if he wants to.” Charles and Figueroa declined to comment for this story on the advice of Charles’ court-appointed lawyer. The Gibsonville police seized a $15 scale, two marijuana roaches valued at $2, flip-flops and a shirt during their investigation of the Christmas Eve shooting, according to the incident report. The police have made one additional arrest in the case. Elizabeth Jade Busick, 16, is charged with conspiracy to sell marijuana and obstruction of justice, both felonies. Busick could not be reached for comment for this story. The charging document alleges that Busick attempted to sell about four ounces of marijuana for $3,000. A separate warrant alleges that she “obstructed[ed] the investigation of the attempted murder of Donald Stanfield by stating that multiple photographs of the suspect (shown by investigators and who she previously described) was not the same person who she communicated with prior to the case.”
Opinion
to whether this evidence will lead to a conviction to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt.” Friedland added that eyewitness testimony isn’t always correct. “Eyewitnesses, according to many psychologists, are often inaccurate,” he said. “The fallibility of memory has been well documented. There’s something called ‘memory hardening’ where sometimes people claim they know more than they do. Our memories are not like video cameras; they’re like still shots, where we fill in the blanks.” Stanfield said Charles was in a nearby car at the time of the Christmas Eve shooting and robbery. The Gibsonville police are still looking for four unidentified black males who were believed to be with Charles at the time. Stanfield indicated in a statement to TCB that the unidentified males shot him in his front yard. Stanfield said he believes Charles orchestrated the crime. Under the legal theory of vicarious liability, a person can held responsible for a crime they didn’t directly commit, Friedland said. One kind of vicarious liability, conspiracy, requires an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime together. A second, accomplice liability requires both a mental state and an act. “They could be charged with the ultimate crime that they are assisting,” Friedland said. “If they’re helping out with a burglary, then they could be charged with burglary. If they’re helping out with a homicide, then they could be charged with a homicide.” He added, “This kind of liability
FILE PHOTO
News
Jose Charles, a slightly built 15-yearold, became a symbol of the movement for police accountability in Greensboro following a violent encounter with the Greensboro police at the 2016 Fun Fourth Festival. His mother, Tamara Figueroa, filed a complaint with the police department, which cleared itself of wrongdoing after an internal investigation. Her complaint was forwarded to the Police Community Review Board on appeal. In early 2017, Figueroa and her son went public, calling for the release of the police video of the July 4, 2016 incident. A member of the review board, who was troubled by what she saw in the video, spoke publicly, and was removed from the board. The case attracted widespread media coverage, even a story in the Washington Post. Community members escalated pressure on city council to release the video, and activists took over the dais during a city council meeting and then poured into the streets where eight people submitted themselves to arrest while blocking traffic in downtown Greensboro. Ultimately, the Guilford County District Attorney’s office dropped a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer against Charles, but the city manager, the mayor and three council members backed the police’s handling of the incident. Figueroa told TCB in a March 2017 interview that her son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, mood disorders and post-traumatic stress after the July 4, 2016 incident. The news in early January that Charles, who is now 17, was charged with attempted murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury cast a pall over the movement of which he became the public face. Digital, print and broadcast stories by the News & Record and Fox 8 News drew clear connections between the recent charges
and the previous accusations of police misconduct. But the legitimacy of the charges is called into questions by the victim’s account of the crime. Charles is accused of shooting Donald Robert Stanfield, 36, at his home in Gibsonville. With 7,029 people, the town of Gibsonville straddles the Guilford and Alamance county lines. Stanfield lives on the Alamance County side of town. The charging documents on file at the Alamance County Courthouse provide scant detail about Charles’ alleged offenses: The attempted murder warrant merely states that Charles attempted “to kill and murder Donald Stanfield” on Christmas Eve. The warrant for the other two combined charges alleges that Charles stole four ounces of marijuana and $3,000 from Stanfield, and accuses him of committing assault by “threatening to use” an “unknown small caliber handgun.” In a Facebook message to Triad City Beat on Tuesday, Stanfield said Charles was in a nearby car at the time of the crime. “He’s not the gunman,” Stanfield said. “An accessory to the fact, but not the gunman. I even told the detective that. He set everything up.” Gibsonville police Detective TN Monday, who brought the charges against Charles could not be reached for comment, but Chief Ron Parrish defended the department’s handling of the case. “All of the charges against Mr. Charles are appropriate,” Parrish said. “We received clearance from the DA’s office to make the charges. The case is still under investigation, so it would be inappropriate for me to say anything else about it.” Messages left for the Alamance County District Attorney’s office for this story on Tuesday and Wednesday were not returned. Steve Friedland, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Elon Law School in Greensboro, said that contradicting information provided by a victim doesn’t necessarily invalidate the charge. “It depends on what the entirety of the evidence may be,” he said. “I’m sure the prosecutor will weigh this as well in determining whether to go forward. It’s significant. They’re thinking ahead as
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NEWS
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Jan. 19 - 24, 2018 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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th Democratic candidates for 5 district court rural voters by Jordan Green Congressional candidates DD Adams and Jenny Marshall pitched their ability to represent rural constituents during a candidate forum in Alexander County. Two Democratic candidates from Forsyth County kicked off the political season on Tuesday night by making the case that they can represent the interests of the entire 5th Congressional District to a capacity crowd in a borrowed courtroom in rural Alexander County. Jenny Marshall, a social studies teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Winston-Salem, and DD Adams, a three-term member of Winston-Salem City Council and retired quality engineer at Johnson Controls, both pledged to support their Democratic opponent in the general election if they don’t win the primary. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, a member of the powerful House Republican Conference who was first elected to the seat in 2004. The district has traditionally leaned Republican, even before the GOP took control of the General Assembly and redrew the map to their advantage in 2011. But the General Assembly faces a court order to redraw the lines after the current plan was found to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, so it’s possible the Democratic candidate will have a better shot than in the past. Speaking before a capacity crowd of more than 100 people at the event sponsored by the Alexander County Democrats, the two candidates addressed big national issues like healthcare, entitle-
ments and criminal justice, and also tackled local concerns. With a population of only 37,428, Alexander County is among the smallest in the state and doesn’t have a single interstate running through it. One of the written questions submitted to the candidates noted that neighboring Hickory hosts “major multinational companies” and the city of Lenoir landed a Google data center. “What can you do for Alexander County?” the questioner asked. “The first major question is: What does Alexander County want and how are we going to put that into place?” Marshall responded. “I’m a huge proponent of green-energy jobs: solar, wind, geothermal. That is the future. Dragging our fossil fuels out of the ground and fracking? No. We need green energy. So, would you like a solar plant making solar panels?” Adams, whose father worked for RJ Reynolds Tobacco, touted WinstonSalem’s reinvention through urban reinvestment. “You got good, old buildings downtown?” she asked. “Old furniture factories? Something we can go and work with?” She talked about a “team of people I’ve been working with,” including Piedmont Triad Partnership President & CEO Stan Kelly, car dealer Don Flow and Forsyth Tech President Gary M. Green, adding, “That goes back to me strategically having teams in every county. But we can make this happen.” Alexander is one of 10 counties in the current 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Winston-Salem in the east
Jenny Marshall (left) and DD Adams make their appeal to rural voters in Alexander County.
to Boone in the west. The two Democratic candidates told voters they plan to be more accessible than Foxx. “I will be sure that we have a mobile office, not just one that’s stuck in Clemmons and not just one that’s stuck in Boone,” Marshall said, “but one that actually travels to the communities so that you can have access to your representative.” Adams said she agreed that the district representative needs to have constituent services offices in more than two locations, but added, “You also have to look at the various technologies that are accessible to everybody today. Everybody’s not going to do a meeting. Everybody — if you talk to politicians now, they will tell you most of the communication is via technology or telephone.” Marshall shot back: “Technology is great, but when you don’t have access to wifi and/or broadband access in the
JORDAN GREEN
rural communities, you’re gonna be hard-pressed to find people that can send an email.” The two candidates tussled over the issue of raising the minimum wage, although they expressed similar sentiments about taking a gradual approach and taking care to avoid burdening small businesses. Adams predicted that the city of Winston-Salem will be paying all of its employees $15 an hour within two years. She said government and other employers have to be careful about instituting a dramatic wage increase all at once, although she said she would support a federal minimum wage set to $10 per hour. “Fifteen dollars is going to take a plan, again, so you don’t see compression,” Adams said. “Because the person that’s been on the job for 10 years making $15, a person comes in five years and makes
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countries and make sure that colleges and universities are available free of tuition for our students to attend,” Marshall said. Adams added, “We’ve got to move back to expanding pre-K. Give that child the start they need, that opportunity to have a great education and a great life. We need to provide free technical college or college at a reduced rate at such a way that everybody can afford to go to college who wants to go.” On criminal justice, both said they oppose private prisons. Marshall said Congress needs to take a hard look at the laws on the books that are driving explosive growth in incarceration. Adams said she’s already made up her mind on one federal offense. “I believe in the decriminalization of marijuana,” Adams said. Like Colorado, she said the 5th Congressional District in North Carolina could use legal marijuana as a tool for economic development and job creation, as well as providing an alternative to opioids as a pain medication. “I feel like I’ve been prepared and I’ve been moving towards this ascension for many years,” said Adams, who also cited her professional work in manufacturing, and experience advocating for Winston-Salem in Raleigh. “I’m a three-term city council member in Winston-Salem. I’ve had primaries and general elections against Republicans.” Marshall, who has not held public office, used her experience as a teacher fashion a biography of service. “I can walk into a Stokes County farmer appreciation dinner and feel just as at home as I do teaching in my urban classroom back at JFK High School in downtown WinstonSalem,” she said. “Everybody means the world to me, and I want the best for our communities.”
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$15. Y’all know how it go — it don’t work that way. Yes, I believe in a livable wage, and I believe we can get there in the next five, 10 years.” Marshall took the opportunity to make a swipe at the city. “If you value the employees of Winston-Salem, you need to raise their wage,” she said. Marshall also said she favors a federal subsidy for small businesses to allow them to pay higher wages. While both candidates said they would preserve Social Security, Marshall said she would go a step further. “It doesn’t go far enough for those people who are self-employed because Social Security insurance doesn’t cover them,” Marshall said. “They don’t get a check when they retire. It doesn’t cover the stay-at-home mom that stays home for 40 years. She doesn’t have a work history. That determines how your Social Security gets paid — how many years you work and what was your salary? I would like to change that. Frankly, stay-at-home moms, you work. Self-employed people, you work. And I think you deserve to have your benefits paid by the federal government.” Despite the friction on Adams’ record on city worker pay, both candidates found plenty of room for agreement, including on the issue of the minimum wage. Marshall said the first two bills she would introduce in Congress would be establishing universal healthcare and raising the minimum wage. “Same,” Adams said. “Those are things that are doable.” She added that most Democrats are on the same page on the two issues.” The two candidates both said they favor greater investments in education, but Marshall advocated a universal approach while Adams pitched a more targeted plan. “I think we need to catch up with all the other industrialized
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EDITORIAL
In a tweet, 1,000 words on Rep. Ted Budd
Besides parades, tributes and social-media posts that miss the point, Martin Luther King Day is also a day for white politicians to pretend that the struggle is over. MLK Day is particularly tough on North Carolina Republicans from urban districts, like Rep. Ted Budd, the congressman from the 13th District who spent the morning on Monday at the annual MLK breakfast held by the city. This is a matter of public record, as Budd tweeted a couple photos of himself at the event, one with 6th District Rep. Mark Walker and another, more telling shot that probably shouldn’t have been made public. At this one, Budd is seated at a table with another white guy and six or seven African-American women. As Budd and his pal smile for the photo, three of the women visible in the frame deliver withering looks at the man, a gesture known as “side-eye” that connotes skepticism and, perhaps, a little disdain. It is, of course, unremarkable that Budd does not have many fans among African-American women — he’s voted along the Trump line 91.7 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. And Budd, who owns a gun shop in Rural Hall, is not really that popular in this part of his district anyway. Though he won his 2016 election in his carefully crafted district, he was outscored by challenger Bruce Davis by 20 points in Guilford County.
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Rep. Ted Budd gets the side-eye at a MLK breakfast in Greensboro.≠
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What is remarkable is that he greenlighted this meme-worthy photo for his social media account. It means that either he is not good at interpreting body language, or that he did not see these black women’s faces when he looked at the photo — he certainly seems blissfully unaware of them in the shot itself. And that’s the problem with Ted Budd on MLK Day: He just doesn’t see them.
CITIZEN GREEN
As legislative maps fail, NC GOP moves to judiciary
The Republican-controlled General Assembly’s congressional maps have been rebuked by federal courts not once but twice — one for racial gerrymandering and one for partisan gerrymandering. It’s a pretty stunning comeuppance, but the fact is they’re by Jordan Green getting away with it. These were the maps originally drawn in 2011, and they’re appealing the latest decision on the grounds that there isn’t time to fix them before the 2018 election. And remember, in only three years we’ll be drawing maps all over again for the 2020 decennial Census. It can be hard to keep up with the continuous string of constitutional violations by this legislature, but keep in mind that the maps they drew for themselves were also ruled a racial gerrymander. That’s a lot to consider, but don’t lose sight of the next play: While everyone’s attention is on the congressional maps, this illegitimate legislature has been drawing up plans to overhaul the state court system from top to bottom. Melissa Price Kromm, executive director of NC Voters for Clean Elections, summed up the GOP leadership’s MO succinctly during a rally for fair courts in Raleigh last week. “Our family just took down our Christmas tree; I have a 2-year-old toddler,” Kromm said. “I spent the whole Christmas season with her running up to the tree, grabbing all the ornaments, going, ‘Mine, mine, mine.’ That’s exactly what this General Assembly is doing to our courts. ‘Supreme court — mine! Court of appeals — mine! The thing is, the courts belong to we the people.” Manipulating district lines to determine who serves in the US Congress and the state legislature is one thing, but rigging the courts is quite another. While the legislature has already reduced the number of seats on the court of appeals, now they’re looking at redrawing the lines for the district and superior court benches. A quick refresher: District court judges handle everything from misdemeanor drug possession, traffic offenses, resisting arrest and DWIs to domestic violence and resisting arrest, while superior court judges hear civil cases involving more than $25,000, appeals from district court decisions, and felonies up to first-degree murder and drug trafficking. Not to diminish the importance of legislators, but local judges make decisions that can profoundly affect individual lives. “I think the clear trending of everything they’re trying to do is get more Republicans elected in judgeships, particularly in urban counties,” Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Democratic lawmaker from Durham who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting, told me. The numbers are startling: Under House Bill 717, filed by Rep. Justin Burr (R-Stanly), Republicans are likely to win 48 out of 102 district court judgeships in North Carolina’s eight most populous counties — all Democratic strongholds — based on voters’ preferences in the 2012 presidential election. The proposed plan accomplishes this magical feat by overpopulating Democratic-leaning districts. I ran the
The judicial map for Guilford County under the Senate Plan (right) bears a remarkable resemblance to the legislative map declared unconstitutional by the federal courts.
COURTESY SOUTHERN COALITION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
numbers. Judicial districts for each county have an ideal population based on the total number of judges. Each district deviates to one degree or another, either over or under the ideal. Eighty-eight percent of Democratic-leaning districts in the district court plan are overpopulated while 93.8 percent of Republican-leaning districts are underpopulated. That’s a divergence that doesn’t occur by accident. The map for Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, is particularly skewed. Based on the 2010 Census, Republican-leaning District 39A has 28,259 residents per judge, a deviation of 17 percent below ideal population, while Democratic-leaning District 39B has 41,761 residents per judge, overpopulating it by 14.3 percent. The pattern for superior court judges is similar: 62.5 percent of Democratic-leaning districts are overpopulated, while 72.7 percent of Republican-leaning districts are underpopulated. A recent review of the Senate plan performed by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice found much the same pattern. Statewide, the coalition found: “Republican judges would be expected to win 70-72 percent of superior court races and 69-71 percent of the district court judgeships. Likewise, the pairing of incumbent judges and strategic placement of open seats both demonstrate an overwhelmingly strong bias towards Republicans.” Both the House and Senate plans also assign judges sparsely in urban counties. As the Southern Coalition for Social Justice notes, “the voters and judges in the largest and most Democratic counties are subject to overworked and understaffed judicial officers under this plan.” The proposed changes tilting the scales in favor of Republican judges comes at a time when diversion programs to help youthful offenders avoid the crippling stigma of a criminal record are increasingly gaining traction, and judicial candidates are beginning to acknowledge racial disparities in the court system. That’s progress that could be wiped away by legislative fiat. “North Carolina is a test case, y’all,” Kromm said. “If North Carolina succeeds at their attempts at stacking, packing and cracking our courts, it will spread like a disease across this country.”
triad-city-beat.com
CULTURE Haitian food truck is passion play for brother and sister
by Lauren Barber
O
Up Front News
The tender jerk chicken from the King-Queen Cuisine food truck, topped with pikliz, falls readily off the bone and carries enough spice to create some heat.
homemade chili. Though the tacos are unremarkable, Hilder’s avocado dressing and a mild red chili sauce bring distinctive flavor to an otherwise ubiquitous dish. He embellishes the steak taco with cilantro, lettuce, jalapeño, both sauces and fresh purple cabbage, adding a nice crunch within the soft taco shell. If you love pineapple, Hilder’s pineapple-steak taco looks delicious and the added fanfare might make up for less-
Shot in the Triad Puzzles
LAUREN BARBER
than-top grade steak. Other simple options like the Haitian barbeque chicken sandwiches come with a side of crinkle-cut fries but, unless you’re dead-set, swap out the fries for a side of five plantains. As a side dish, they come with a mild, creamy dipping sauce and are certainly more noteworthy finger food to accompany an evening’s craft-beer diet. For a more complex palette of flavors, one of the truck’s Learn more on the standout dishes — and my faKing-Queen Cuisine vorite — is the “blackn’” tilapia Facebook page. bowl, a blackened filet of the white fish served over a bed of black-bean rice and topped with sautéed red and green peppers and onions, sweet plantains on the side. It is the best meal I’ve eaten out of a Styrofoam box, and it’s only 9 dollars. King-Queen Haitian Cuisine offers a more sizeable menu than most trucks I’ve visited in the Triad. Yet, you won’t wait longer than 10 minutes unless you’re one of many in line. Even then, the sibling duo moves quickly and your food will be well prepared. The main issue is confirming their location on any given evening. Sometimes they update their Facebook page — especially for one-off events and food truck festivals — but Hilder and Djosen rotate between Foothills, Wise Man and Brown Truck breweries, often park near Bailey Park in Winston-Salem and pull up to First Fridays in Greensboro. The Vilnors take occasional trips outside the Triad, too. There are quite a few Jamaican and vaguely “Caribbean” brick-and-mortars but you won’t find much other stringently Haitian food in the Triad.
Culture
The pineapple-steak taco is a rare Triad find.
LAUREN BARBER
Opinion
n any given evening Tuesday through Saturday, in a truck with a banana-yellow hood, decorated with lithe palm trees in maroon, green and orange, Djosen and Hilder Vilnor will be readying a flatiron grill, fryer and condiment station to whip up made-to-order Haitian eats. Hilder and his sister opened the KingQueen Haitian Cuisine food truck six years ago following years of behind the scenes work as a busboy and then as a cook in restaurants like O’Charley’s after emigrating from Haiti to the United States in 1994. He still works occasional shifts on the line at the Longhorn Steakhouse on Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, but finds his joy in cooking the recipes of his childhood. Rice cooked with black beans kept warm in the large cooker provides a base for many of the dishes, the traditional jerk chicken for instance. The tender meat — your pick of light or dark— falls readily off the bone and carries enough spice to create some heat. (For reference, anyone comfortable eating a “medium” salsa from the grocery or a spiciness level 2 at Southeast Asian restaurants should handle it well.) A complementary vinegar-pickled carrot and shredded green cabbage combination — known as “pikliz,” a popular Haitian condiment when accompanied by peppers — garnishes the chicken. This staple dish is served with a somewhat unnecessary dinner roll and yellow plantains fried just long enough to bring out the starchy fruit’s natural sweetness and produce a crispy casing. You’ll need to look elsewhere if you pine for the gooier, sugar-saturated variant. They serve up takes on other prevalent Haitian recipes, too, like poule frite, or Haitian fried chicken, and Haitian griot, or fried Berkshire pork, both long-marinated in a distinctive blend of spices. These are among their most popular dishes, alongside the Haitian Louisiana Creole chicken pasta, a mix of sautéed vegetables with chicken on a bed of penne — ask for extra spice if you’d like. Less adventurous souls should find comfort in options like a traditional American hamburger, barbecue chicken sandwich, Buffalo barbecue wings, chicken quesadillas, tacos and a Creole burrito similar enough to the Americanized version but with the addition of
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Jan. 19 - 24, 2018 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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CULTURE Subterranean jazz creeps up from the Whiskey Box
by Spencer KM Brown
O
n the surface, Recreation Billiards feels like a standard sports bar: a long, narrow bar on the ground floor with pool tables and booths, memorabilia of bygone spirits and beer and old newspaper clippings on the wall. But underground, down the tired wooden staircase sits the Whiskey Box, a dark, cozy room, almost speakeasyesque, where one can easily imagine thick plumes of smoke and dancing feet. It begins as a whisper. The drums and bass and horns building slowly as the rhythms thrum up through the floorboards. Just under the babbling murmur of voices, TVs playing sports and the cracking carom of the pool table, the music finds its way to the surface. Sneaking through the feet-trodden floorboards, climbing up the stairs, it is there suddenly. Old, new, or otherwise, it’s jazz, and all you can do is tap your foot. There’s jazz on Wednesday nights in the subterranean bar. It could be considered by some a risky move by
management; the idea of bringing a seemingly archaic, niche style of music to a younger crowd runs the risk of keeping the bar empty. And yet, Jan. 10 saw the room filled. The night featured a trio of local musicians, Daniel Seriff on guitar, John Ray on bass and Jonathan Greene on drums. The crowd spanned generations, all sidled along the standing bar against the weathered brick as the music began. Starting the night with a grooving sample of skilled improvised music, the trio followed Seriff’s lead. Syncopated, swinging drums laid the groundwork as the music sailed off around the room. Flowing forth like an undiked stream, the music spilled into all directions; it is a conversation between musicians and instruments. Jazz remains one of the few genres that can move freely and AMANDA Daniel Seriff, Jonathan Greene and John Ray (l-r) perform at the Whiskey unencumbered by time signature, MOSCHETTA Box tempo and key, while all at once, giving the freedom for utter selfscores of traditional songs, the trio moved into an improvised expression by the musicians. Jazz is not a matter song. Ambient jazz chords led the melody as Ray’s fat, thumpof playing what’s there, but playing what isn’t. ing basslines walked ghostly in the background. Greene’s use And this idea seems to be coming to life in the of polyrhythms and transition between Afro-Cuban grooves Triad. and swing patterns expanded the sound, creating layer after Though the announcement that Winstonlayer of deepening sound. The crowd seemed to forget about Salem’s newest music venue Ramkat will open the drinks in their hands, as solos were exchanged between its doors this spring, many other clubs have the performers. been closing down or struggle to sell tickets, The night moved into a breathing scene of jazz and whiskey making performing outlets increasingly limited, filling the air, as if the moment were plucked out from a scene especially for jazz music. Despite the everin “Madmen.” The thought that jazz is a lesser or dying genre, changing market, musicians are finding new, that it is for a generation that is no longer, is being shattered. more unconventional locales for play. Like the Though the venues that book jazz tend to come and go, there Whiskey Box, other such bars that don’t tradiis always someplace you can find it. tionally host music are now seeing the value of Playing January 18th & 19th it. With Tate’s Cocktail bar hosting open jazz on Tuesday nights, Foothills Brewing bringing in The Idiot Box Presents various acts on select weekends and Tate Street Coffee in Greensboro hosting their long running jazz nights, doors are continuously opening for OTHER SHOWS musicians, keeping jazz alive in the Triad. Open Mic Serrif and his trio became something of a siren Everyone is welcome! from the warm, honey-lighted corner of the bar, 8:30 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 18th $5 tickets! the music continuously drawing feet down from Family Night Standup upstairs. Though electric guitar and bass are 8:30 p.m. Fri., Jan. 19th $10 Tickets! not the traditional makeup for a jazz trio, the Saturday Night Open Mic music remained true to the genre. The union and 10 p.m. Sat., Jan. 19th $5 tickets! familiarity between the musicians was palpable; Jonathan Greene’s eyes focused intently on Ray’s Discount tickets available @ Ibcomedy.yapsody.com fingers and guitar, mimicking the subtle accents, while Ray and Seriff exchanged glances at times, 2134 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro or pinched their eyes closed to hone-in on the idiotboxers.com • 336-274-2699 music. Before getting into the sheet music and
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Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
teven Messina doesn’t stop mov“The face of the ing. group always changMessina’s affection for dance es,” Messina said. “We began with his mom dancing and really do have people swinging him around every night before from all different bed as a child. These days, he wakes up countries, religious with dance on the mind and is the one backgrounds… but at swinging others around dancefloors, the end of the day we often in a makeshift studio space in his love and respect the apartment. dance and love and The devotees organically initiated the respect each other.” start of class with a rueda circle, a form The most dediof spontaneous call-and-response social cated dancers tend to dance where alternating dancers yell show up on Thursday out calls, each of which denote different evenings but, as with dance moves. As the circle spun tightly any class, Messina with a partner for a minute, everyone sets no skill requireswitched partners as the circle itself ment. Many only rotated. attend events around Before shaping the Latin dance scene town like the recurin Greensboro, Messina earned a degree ring Monday-night in aerospace mechanical engineering Cuban salsa classes at from Worcester Polytechnic Institute Limelight nightclub outside of Boston, his hometown. His or Tuesday kizomba degree took him to West Palm Beach, nights at LaRue. Fla. and Miami where he learned CubanBrian Drury, who influenced dances in a casual club started training with setting while working as a contract engiMessina three years neer by day. A pay raise enticed Messina ago, knew nothing to come to the Gate City but after his about Latin dance contract ended, the prospect of returnbefore his first class. ing to daily life in a gray cubicle made “I was struggling him nauseous. with the fear and “I was on a phone interview with [a uncertainty of, What company in] Seattle and I realized the if they judge me?” said Julie Hips (foreground) dances with Jordan Alayna in Steven Messina’s home studio in LAUREN BARBER first thing I was thinking was: Where Drury, who is 28. “But downtown Greensboro. would I teach dance?” Messina said. from Day 1 Steve and wooden floorboards partitioned by a brown suede couch beHe stayed and deepened his study of the community he’s created have been so supportive. They’re tween the dance floor and Messina’s kitchen, a simple metal older dances from Cuba and Afro-Cuban family now. I travel 50 percent of year but I always have this to fan offering what breeze it could. Some concentrated when folklore with the intent to sustain those come back to.” dancing while others laughed, unreservedly throwing exulted cultural traditions by teaching authentic Messina teaches casino, son Cubano, rueda, Afro-Cuban arms in the air every now and then, but smiles showed on representations. folkloric, kizomba, and bachata at several weekly classes in nearly everyone’s face during breaks. “When I teach the classes I try to Greensboro both at his home and places like LaRue, where “There are times I worry about money,” Messina said. blend street and social [styles] versus he teaches kizomba every Tuesday. Lately he treks across the “But I’m reminded that often this is the best part of people’s only [teaching] state to the Old Havana Sandwich days.... Not trying to fake humility, but it’s an honor and very academically in Shop in Durham and, most recently, humbling to be able to share that and bring that to people.” a studio setting Infinity Ballroom in Charlotte. Learn more about Messina Dance Meaghan Hilton, a cake decorator who joined the group in so that the Messina still loves the intimacy Company at messinadance.com. August, finds the solace in the fun-hearted, fast-paced classes. dancing doesn’t of his home studio classes, though. “I’ve always wanted to dance and I’ve never really had the look soulless,” As a total of 14 dancers petered into opportunity until life changes happened and I said, ‘Dammit he said. “Right Messina’s Elm Street apartment— preI’m going to go dancing,’” said the 38-year-old Hilton. “It’s now, what’s viously a small art gallery with track about the only time I go out because I work two jobs. This is going through me is samba; it just runs lights already installed — on Jan. 11, they joined the rueda circle my time to be social, to meet people with no pressure and I through me,” Messina said as he ran a as others clapped in applause to welcome them like familiar still get home at a decent hour.” finger up and down his arm veins. friends entering a house party. “It boosts your confidence and you feel good about yourAs much as his appetites for certain “All of a sudden, there’s an instant party, infectious energy,” self,” she added. “And I get to use the other parts of my body styles evolve, the people who come to Messina said. “It’s a credit to them.” because I work with my hands and arms all day at work. This is events vary as a community of dancers Wearing a mixture of casual, evening and athletic wear, the my relief.” begins to blossom in Greensboro. dancers spun their heels, tennis shoes and Vans on the worn,
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CULTURE Steven Messina, and samba in a downtown apartment
by Lauren Barber
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Jan. 19 - 24, 2018
Salt Road, Winston-Salem
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Winter afternoon at Miksh Garden in Old Salem.
CAROLYN DE BERRY
PIZZERIA
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Large 1-topping pizza
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219 S Elm Street, Greensboro • 336-274-4810
lost CROSSWORD “Portrayed-Off”--something’s in the interpretation. by Matt Jones
Time periods “Free Willy” whale “Give it up!” (or what the theme answers do) Clock face Pulitzer-winning novelist Alison Spiced tea beverage Gardener’s purchase Streisand title role of 1983 Russian ruler, before 1917
Up Front
56 60 61 63 64 65 66 67 68
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SODUKO
Answers from previous publication.
40 Sumptuous 42 In a self-satisfied way, maybe 43 Little bite 46 Flow’s counterpart 47 Look forward to 50 Covers with turf 51 Muse, for one 52 Antioxidant-rich berry 53 Heavy metal’s Mˆtley ___ 54 “Freak on a Leash” band 55 Barbecue rod 57 Satisfied sounds 58 March Madness gp. 59 Make Kool-Aid 62 ___ Aviv, Israel
Opinion
Down 1 NATO phonetic alphabet letter after Oscar 2 Web addresses 3 Confirmation ___ 4 Iroquois League nation 5 Big bother ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 6 Pick-me-up 7 Abu Dhabi leader, for instance 26 Water filter brand name 8 Lip balm ingredient 27 Kidney-related 9 Phenomenal performers 28 “The Dark Knight” trilogy director 10 Soundstage equipment that hangs high 29 “Lady Bird” writer-director Gerwig 11 Cultural leader? 30 Hyphenated descriptor for a repairperson 12 Kazakhstan border “Sea” that’s really a lake 31 Recurrent theme 13 Auction off 32 Not-so-subtle promos 18 Exterior finish for some houses 33 Contacts online, for short 22 Palme ___ (Cannes Film Festival prize) 36 Abbr. on military mail 24 ___ Tuesday (“Voices Carry” group) 38 Spellbind
News
Across 1 Trivia contest locales 5 Went over like ___ balloon 10 Sheep sounds 14 Racecar driver Luyendyk whose son is currently “The Bachelor” 15 How some rooms are lit 16 Shrek or Fiona, e.g. 17 Hanging around, being a particle, losing its charge, catching up on reading, etc.? 19 Like some histories 20 Piece of property 21 Gym fixture 23 Take out 25 May honoree 26 Anticipating a little devil? 33 Furor 34 Leachman of “Young Frankenstein” 35 Caffeine-containing nut 37 “Rebel Without a Cause” costar Sal 39 “Superman” archvillain Luthor 40 Abate 41 Tennis player Wawrinka 42 Copper coating 44 “May ___ now?” 45 Nonexistent grades like “G+”? 48 “Westworld” network 49 Photos, slangily 50 Chain that sells a lot of cups
SPREADING JOY ONE PINT AT A TIME Culture Shot in the Triad
Monday Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz 7:30 Tuesday Live music with Piedmont Old Time Society Old Time music and Bluegrass 7:30 Wednesday Live music with J Timber and Joel Henry with special guests 8:30
Thursday Joymongers Band aka Levon Zevon aka Average Height Band 8:30
Puzzles
Answers from previous publication.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday BEER! joymongers.com | 336-763-5255 ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
576 N. Eugene St. | Greensboro
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