Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point August 8-14, 2019 triad-city-beat.com
WINSTON-SALEM EDITION
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Elevation church’s Winston-Salem expansion raises concerns amongst LGBT+ community PAGE 8 Smitty pulls up a chair PAGE 11
Franchise freakout PAGE 9
August 8-14, 2019
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Blood will tell
My father, Bob, took one of those mail-order genetics tests earlier this year to find that he was not strictly a pureblood. by Brian Clarey Turns out he’s just 97 percent Irish; his 3 percent Swedish side is a complete mystery to him, which believe bothers him not in the least. Most of my mother’s first cousins — she has 23 of them — had already taken the assessment and all had turned out 100 percent Italian. Why shouldn’t they be? They were all second-generation Americans who grew up in Italian enclaves in New Jersey. But my mother’s results were different. My mother, it turns out, is 31 percent Armenian, which I imagine came as quite a shock. In the early years of the 20th Century, Italians didn’t generally intermarry. My own parents’ union in the late 1960s was looked upon as a mixed marriage, because he was Irish (though just 97 percent) and she was Italian — or so she thought. Through some genetic sleuthing and using knowledge gained from high school biology, we determined that one of my grandmother’s parents must have been full-on Armenian — either Kate on the
Chiarella side, my Noni who died in 1997, or her husband, Joe, on the DeSantis side, who died many years before I was born. My money’s on Joe, for what it’s worth. Not that it maters. Armenians had been fleeing the Middle East for Europe since the early days of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th Century. Later, in 1915, the empire would slaughter 1.5 million Armenians in the Middle Eastern theater of World War I. A lot of Armenians landed in Italy in the years between 1860 and 1915. And some of them made it over here. It’s ironic, though, that genetic tests like these would have greatly aided the Ottoman Empire in its pursuit to rid itself of the Armenian bloodline. Hitler could have used them to positively identify Jews in Germany in the early days of the Reich. White supremacists rely on them now to ascertain their degree of whiteness — often, as has been reported, with disappointing results. I am interested in exploring my Armenian side. If I can find a proper restaurant. But I know too much about eugenics, its weaponization and its role in shaping our society, from Jim Crow to redlining real estate deals — too much to be turned on by discovering specifically how Irish I am. And I’m happy being a mutt.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The People’s Perk, to me, will always represent the best of the Triad: warm, welcoming and rad community.
— Tina Trutanich, page 7
BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com
PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com
OF COUNSEL Jonathan Jones EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com
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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 Winston-Salem Cover: STAFF WRITER Lauren Barber Photo by Sayaka Matsuoka lauren@triad-city-beat.com STAFF WRITER Savi Ettinger savi@triad-city-beat.com
ART ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES
KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price gayla@triad-city-beat.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones
TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, each additional copy is $1. ©2018 Beat Media Inc.
Greensboro Cover: Robert Paquette
August 8-14, 2019
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August 8-14, 2019
CITY LIFE Aug. 8-11, 2019 by Savi Ettinger
Up Front
Thursday Aug. 8th
Rehearsals: A Comedy @ Cultural Arts Center (GSO), 7:30 p.m. Head to the Stephen D. Hyers Theatre to catch Rehearsals by Bill Cissna, a play about plays. The Triad Playwrights Theatre stages the work throughout the weekend. Buy tickets and learn more on Facebook.
Artist Tour @ SECCA (W-S), 6 p.m. Join a tour of Warm Water, an exhibit surrounding the death of Eugene Williams in 1919 and the race riots that followed that summer. Greensboro-based artist Charles Edward Williams leads a discussion through the pieces of the exhibit. Learn more at secca.org.
Friday Aug. 9th
Breakfast at Tiffany’s @ Reynolda House Museum (WS), 7 p.m.
Stories Beyond Borders @ International Civil Rights Center and Museum (GSO), 2 p.m. This five-part film follows the true stories of real immigrants in order to bring light to the realities surrounding the immigration experience. Afterwards, community activists and experts provide a panel discussion and forum. Learn more on Facebook.
Bring a nighttime picnic for a free outdoor showing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the Reynolda House. Beer and wine will be up for sale to sip during the screening of this Aubrey Hepburn classic based on Truman Capote’s short novel. Find out more on Facebook.
A Tail of Two Queens @ Greensboro Project Space, 3 p.m.
Culture
Opinion
News
Trap Boxing @ Joe Davis Park (GSO), 6:30 p.m.
Geography of Jazz @ Hawthorne Inn and Convention Center (W-S), 7:30 p.m. Leonard Moore previews excerpts of his book, Geography of Jazz, alongside tunes from jazz performers from Music Carolina. An open mic with poets from the North American Haiku Society follows. Find out more on Facebook.
Joe Davis Park transforms into a boxing ring for an evening of fitness and fun. Learn or practice boxing, or try a new way to get in a pre-weekend workout, while DJ Lynx Legacy plays hits from a range of trap artists. Find the event on Facebook. Anniversary dance mixer @ LeBauer Park (GSO), 7 p.m. LeBauer Park turns three this week, so join the free birthday celebration. DJ Marcus B. Smooth brings the soundtrack and some urban line dancing to keep the party going. Find more information on Facebook.
Billy Elliot @ Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance, 8 p.m. Watch a story involving a boy working towards ballet fame, a mining strike, and music by Elton John with a performance of Billy Elliot. The show opens this weekend and runs through the 18th. Buy tickets and learn more at wstheatrealliance.org.
North Point Grill hosts
Shot in the Triad
Nik Snacks Restaurant Takeover
sponsored by Triad City Bites on Saturday August 10, 2019 5 pm-9 pm. The dinner menu features award-winning dishes straight from Nikki Miller-Ka’s blog,
Nik Snacks including: Fried chicken tenders with white cheddar and chive biscuits Pickled blueberry salad with basil vinaigrette Philly Cheesesteak Cheesecake
Puzzles
Red Wine Cream Cheese Brownies with seasonal ice cream
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Saturday Aug. 10th
Scrapfest @ Little Brother Brewing (GSO), 12 p.m. This sustainability-focused block party provides bluegrass, roots and rock concerts without the environmental damage. Scrapfest brings together local businesses for classes, craft beer and shows that avoid as much waste as possible. Find out more on Facebook.
All entrees are a la carte
7843 North Point Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC Call 336-896-0500 or visit northpointgrill.com for more information
Pride and canines combine during a hybrid event that falls between a drag show and an adoption fair. Dogs dress to match the ensembles of the drag performers, and a meet and greet with potential pets follows. Find the event on Facebook.
August 8-14, 2019
The Waybacks @ The Ramkat (W-S), 7 p.m.
Sunday Aug. 11th
Creative Writing and Character Development @ AML Pro Wrestling Training Center (W-S), 1 p.m. If you’ve ever wanted to create a wrestling persona, grab a spot in this one-day creative writing crash course from Coach Josh Gerry. The course covers storytelling, writing basics and building a convincing character. Reserve a seat and find out more on Facebook.
Up Front
Nik Snacks Restaurant Takeover @ North Point Grill (W-S), 5 p.m. Enjoy a night of delicious dishes from Nikki Miller-Ka’s blog, Nik Snacks, with North Point Grill and Triad City Bites. Try the Philly Cheesesteak Cheesecake, or white cheddar and chive biscuits, among other options. Find the event on Facebook.
Black & Blue offers their genre-rollercoaster of a show, jumping from pop to soul to Motown. Their dynamic performance serves as the final show in the Art Splash Summer Concert Series. Learn more on Facebook.
Opinion
The Wayback draws from Americana, bluegrass and rock among other genres to build their own eclectic musical tradition. The band travels from San Francisco to Winston-Salem to bring their modern rootsy songs to this show at the Ramkat. Find out more on Facebook.
News
Black & Blue @ Mendenhall Transportation Terminal (HP), 6:30 p.m.
Culture Shot in the Triad
August 11th Frank Julian Sizemore with jonathan Sway Wilson and Jackson Weldon August 17th Izzy True w/XR August 30th Megan Jean & the KFB September 22nd Fiona Silver w/ J. Timber
Puzzles
221 Summit Ave Greensboro, North Carolina 5
August 8-14, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
TRUTH IS POWER
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Hard news at no cost to you, and no matter the cost to us.
The Journal wants more chains by Brian Clarey While the stage is being set for the Winston-Salem Open tennis match over at Wake Forest, the city’s daily newspaper committed an unforced error. This week the Journal ran with a newsroom poll under the hed, “9 restaurants we need in and around Winston-Salem right now,” rattling off several chain restaurants that have not made their way to Forsyth yet. It’s the sort of click-baity list that barely raises a ripple when it’s compiled by bots or hack freelancers in some other market (looking at you, onlyinyourstate.com) or even flacks looking to create “native advertising” for their corporate overlords. But in scripting this ode to the wonders of Carvel, Popeyes, Shake Shack, Tim Horton’s and whatever’s spinning off this burgers-andbowls movement in the fast-casual restaurant sphere, the city’s daily newspaper managed to go against months of editorial subtext in the paper, and in the process alienate every local, independently owned eatery in the city. Seriously, foodie Facebook is going nuts. We could go down the list item by item and name a better, local version of what the writer craved. Miss Ora’s or Slappy’s chicken can stand against Popeyes any day; great burgers are in abundance in Winston-Salem right now, at a price point that would put Shake Shack to shame; and don’t give me that Tim Horton’s nonsense. But the Journal’s big mistake was running this thing at all, considering that for the past few months, the paper’s editorial mission has seemed to include driving people downtown during the interminable Business 40 construction so that they could… you know… support the restaurants run by our friends and neighbors who have been holding on during this rough stretch. And to top it off, it’s sort of insane. One of the conclusions of the poll was that we need more Cracker Barrels. This is why I have called some daily newspapers “culturally illiterate.” And this is what happens when you ask everybody in the newsroom what they really want for lunch and try to turn it into a story.
by Sayaka Matsuoka
August 8-14, 2019
The People’s Perk
Take charge of your mind, body and spirit
News
(336) 456-4743
3723 West Market Street, Unit–B, Greensboro, NC 27403 jillclarey3@gmail.com www.thenaturalpathwithjillclarey.com
Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
The red door, the haloed muwoman of color to help honor and ral, the paisley couches. reveal those stories.” Soon, all of it will be gone. For six years, Archia created People’s Perk has called the an inclusive space that not only white brick building in Greenshonored but uplifted the voices boro’s College Hill neighborhood of marginalized people in the home for the last six years. city. Socialist gatherings, spoken “This has been a joyful and word […] hosted by black women, satisfying experience,” says Karen open mics and more took place Archia, the owner and co-founder regularly within the café’s walls. of the small, radical coffee shop. “Some coffee houses are great Archia opened the shop in 2013 for putting your head down and with her friend Nancy Lenk, who cranking out work,” said Fahiym retired in 2016. Hanna, a local organizer and Archia says she decided to owner of Sensuous Scents. “But close the shop the People’s Perk because it had bewas an amazing come unsustainconnecting point able. People’s Perk The mural paint for people like me will officially close who do comand pizza part after Aug. 14. munity organizArchia urged ing work and are will take place on members of the active. Saturday from 3 to politically community to If you didn’t run join in a paint into anyone you 6 p.m. and pizza party knew during your on Saturday to visit Karen would paint over the introduce you “Wonderful Women and Fabulous to someone new or talk [to] you Femmes” mural that graces the herself; she is always amazing large right wall towards the front company! The People’s Perk was of the shop. The piece, which was really like a town square that also created in 2017, features black sold coffee.” and brown women and femmes Tina Trutanich, another local including Bree Newsome, the organizer in the community, also Charlotte-born filmmaker and expressed her sadness about the activist who is best known for shop’s closing on Wednesday. removing the Confederate flag “The People’s Perk, to me, will from the South Carolina State always represent the best of the House grounds. Triad: warm, welcoming and rad “If you look at mainstream hiscommunity,” Trutanich said via torical accounts, often women of a Facebook message. “The Perk color are left out,” Archia said in connected folks throughout the an interview with TCB from 2017. Triad — it will be deeply missed.” “It’s an important goal for me as a
Up Front
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Puzzles
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Culture
Opinion
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Up Front
August 8-14, 2019
NEWS
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Elevation church’s W-S expansion causes concern among LGBT+ community by Sayaka Matsuoka The recent establishment and expansion of a Charlotte-based megachurch in Winston-Salem has former LGBTQ members of the church concerned.
A Charlotte area-based megachurch has established a permanent residence in Winston-Salem and is expanding, raising concerns by some former LGBTQ members of the church who say they were discriminated against, and that the church’s policies on LGBTQ rights are too vague. Charlotte area-based megachurch Elevation Church purchased the building that houses the Gateway YWCA on South Main Street in Winston-Salem about a month ago. The church has been a tenant in the building for the last two years, holding two Sunday services there weekly. A Forsyth County Register of Deeds filing shows that the building, which was previously owned and operated by the YWCA of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, was bought by EC Winston LLC on July 12. Business records show that EC Winston LLC is registered to James Brett Corbett, otherwise known as Chunks Corbett, Elevation’s chief financial officer, and the address on file matches the address for Elevation’s Matthews location. Elevation Church was founded by Pastor Steven Furtick in Matthews in 2006 and has grown to 18 locations across the southeastern United States and one campus in Toronto. Most of its locations are in North Carolina, including one in Greensboro where the church meets at Western Guilford High School. Based on an annual report posted on its website, in 2018, the church boasted $77.1 million in revenue and close to 26,000 attendees at its physical locations. The church also live-streams its sermons online, where viewers from all over the world tune in. The sale comes just months after the YWCA announced that it would not be re-opening its pool, a large draw for many of its members, after damage from flooding in August 2018 forced it to close. Christy Respess, the president and CEO of the YWCA of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, said that the sale of the building to Elevation Church is a relief because of the amount of debt that the YWCA had accumulated during the recession. “We had a strategic plan to partner
with someone on the building that would allow us to stay here,” she said. “It’s a beautiful building but the recession hit, and we had $12 million in debt but we’re only a $3 million organization.” The church paid $3.16 million for the property, according to the deed. “This is just a business transaction, but we’re a complementary partnership,” Respess said. “We’ve coexisted nicely and to go from owner to tenant just made sense for us. We are not merging boards; we are separate organizations. Now that we are debt free, all of our revenue goes to our programs and the facility. It is a much better financial decision for the YWCA to be a tenant rather than cover the overhead for a building that large and to cover debt services.” In a press release, Greg Basch, the campus pastor at Winston-Salem Elevation Church, said he’s excited about the partnership with YWCA. Basch did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls for comment. “We have enjoyed an incredible relationship with the YWCA since we launched our Winston-Salem church here in 2017,” Basch said. “We’re looking forward to establishing a permanent presence from which we can continue to reach and serve more people in Winston.” During last Sunday’s 11 a.m. service, Parker Richardson, an employee at Elevation’s new Winston-Salem location, announced that the church will be expanding its presence in the city to include Sunday evening services at Goler Memorial AME Zion Church at the corner of Patterson Avenue and Seventh Street starting Aug. 18. “We’re not gonna wait on a construction project to keep developing and expanding,” Richardson said from the stage. The church is a predominantly African-American one, and was listed for sale at $3.5 million in April. A spokesperson for Goler Memorial, who did not want to be named, confirmed the agreement to rent space to Elevation Church on Wednesday and said that they would continue to have their own services at the church. They also said that there no plans for Elevation to buy the church. “They’ve never even approached us about that,” said the spokesperson. When asked about the YWCA’s stance
Elevation’s Ballantyne location is where pastor Steven Furtick preaches from and live-streams his sermons.
on the LGBTQ community, Respess said, “We are all-inclusive no matter what anyone’s background. We serve everybody. We never turn anyone away. They are welcomed and loved by us.” Past members of Elevation say they were barred from taking on leadership positions within the church and were treated differently once they came out as LGBTQ to staff and volunteers. One former member of the YWCA, who is heterosexual, said she wouldn’t be returning after learning that Elevation bought the building. Nathanial Totten Green, a former Elevation Church member and a gay man, said he was discriminated against for being gay when he came out to his campus worship leader in Roanoke, Va. He joined Elevation in 2015 and became a part of the worship team, which performs on stage at the church. He was also the musical director and had an unpaid internship lined up when he told his campus worship leader that he was gay. Shortly after, Totten said, the leaders at Elevation called him and rescinded the internship offer and later told him he couldn’t perform on stage either. “At the end of the conversation [with my campus worship leader, she] said that the church leadership had decided that anyone on stage, anyone on the platform was considered to be in a position of leadership and that now precluded me from being on the team.” Totten left Elevation Church in summer 2017.
FILE PHOTO
Elevation Church is listed as a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, which describes “marriage [as] the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.” According to ChurchClarity.org, a website that grades churches based on the clarity of their views on the LGBTQ community as well as women in leadership, Elevation got a grade of “unclear” for both. The website describes Elevation’s policy on those who identify as LGBTQ as “non-affirming” which means that the church’s “policies place restrictions on individuals based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity” such as not ordaining, hiring or marrying LGBTQ+ people. Totten said that Elevation is deceptive towards those in the LGBTQ community because of its vague policy and overly welcoming nature. “They’re not explicitly welcoming,” he said. “They’ll welcome anyone’s money. [Queer people] are given a presentation and a façade and it’s not representative of reality.” Totten’s friend, Autumn Quinn, said she experienced similar mistreatment during her time at Elevation Church. Quinn, who is a lesbian, joined Elevation in 2013 and started attending the same Roanoke location as Totten. When Quinn began dating her wife, whom she met through Elevation Church, she said the staff and volunteers at Elevation started treating her differently. “Some of the staff couldn’t even look
Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
I’m a little surprised that they’ve entered into this business agreement,” he continued. “They may be putting their employees and members in great spiritual and psychological risk.” Respess said that the YWCA’s basketball courts will be converted into a youth ministry and a permanent space for Elevation’s worship services in January. She said that community members who used the basketball courts for tournaments would be moved to a new location, adding that the space was not used that much anyway. She also said that a new fitness area and walking track would take the place of where the pool is. When asked if the new partnership had affected memberships, Respess said that cancellations were down in numbers compared to last year. At least one member said that they will not return now that Elevation owns the building. ES Weiler, who didn’t feel comfortable giving her first name, said that she used to be a member at the Gateway YWCA for about six years, until they announced that the pool would not be re-opening. She said that she thought about rejoining the gym but after hearing about the new business deal, she decided not to go back. “It sounded like a spin,” she said. “They misled people and they created a story that sounds like a win-win for everybody but really it’s a win for Elevation Church and it’s a loss for people like me. I just feel like it’s no longer a YWCA. It’s a church with a fitness area. That’s not really what I’m looking for. My own church has a multipurpose room with a gym.” She said that as a person who supports LGBTQ rights, she wouldn’t go back to the YWCA because it shares space with Elevation. “If they are not inclusive, that’s just one more reason not to go,” she said. Elevation’s rapid expansion in places like Winston-Salem concerns those like Totten who say they have been discriminated against. “Elevation has a very colonialist approach to church planning,” Totten said. “It’s kind of almost like this manifest destiny. They are trying to be a global church. It makes me uncomfortable that the church continues to amass power and leverage their financial strength into these kinds of real estate situations.”
August 8-14, 2019
at me,” she said. “They were not willing to even acknowledge that I was standing right there. It made me question trusting people and especially people who claim to be Christian who claim to follow Jesus and loving your neighbor, but they seem to do that with condition.” Respess said that the YWCA does not reflect Elevation’s values and that the YWCA hasn’t found that discriminatory history to be a problem at the WinstonSalem location. She said that they vetted Elevation Church two years ago when they first started renting to them and didn’t find any issues. She also noted that YWCA members do not have to be members of the church and that the two are totally separate organizations and that Elevation’s policies would not affect the YWCA’s operations. The YWCA doesn’t open until 1 p.m. on Sundays so members may not interact with the dozens of congregants that meet in the building for the two services on Sundays at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. “We are incredibly diverse,” Respess said. “[The YWCA] is just a big open environment where people feel comfortable.” Linda Sutton, a lifelong Goler Memorial member, said that she knew about the rental agreement between Goler and Elevation but that she hadn’t heard about Elevation’s LGBTQ discriminatory policies. “When you think about a church, you think about a welcoming body of Christians,” Sutton said on Wednesday. “I didn’t know anything about their history.” She said that Goler is a welcoming church that has had LGBTQ members on the payroll in the past. “We’ve never had a problem like that and don’t think we ever will,” she said. The YWCA’s stance of inclusion towards LGBTQ people appears to be at odds with Elevation Church’s doctrine restricting marriage to a man and woman and its history of discrimination. “It’s very deceptive to offer safety and shower [people] with love and affirmation and then some time down the road when those people want to step up or be baptized, or take a leadership position, to be told that we can’t allow you to do that and our church doesn’t allow that lifestyle,” said Matt Comer, who works as the communications director of Charlotte Pride and is a gay man. Comer uncovered Elevation’s policies on the LGBTQ community when he was an editor for Q Notes, a LGBTQ-led newspaper based in Charlotte. “The YWCA is LGBTQ-affirming so
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August 8-14, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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OPINION
EDITORIAL
Brain drain in our college towns The US News & World Report’s college ranking
came out last week, and by all measures North Carolina schools — and those in the Triad — did pretty well. UNCG was ranked the 7th best in the state, missing the Top 200 in the National Universities category by one ranking point. Salem College was ranked No. 131. Guilford College placed at 168 in National Liberal Arts Colleges. High Point University was ranked the No. 1 Regional College South, while Greensboro College came in at No. 19 and Bennett College at No. 34. Wake Forest University, always a darling of the US News coverage, was second in the state — behind Duke, of course — and No. 27 in National Universities. There were more than 46,000 college students living and studying in the Triad last year; this year there should be even more. And yet the Greensboro and Winston-Salem metro areas rank fairly low — 97th and 113th, respectively — on WalletHub’s list of Most Educated US Cities. But if you don’t believe WalletHub, take a look at the Pullout Census. Guilford County’s col– By lege education rate — the percentage of people over 25 with at least a four-year bachelor’s degree — stands at 37.4 percent, a few points above Guilford County’s measure of 34.9 percent. Winston-Salem, home of Wake Forest University, holds a 34.1 percent college education rate, while Forsyth County itself holds at 33.8 percent. High Point’s number is 30.1 percent. By contrast, Charlotte’s rate is 42.9 percent. Raleigh’s is an even 50 percent. Durham stands at 48.8 percent. Even little Asheville has a 48.2 college education rate. It’s no secret that the Triad cities suffer from “brain drain” — that is, our college graduates pack up their things upon matriculation and head for bigger cities, better opportunities rather than stay in our communities and help build them up. And while a college education is not the only measure of success, intelligence and taste, it remains a pretty good one. This metric is important because it affects our labor pool, our capacity to raise capital and our ability to attract businesses. It even influences our grocery store choices. Whole Foods will open stores only in Census tracts that top the 50 percent education-rate threshold. Trader Joe’s considers those numbers too. It doesn’t take much to keep recent college grads happy: affordable housing, engaging culture, electric scooters. But what they’re really looking for is a place with prospects. And that’s where we are dropping the ball.
CITIZEN GREEN
The far right’s search for false equivalencies
The horrific nature of the mass shootings over the past weekend and the unmistakable aim outlined in the El Paso shooter’s manifesto forced President Trump to make an uncharacteristic condemnation of white supremacy. But efforts to reframe the by Jordan Green tragedy to serve a far-right agenda can already be seen at the fringes of the political and media ecosystem. On Tuesday, Trump addressed the nation in the lowerregister voice and scripted platitudes he uses when a national tragedy requires him to say something comforting and unifying. He will undoubtedly revert to scapegoating, rage, division and insult in campaign speeches and on Twitter once the nation’s attention turns elsewhere. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” the president intoned in his official address. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America.” What he did not do is take responsibility for stoking the hate that rained a fusillade of bullets at Walmart in El Paso on Aug. 3, snuffing out 22 lives, including eight Mexican nationals. The shooter used the word “invaders” or “invasion” to refer to people coming across the southern border to the United States seven times in the four-page manifesto posted to 8chan minutes before the attack. Notably, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter condemned a Jewish refugee assistance agency for bringing in “invaders” in his last post on Gab before he killed 11 people in October 2018. Trump has used the words “invaders” and “invasion” over and over again during campaign speeches and tweets since he made fear of the migrant caravan the centerpiece of his efforts to thwart Democratic gains in the 2018 election. During a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. in March, Trump told his supporters: “We’re on track for a million illegal aliens trying to rush our borders. It is an invasion, you know that?” In contrast to the El Paso shooter, the atrocity committed by his counterpart in Dayton — another young, white man, who left a body count of 10 — does not easily yield political meaning. He was well known to his former classmates in the Dayton suburb of Bellbrook, who recalled that he drew up a “rape list.” Toxic masculinity? Check. And the fact that his younger sister was among the victims suggests profound nihilism. But white nationalism, not so much. In fact, the Dayton shooter reportedly described himself as a “leftist” on Twitter and expressed approval towards antifascism and left political standard-bearers Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He was also a member of a band that performed pornogrind, a metal genre that specializes in gruesome, sexually explicit and satirical lyrics. On Monday, the right-wing provocateur-slash-journalist Andy Ngo tweeted that the “the black metal antifa band Neckbeard Deathcamp tweeted (then deleted) that the Ohio shooter was a member of the band.”
US Rep. Mark Walker poses with Andy Ngo, who is promoting a narrative linking the Dayton shooting to “antifa.”
COURTESY PHOTO
Will Carless, a respected investigative reporter with Reveal, replied, “This is untrue,” while inviting Ngo to read the band’s Twitter timeline. “Then delete and correct this,” Carless added. “That’s called ‘journalism.’” Ngo’s profile rose exponentially last month when he was milkshaked and repeatedly punched in the face by a group of left-wing activists in Portland, Ore. His journalistic work to date consists of a highly questionable claim that Muslim immigrants in England have created “no-go zones,” attempts to expose hate crimes as hoaxes and “exposing what he sees as the underreported violence of antifa,” according to a report by Shane Burley. Whether Ngo’s work qualifies as journalism or not shouldn’t be debated. Any person who collects facts and presents them in a narrative is a journalist. It’s not a licensed profession. Whether it’s good journalism or bad journalism is another question. Prior to the El Paso and Dayton shootings, US Rep. Mark Walker, who represents Greensboro, posed for a photo with Ngo, while announcing a resolution “condemning antifa’s violence and engagement in domestic terrorism,” and accusing “antifa” of “attacks without equivocation at our First Amendment.” The breathtakingly narrow tailoring of Walker’s resolution ignores the fact that violence against journalists goes far beyond “antifa”; significantly, a Trump supporter attacked a journalist during the Orlando rally. Also, “antifa” has yet to kill anyone, while the FBI acknowledges that the far right and white nationalists are responsible for the highest share by far of domestic-terrorist violence in recent years. Following up on the apparently jesting tweet that the Dayton shooter was a member of the band, the administrator of the Neckbeard Deathcamp account offered an explanation, showing strikingly more self-reflection than the president of the United States. “I did not know Conner Betts [sic] personally, but the Midwest grind scene isn’t large and we [spent] a lot of time pushing pornogrind out of Chicago DIY,” they wrote. “For what it’s worth, men who cape hardline left politics who still treat women like shit are not exactly a new invention. It’s a monumentally larger problem than just this one dude, and disassembling it requires more than just patting ourselves on the back for booting scene rapists from shows until they move to another city.”
August 8-14, 2019
Nik Snacks James ‘Smitty’ Smith pulls up a chair, talks restaurants
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James “Smitty” Smith is one of the Triad’s most colorful and social restaurant goers.
JERRY COOPER
Evening plus 8 with Smitty — a dinner party with influential guests. Any plans on bringing it back? If I feel there is a speaker that people have an interest in. I will bring it back. It’s a one-off thing. Ten years was a good run with it. There’s so much going on within Winston-Salem, I don’t think it’s needed.
On the social scene in Winston-Salem in years past: All you saw downtown was Fifth Street. Luckily, I got a job in 1986 at a law firm and I got to relearn my city after college. I always had fun. We just sniffed out things. The stuff that was going on Trade Street was pretty fun. I went to some parties. The same block that Fourth and Trade is on, that block is where a bunch of buildings were. One thing was the Screaming Deacon. They didn’t sell alcohol so you had to bring your own. Imagine us trucking down Fourth Street with a cooler to see bands and hang out.
How has your quality of life changed since MS? I’ve got two chronic diseases. I’ve had CIDP [Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy] for 10 years. I had monthly infusions, IVig [Intravenous immunoglobulin], I used a walking stick for a number of years. When I came down with MS in 2009, I had spatial-perception issues. I
On the future of dining in Winston-Salem: We shouldn’t rest on our laurels about what we’ve done. In a lot of different ways we have gotten ourselves to here. Now we have to differentiate ourselves. What’s so different about us in this big downtown revitalization scene?
Puzzles
found I was wiped out at the end of the day. About nine years ago, I made the decision that it was a lot safer to be in a wheelchair. Shot in the Triad
I do 2 things, I usually know the places where I’m going to because I’m out. I’m out a lot. So I know they’re handicap compliant. The places that do reservations, I tell them X amount of people and, “Oh, yeah one person will be in a wheelchair.” You let the restaurant know. If I haven’t been there before, or didn’t survey it when I was out, I survey “How do I get in? What’s the best place to get in?” I recommend to always ask. Always ask how do you get in. “Are you handicap accessible?” Most of the chains and big restaurants are.
Culture
Do you have a checklist or criteria before you visit a restaurant?
Opinion
Has there ever been a time that you had to have a Plan B? No. Everywhere that I’ve gone over the last 10 years has been okay.
News
When you go out, what restaurants do you like? Normally, I don’t like to say which restaurants I like going to. The big thing now is Southern cuisine. What I like to call the “shrimp and grits” cuisine. The Taco Regime has been pretty good. Italian cuisine has been pretty good. The burger scene is pretty good. The reason why I post where I’m going is to let people know where I am, within reason. A friend of mine said to me, “You’re a celebrity and people want to know what you’re doing.” Some of my followers on Facebook are MS people. This is to let them know they can do stuff. I went to a Dash ballgame on Friday at the Flow Club and this lady rolled up to me and said she has MS too. We got into a nice conversation about MS and challenges. She said she really hasn’t had any problems [with accessibility]. That is why I let people know that I’m out enjoying stuff.
Up Front
f you think mobility and handicappedaccessibility issues in restaurants don’t apply to you, just wait a few years. While people who by Nikki Miller-Ka aren’t in wheelchairs tend to have a liberal definition of “accessible,” a restaurant may describe itself as accessible because there’s only one step leading to the door, or because it has low-top tables. “When ADA compliance, became law in 1978, North Carolina was the first state to adopt handicap code,” says Dan Dockery, chief building official for the city of WinstonSalem. “We have to be ruthless to provide an inclusive environment. We often forget those things.” Winston-Salem is consistently on “Best Places to Live” lists in Forbes, Time and US News & World Report. I sat down with one of the Triad’s most colorful and social restaurant goers, Jeff “Smitty” Smith, aka Smitty of Smitty’s Notes. Smitty suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair to get around town.
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August 8-14, 2019 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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CULTURE Dress to express: UNCG costume archives survives on Tate Street by Sayaka Matsuoka
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t’s like walking into a library. Each piece, each garment, each stitch tells a different story, reflects a different era. Each has a different author and purpose. Twenty-thousand outfits fill the UNCG costume warehouse, taking over the front room of what used to be Addam’s Bookstore on Tate Street. Flapper-style dresses from the 1920s line the 10-foot high wardrobe racks next to rows of medieval chainmail and ’60s peasant dresses. “We have everything from monsters to animals to fairies to religious robes and military uniforms,” says Amy Holroyd, the costume supervisor for UNCG’s theater department. “There’s pretty much everything.” Holroyd has been the keeper of the outfits for close to a decade and oversaw the moving and cataloguing of the pieces when the collection moved from its previous home on campus to its new location on Tate Street last summer. She says she’s probably handled each individual item in the collection, which ranges from accessories like socks and hats to larger pieces like dresses and jackets. Three levels and nine rows of clothes tower in the 1,800 square-foot room that houses all the garments that the university has made, bought or collected over the years. According to Holroyd, 30-40 percent of the garments were made by students for the school’s productions. She says having the students make the garments themselves gives them the necessary tools to take their craft into the real world after graduation. But the biggest challenge for her lately is that many students coming into the program don’t seem to know how to sew. “They don’t have home ec anymore like they used to,” she says. “They come in completely, really unable to use their hands like past generations have been able to do. We are teaching them from the roots.” She says that some of the students come into the program after watching shows like “Project Runway” or through cosplay. But Holroyd says that making pieces for theater is different than regular fashion. “It’s not just crafty sewing,” she says. “We’re making garments that we hope get used in another production later. We’re not making pieces that just go
Amy Holroyd has been keeper of the costumes at UNCG for the last nine years.
SAYAKA MATSUOKA
down the runway.” Sydney de Briel, who graduated with an MFA from UNCG in Jacquelyn Whiteside, a rising senior at UNCG, understands 2016, now works as the resident costume designer for Barter the difficulties that come with making garments for actors Players, a program within the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va. who will perform on stage. “I like telling stories through colors and shapes and I didn’t “You’re designing for people with all body types,” Whiteside know it could be a job until I got to college,” says de Briel, who says. “And you have to understand that the pieces will move started out as an actor. “What I was missing as an actor was on stage.” the control over how the story was told. I think of costume Whitehead, who is working on a bachelor’s degree in drama, design as a need to create an accurate first impression. Unlike is the lead costume designer for an upcoming production of a movie, people don’t really watch theater shows more than Pippin, which opens in late September. once so you have one shot to be as engaging as possible. CosSketches of Whiteside’s designs hang from a bulletin strip tume design does that in such a wonderful and tangible way.” in one of the sewing rooms in the same One of de Briel’s creations from her building as the costume storage room. time at UNCG hangs on a mannequin at Bright-red leotards with stringy fringe the front of the costume storage buildfor the women and dark trench coat Learn more about UNCG’s ing. Bright-red fabric clings to the form, outfits for the men give the characters starting at the top with a bedazzled upcoming theater productions color and life on paper. mock turtleneck and cascading all the at vpa.uncg.edu. “I love seeing student designers really way down to the floor where it pools pleased when a show is exactly how like a puddle of lava. De Briel created they imagined it,” Holroyd says. “Or the piece for the character of Sally even watching an actor all of a sudden Bowles in the school’s production of find their character after putting on their costume. Sometimes Cabaret a few years ago. they can’t fully become the character until they get their At any moment, the skin-tight dress looks like it might costume on.” slip off the mannequin and begin dancing, strutting across After the shows, Holroyd says some of the pieces get reused the storage room floor, taking on the life and personality of for other productions or are lent to other theaters in the area. Bowles — sensual, strange and self-willed. They don’t rent or sell them to the public, however. And that’s what de Briel intended. “If people want to see the pieces, they have to come see the “While everyone knows clothes, costumes can be so much shows,” she says. more,” she says.
August 8-14, 2019
CULTURE ‘Stay for Dinner’ heads to New York by Savi Ettinger
C
Up Front
obwebs drape a black table sitting in the dimness. A casserole of gory guts rests beside a bloodied candelabra, eyeballs strewn around it. A sign reading “Look Inside” beckons visitors to lift up the gold dome of a serving platter. Underneath lays a human head that lets out a blood-curdling scream. The spooky scene finds a home as part of Becky Mclaughlin’s haunted house in her short play “Stay For Dinner.” On a humid Saturday night, a performance of the show in Ardmore Barbershop in Winston-Salem preludes one on a bigger stage. From here, Mclaughlin and the Spirit Gum Theatre Company prepare for New York City, and the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival, where Mclaughlin’s script has advanced to the semi-finals.
News Opinion
‘Stay for Dinner’ was selected as one of 30 semifinalists from more than 900 entries for the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival.
Puzzles
“Stay for Dinner,” was selected as one of thirty semi-finalists from more than 900 entries. This earned the small, nomadic theater company based in Winston-Salem a chance to perform during the festival, which will then determine which show moves on to the finals. The Top 6 pieces earn publication in the Off Off Broadway Festival Plays series. Although this year marks the first time Mclaughlin submitted to the contest, she remarks she has been familiar with it since her first drama classes. “When I was in high school,” she says, “I used to read the short-play compila-
Shot in the Triad
SHANNON MURPHY
tion that this competition produces.” an opportunity for members of the small, nomadic theater Mclaughlin wrote the play as a Halloween fundraiser for troupe as well. Spirit Gum, and with the company’s support put the play “If this play gets published,” Stafford says, “then all of the in the running. The second performance of the show sees actors will be listed as the original cast.” the only light coming from the open area in the back of the As the night in the haunted house dies down, so do the barbershop, screams of cicadas coming in through the open interruptions to the two young tricksters. They take their garage door adding to the atmosphere. hypothetical party further into the night, winding up on an Mclaughlin briefly describes her script as a “love story that imaginary couch clinging to one another during a horror flick. takes place in a haunted house.” The audience gets glimpses The man mentions a possible kiss. He also mentions that beat a play-within-a-play as the two leads ing stuck under a table would make it a don the roles of a murderous chef and little difficult. As the woman leans over the decapitated head she serves for dinthe table to kiss him, they don’t notice For more information on ner in an attempt to elicit screams from the two scared girls entering from the passerby. As the pair lays traps to scare previous room. They begin to laugh, Spirit Gum Theatre Company, visitors, they slowly realize their feelings and one gives the couple a thumbs up, visit spiritgumtheatre.com or for each other. shouting, “Woo!” before running out. find their page on Facebook. Between two guests, the chef walks The comedy within the strange setting out and leans onto the table, moving fits with Spirit Gum’s vision, according the gold dome to the side to reveal the to Stafford. She, along with the other man’s face. Like any other employees artistic directors, aims to stage lesserwith nothing to do, they begin to chat. The conversation shifts known, newer works that focus on less explored subjects. to a party, hosted by the haunted house’s resident clown She credits the contrasting elements of Mclaughlin’s play as a enthusiast, and how they mistakenly avoided each other the factor in why the play was chosen for the festival, and why it whole night. Then the man looks up at her, and suggests they finds a natural home with Spirit Gum. imagine what would happen had they talked. “We like to support new directors, new actors,” Stafford Spirit Gum’s Co-Artistic Director Caitlin Stafford, a close lists, “and now new writers.” friend of Mclaughlin, mentions that the festival provides
Culture
The chef and the disembodied head begin to chat.
DREW POPLIN
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August 8-14, 2019
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Shot in the Triad Puzzles
28 Instinctive impulse 30 Golfer Ernie 31 Giraffe-like creature 32 Christmas tree type 33 Like some country songs 37 Les Claypool’s instrument 38 “___ Gangnam style ...” 39 Tells a secret 41 Global currency org. 42 Steamrolled stuff 44 Life partner? 46 No-___ (gnat) 48 “Are you kidding me?” 49 Where Microsoft trades 50 Polishes 54 Bertie ___ Every Flavour Beans (“Harry Potter” candy) 55 “___ Majesty’s Secret Service” 57 Units with nos. 58 “Star Trek” counselor Deanna 59 Sardine containers 61 Celebrity chef Matsuhisa, or his restaurant 62 Pelicans’ gp. 63 Kids’ card game for two 65 “Xanadu” group, initially
Culture
“Hotel Artemis” star Foster Alda and Arkin, for two Title that’s usually abbreviated 1922 physics Nobelist Niels GI’s address “___ lizards!” (comment from Annie) Oreg., formerly “Ye” follower, sometimes Fit like Russian dolls Folded-over page corner Tea flavored with bergamot Life force On loan Ziggy Stardust’s alter ego Two, to Tom Tykwer Outfielder’s yell Part of NYSE
Open Mic Friday Aug. 2nd Koby and friends Sunday Aug. 3rd Micah McCraven
Opinion
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1 Door piece 5 “Good Eats” host Brown 10 Geometric art style 14 Miscellany 15 Jordan heard in “Toy Story 4” 16 Island WNW of Molokai 17 Speedometer locations 19 Sandpaper grade 20 Song starter 21 Oktoberfest snack 23 Language suffix 24 2006 Nintendo debut 26 High-priced Japanese beef 29 Part of the French Revolution noted for guillotines 34 Brad’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” costar 35 New Zealander, informally 36 Workout unit 37 Corner office occupant 40 Pageant wear 42 Kiddo 43 Waze, for one 44 ___ Bizkit 45 Intelligence-gathering org. 47 Cheerleader’s equivalent to “jazz hands” 51 Willamette University locale 52 Positive vote 53 “Barry” network 56 Canadian beer orders 60 Word after trade or credit 62 Pro sports org. with teams whose names begin the four theme entries 64 Annual June celebration 66 Leave suddenly 67 Like almost all music 68 ___ noire (fearsome thing) 69 Overly ornate 70 “Thong Song” performer 71 Georgia used to be part of it
EVENTS
August 8-14, 2019
CROSSWORD “Kickin’ It Around”--visualize your goals. SUDOKU
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