CITY LIFE
THURSDAY
Yoga Mind and Body Classes @ Tanger Bicentennial Gardens (GSO) 6 p.m.
Greensboro Parks and Recreation invites you to stretch, meditate and unwind during these free yoga classes open to all skill levels and abilities. Held every Thursday through October 17. No registration required. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.
Samuel Adams “Raise the Stein” @ Rixster Grill (HP) 6 p.m.
SEPT. 19 - 21
20
FRIDAY
The Porch 10 Year Anniversary
Weekend of Celebration @ The Porch Kitchen and Cantina (W-S) 11 a.m.
Celebrate ten years of the Porch with all-day happy hour with a free chips and salsa bar, margarita jell-o shots, special ten-year anniversary dishes and more to indulge in. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.
Guilford Native American Association’s 47th Annual Pow Wow @ 3802 Jaycee Park Drive (GSO) 5 p.m.
Scan the QR code to find more events at triad-citybeat.com/local-events
visiting, eating traditional food, renewing old friendships and beginning new ones. More information available at guilfordnative.com/annual-pow-wow
Greensky Bluegrass @ Cohab.Space (HP) 8 p.m.
Enjoy this progressive bluegrass band from Michigan as they rock the Ziggy’s stage. Greensky Bluegrass has earned critical acclaim from Billboard, Parade, NPR and Rolling Stone who hailed them as “representing the genre for a whole new generation.” Doors open at 6. Buy tickets at ziggys.space
21
SATURDAY
Think you can hoist a full-liter stein longer than anyone else? Prove it at this year’s stein hoisting competition. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.
Celebrate culture with the Guilford Native American Association’s 47th Annual Pow Wow, the Native American people’s way of meeting together for singing, dancing,
National Dance Day GSO & Dance Night 2024 @ LeBauer Park (GSO) 12 p.m.
National Dance Day is the “ultimate dance extravaganza” featuring electrifying performances from local dance 19
CITY LIFE
groups. In addition to dance, enjoy a vibrant vendor market and food trucks. Stick around for the dance party in the park at 6. More information on the Facebook event page
50th Anniversary Day in the Park Festival @ City Lake Park (Jamestown)
12 p.m.
Join the High Point Arts Council for the 50th annual Day in the Park Festival featuring two stages of live performances, food trucks, children’s activities, folklife exhibitions, arts-themed activities and more than thirty artists and crafters. Visit highpointarts.org/dayinthepark for more information.
5th Annual Black Luxe Expo @ Bailey Park (W-S) 2 p.m.
Black Luxe & Co. is excited to announce the 5th Annual Black Luxe Expo in a new location! Celebrate Black culture and the entrepreneurial spirit by shopping with more than 100 Black-owned businesses from eight states. This family-friendly event features food trucks, live music, performances and more. Free tickets are available on Eventbrite
SUNDAY
Greensboro Pride Festival @ South Elm Street (GSO) 11 a.m.
Celebrate love at the 2024 Greensboro Pride Festival,
SEPT.
22 - 27
the annual headlining event for Alternative Resources for the Triad. The mission of the event is to “improve the emotional and social wellbeing of LGBTQIA2+ individuals in Greensboro by promoting inclusivity and building resources, safe spaces, and social events.” Find more information at greensboropride.org
Spice Blending Class & Beer @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S) 2 p.m.
Join chef April Rivas for an exclusive meat rub-making class where you’ll learn to craft your own custom spice blends. The one-hour class includes take-home portions of each blend, recipe cards and a chance to talk about perfect spice pairings. Register at rivasranch.com/store/ spice-blending-class
WEDNESDAY
Steel Magnolias @ Empty Space Theatre (HP) 7:30 p.m.
Join High Point University for performances of Steel Magnolias, the story of a group of Southern women in a small-town beauty parlor. Follow the characters through three years of exploring friendship, love and strength through good and bad times. Visit highpoint.edu for complimentary tickets.
THURSDAY
Pink in the Park @ Center City Park (GSO) 10 a.m.
Join DRI Health Group for Pink in the Park, a free event to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Gather to celebrate, honor and remember those affected by breast cancer. Find more information at drihealthgroup.com/ pink-in-the-park
FRIDAY
Greensboro Greek Festival @ 800 Westridge Road (GSO) 11 a.m.
Join the parishioners of the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church for a family-friendly weekend featuring authentic Greek cuisine, pastries, pastries, Greek music and dancing as well as a Greek market and gifts. Visit greensborogreekfestival.com for more information.
I think there are things that the left is ignoring. Namely, the genocide in Palestine. But there are issues that I think if Trump becomes president, and Project 2025 is initiated, I would be afraid for the state of my rights in this country.
Marissa Bewry, pg. 11
St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.681.0704
WEBMASTER
OPINION
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
What is a reverse town hall and why are we hosting one?
Since moving back to Greensboro in 2018, I’ve been to countless candidate forums in election years. I’ve been to ones for school board, county commission, the sheriff’s offices and more. And mostly, they’re all the same.
Candidates get invited, they’re asked questions about certain issues, they get to talk for a few minutes, voters ask questions and then everyone leaves. It’s not necessarily a bad model. We did our own earlier this year for city council candidates in Winston-Salem. These types of event give candidates a platform and voters more information to make their decision.
But at Triad City Beat, we’ve been thinking of ways to innovate and do something different. Enter the reverse town hall.
We’re copping the model from a successful election event hosted last year by The Current, an independent news organization based in Louisiana. The model is simple: Instead of having candidates on a stage, we’re going to put voters at the center of the event.
For our first event, which will be hosted in Winston-Salem, we’ll invite a group of local voters to sit and talk about the issues
that are most important to them whether it’s housing, education, the economy or reproductive rights. And the audience? Well, it’ll be made up of the candidates running in the area. As a nonpartisan paper, we’ll invite all of the candidates that are running this fall in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. They’ll get to sit and listen to the voters and hopefully take their issues to heart as they continue to campaign. Time allowing, they’ll get to ask questions, too.
It’s part of what news outlets across the country are calling voter-centric coverage
We know that for too long, newspapers have only focused on what the candidates are saying and doing. That’s important, of course. But what’s largely been left out of the conversation is what voters want. And isn’t that kind of the point? Because politicians are meant to represent us; that’s what democracy is. And so we’re doing what we can to ensure that kind of conversation takes place. This issue, which is made up of mostly stories focused on voters and democracy, is an example of a shift in coverage.
So if you’re interested in this new model, join us at the Ramkat in WinstonSalem on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. for our first ever reverse town hall. There will be drinks, conversation and a voter registration drive. We’re currently planning one for Guilford, too.
It’s time to make your voices heard. Hope to see you there.
PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE
EDITOR
Brian Clarey
brian@triad-city-beat.com
PUBLISHER EMERITUS
Allen Broach
allen@triad-city-beat.com
OF COUNSEL
Jonathan Jones
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR
Sayaka Matsuoka
sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
CITYBEAT REPORTER
Gale Melcher
gale@triad-city-beat.com
Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com
AD MANAGER
Heather Schutz
heather@triad-city-beat.com
TCBTIX
Nathaniel Thomas nathaniel@triad-city-beat.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Carolyn de Berry, John Cole, Owens Daniels, James Douglas, Michelle Everette, Luis H. Garay, Destiniee Jaram, Kaitlynn Havens, Jordan Howse, Matt Jones, Autumn Karen, Michaela Ratliff, Jen Sorensen, Todd Turner
Sam LeBlanc
ART
ART DIRECTOR
Aiden Siobhan
aiden@triad-city-beat.com
COVER: Design by Aiden Siobhan
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by Sayaka Matsuoka
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THE DEMOCRACY ISSUE
At Triad City Beat, election coverage has always been a part of our identity. Since our founding 10 years ago, we’ve covered local elections and have produced more stories than any other news outlet in the area during some election years.
And this year is no different, but for many of our stories, we’re choosing to shift our focus onto voters. We’ll still be covering the candidates (Election Guide comes out on Oct. 17) and offering information about their stances and their finances like we always do, but we’ll also be adding insight into how certain demographics are thinking about the upcoming election.
Take our story on unhoused voters for example. This week, reporter Gale Melcher met voters at the Greensboro bus station to ask them about if and how they plan to vote. Same with first-time voters.
We think that for a robust democracy, it’s important to understand where voters are coming from as much as it is important for us to know about candidates’ stances. So for the first time this year, we’re proud to offer our Democracy Issue, which features stories about voters, democracy and access to the ballot box.
And if you like what we’re doing, we’ve got some election events coming up, too. Keep up to date by following our website and our social media channels. And as always, thanks for reading.
Voting while homeless
How to do it, the barriers, the solutions.
by Gale Melcher | gale@triad-city-beat.com
For Alexis R., who has been unsheltered since 2019, registering to vote causes her anxiety.
“Isn’t that how everybody can search your name and find your address though?” she asks with hair coiled into a topknot, glasses perched on her inquisitive face. She takes a seat at one of the tables in front of Greensboro’s downtown bus depot.
Alexis is right.
In North Carolina the NC State Board of Elections’ voter lookup tool allows anyone to search a voter and find out their address, political affiliation and the last time they voted.
“That’s why I ain’t registered,” she admits. “That’s a fear a lot of people have, actually.”
Especially for members of the unsheltered community, deciding to disclose where they spend a lot of time can be concerning.
Violence against unsheltered people has risen across the country. In 17 cities, nearly 1,300 people were murdered between 2010 and 2021.
Those interested can fill out a request for a mail-in absentee ballot now by visiting their local county elections website. The absentee ballot request deadline is at 5 p.m. on Oct. 29. The voter registration deadline is at 5 p.m. on Oct. 11. Inperson early voting begins on Oct. 17 and runs through Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting locations can be found here. Those voting on Election Day will need to go to their designated polling place which can be found here.
“Stop putting our addresses on here, and then we’ll vote,” Alexis said. “Some of us have situations where we can’t just be having everyone know where we at.”
And that’s if you have a stable address to list in the first place.
How can you vote when you’re unhoused?
Charlie Collicutt has been working on elections for 22 years and has been the Guilford County Board of Elections director for 11 years. Ahead of the election, he and his office are making sure that people understand their right to vote.
“We do work with a lot of other civic organizations to make sure that we’re on the same page, that do different kinds of advocacies,” Collicutt says. “For somebody that is specifically homeless, residency is, where are you? Where do you sleep? Where are you more times than not?”
According to demographic and past election data, around more than 90 percent of North Carolina’s 7.9 million voting-eligible adults are registered to vote; more than 5.5 million people voted in 2020
But for unsheltered people, the numbers are much smaller; as few as one in 10 unhoused people vote according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
And that’s due to a number of factors, including not having a permanent address, access to transportation as well as a lack of awareness of the registration process. But in the Triad, county leaders and nonprofit organizations are working to spread the word to unhoused populations that their votes matter.
“Even though I never vote, I do want to vote this year,” Alexis says.
According to Collicutt, that can be a shelter, a street corner, a park, etc.
Alexis didn’t know that, she says. She plans to register now, she tells TCB
“Gotta vote somebody in. Choose the lesser evil, I guess.”
As she flips a composition notebook full of her kids’ drawings — one of them a bright red scribble of a character from the popular game Among Us — a volunteer with Unifour One stops to talk to Alexis.
“Are y’all registered to vote?” asks Jordan, the volunteer.
“I’m not,” Alexis piped up, adding, “I’ll register with you?”
Jordan pulls out a batch of registration papers and places them, along with a pen, in front of Alexis.
She adds her name and birthdate. The next item voters need to fill in is either the last
Ron Schultz and his dog Hope have been unhoused for about two years. Schultz said he is considering voting with an absentee ballot.
PHOTO BY GALE MELCHER
four digits of their social security number or driver’s license number.
Then she needs to add her residential and mailing address.
“You can use the shelter address,” Jordan says.
According to North Carolina law, “residence shall be broadly construed to provide all persons with the opportunity to register and to vote, including stating a mailing address different from residence address.”
Alexis fills out the form, writing 407 E. Washington St., the address for the Interactive Resource Center, on the paper as her place of residence and checks the box indicating that the shelter is also her mailing address.
Tim Tsujii, who has been the Forsyth County Board of Elections director since 2016, explained that people registering to vote should make sure that they’re writing down a valid mailing address so that a voter registration card can be mailed there.
“If in the event the card is returned undeliverable, then that denies their voter registration,” Tsujii explained.
That’s why places like the IRC and Winston-Salem’s City With Dwellings are so vitally important. “Those organizations have mailboxes or PO boxes for folks to utilize to collect mail,” Tsujii said. “They can simply write that address and we’ll then mail the card to those mailboxes.”
Alexis hands her filled-out form back to Jordan, who thanks her for registering.
But county boards of elections have a limited ability to know how many unsheltered people vote, Tsujii explains.
“That would take some time to extract,” he says, “We’d have to physically look at the maps to identify if an address is a physical home.”
The deadline to register to vote in NC this year is Oct. 11. Those who miss the deadline can still register to vote if they bring a NC driver’s license, photo identification card with an address or utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or document from an educational institution that shows the voter’s name and current address with them during early voting which runs from Oct. 17 until Nov. 2.
If the voter’s address on their photo ID is different from their registered address, that doesn’t prevent them from being able to vote, explained Collicutt. “We’re going to ask the voter where they live, but if it’s different than what’s on the ID, that is okay.”
Collicutt also noted that there are exceptions for some voters who want to keep their addresses confidential.
North Carolina state law allows voters to keep their addresses confidential if they submit to the county board of elections a copy of a 50B protective order, a restraining order or an Address Confidentiality Program authorization card combined with a signed statement that they have good reason to fear their life or a family member’s life would be in jeopardy.
While this exception can offer voters some peace of mind, voters’ addresses being made public is “just something at this time with the law, we can’t get around,” Collicutt said.
Collicutt encourages people to make sure they register to vote before that deadline.
“It’s an easier process for everybody, but especially for people that may not have all of the necessary documents to do a same-day registration at early voting,” he said.
While she doesn’t have a place of her own right now, Alexis says, she spends some time at her fiancé’s grandmother’s place. Before that, she was sleeping in a hotel.
She couldn’t afford that anymore though, she says.
“Being displaced, automatically you want somewhere to run to,” she continues. “A hotel is easy to get, but it’ll eat up all your money so you can never do anything else.”
R‘If I vote for you, are you going to help the homeless?’ esidence as a requirement to vote has always been a part of American history. According to the Gilder Lehman Institute of American History, colonists believed that only those who had a “stake in society” should be granted the right to vote. Largely that meant people who either owned property or paid taxes. For decades after the American Revolution, white landowners were the only ones allowed to vote, and Black Americans were wholly disenfranchised from this opportunity for the country’s first century
Centuries later, being unhoused continues to make access to voting more difficult. In Winston-Salem, the afternoon sun beams down on Smiley, an unsheltered man, who is organizing his belongings outside City With Dwellings. He wears sunglasses and a cap and tells TCB that he’s registered to vote at City With Dwellings; the last time he voted was four years ago.
“It’s tough out here,” he says. He needs a stable place to stay.
“City With Dwellings gives us the help, but housing is the main problem we have out here,” he says.
And that guides his voting decisions.
“If I vote for you, are you going to help the homeless?” he asks. “Are you going to help the less fortunate?”
In the past few years, the issue of homelessness has become increasingly politicized. In June, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that made it easier for municipalities to fine, ticket and arrest people for sleeping outside. In Greensboro and Winston-Salem, new rules at local parks and bus depots have directly targeted unhoused people.
“This town is not working like it’s supposed to,” Smiley said. “The churches help when they can, but we need the city to help us. We need all the community, we need everybody to chip in.”
Unsheltered voter Malique Hough, who last cast his ballot in November 2022, said that he’s voting for Harris.
“We need somebody who is going to really crack down on some of this stuff, and really be out here and see what’s going on,” Hough said, leaning over a table in front of the Greensboro bus depot. “Thank God she’s on her tour, thank God she’s on the road.”
Hough isn’t happy with local city and county leadership.
“I feel like they’re not helping like they should be. I feel like they should be helping us with housing, helping us with the resources that we need and helping us be placed somewhere permanent,” he says.
How are organizations helping unhoused people vote?
According to City With Dwellings’ Minister of Facilities Nick Childress, affectionately known by guests as “Cowboy,” they’ll be shuttling voters to and from the polls during the early voting period and on Election Day.
The IRC in Greensboro will be transporting their guests as well.
In an email to TCB, IRC director Kristina Singleton noted how the center offers mail service which allows unhoused people to put them down as an address to register, like Alexis did. They’ve also hosted voter registration onsite at the center in the past, and are in the process of reaching out to arrange that this year.
“We encourage all of our guests to vote,” Singleton wrote.
Ron Schultz and his dog, Hope, sit beneath the doric columns outside the WinstonSalem Journal’s office. Schultz is tall, with a white beard and furrowed brow. He’s been unhoused for two years and has had 20-month-old Hope since she was a tiny puppy. She barely fit in his hand then, he says.
“Even I have trouble imagining that anymore, as big as she’s gotten.”
Schultz is considering voting via an absentee ballot.
“Since I’ve been old enough to vote I haven’t missed a presidential election,” he says. “Can’t complain if you don’t vote.”
This will be the first time he’s voted since he’s been unhoused, he said.
Schultz spent 22 years at an architecture firm that raised some of the city’s memorable buildings into its skyline. His “crown jewel” of his career was Wake Forest’s Admissions Building and Welcome Center, he says.
Then he took a new job at a different firm that sounded like a great deal. But once he helped them get up and running, they “cut [him] loose,” he says.
“I went from somebody who had a bunch of experience, that a company would love to have, to ‘Well, he’s not working, there must be something wrong with him,’” Schultz explains.
Doors that would have been open to him if he was working and looking for a job were instead closed, he said. So he worked in retail and factories for a couple of years and moved in with his elderly mother, whose home was foreclosed upon after she passed away. It would have been $13,000 to take over the payments. But he didn’t have that.
“When I was working in architecture in a so-called white collar job that would’ve been tough; working in a blue collar job in a factory was impossible,” he says.
He moved into hotels near the airport and did that for “as long as [he] could.”
“It’s a downward slide.”
He started living on the street, and that made it difficult for him to maintain his job.
But he’s hoping that things are looking up. Earlier that day he’d gotten a “makeover;” a fresh shave at City With Dwellings.
“I feel like things are starting to happen,” Schultz says.
“They want you out of sight, out of mind. But we’re here.”
Need childcare to go vote? This new statewide initiative is reimbursing parents so they can hit the ballot box.
by Sayaka Matsuoka | sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
On Sept. 6, when asked about what he would do to make child care more affordable, former President Trump responded with, “Child care is child care…. You have to have it.” His running mate, JD Vance, suggested that grandparents pitch in more to help. During rallies in August, Vice President Kamala Harris outlined her vision for child care by noting tax credits and paid leave.
The numbers show that Americans are increasingly struggling to pay for child care. According to data collected by the US Department of Labor, the costs range anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 per year depending on the type of center and locale of the businesses. The prices were equivalent to 8-19 percent of median family incomes. “Child care expenses are untenable for families throughout the country,” the department noted.
According to Emily Texeira, the executive director of Politisit, having or not having child care can impact whether a parent goes to vote, too.
To request reimbursement for childcare and learn more about Politisit visit their website at politisit.org
“The top two reasons that people say they can’t go vote are usually family responsibilities or getting time off work,” said Texeira, who is based in Greensboro. And the data bears out.
According to a study conducted by Angela Cools of Davidson College, US women with an infant during an election year were found to be 3.5 percentage points less likely to vote than women without children. Men with an infant were 2.2 percentage points less likely to vote.
“These results indicate that the act of physically going to the polls may pose a barrier to political participation for those with infants, especially mothers,” the study writes. Cools also notes that the effects of having young children affect young, unmarried, parents of color at higher rates as well.
To alleviate the problem, Politisit is launching a North Carolina Childcare for Voters Pilot Program, an industry-first initiative aimed at “removing financial barriers to voting by reimbursing childcare expenses for parents and caregivers while they vote.”
“We just want to make it as easy as possible for folks,” Texeira explained.
The way it works is simple. Voters sign up for up to two hours of childcare so they can make it to their polling station and cast their ballot. They fill out a Google form online explaining how many kids they have, where they’re going to vote and the amount it will cost them to have their children cared for while they’re away. Afterwards, the organization will reach back out and reimburse parents with a check in the mail or through an online transfer of funds.
The idea for the initiative was born in 2016 when Politisit’s founder, Rachel Sowray, saw people waiting in line to vote for hours. At the time, Sowray had a toddler of her own and understood that it wouldn’t be feasible for her to vote if she had to wait in line.
“That was the catalyst that drove the organization,” Texeira explained.
Since then, the organization has operated in multiple states to help offer childcare during election seasons. In 2022, they partnered with Tee and Co Playhouse, a daycare in Philadelphia, where parents could drop off their kids for free while they went to vote.
“I remember the convenience for the parents,” said Tee Sandlin, the director at the center. “It was really easy; they couldn’t believe how easy it was.”
Texeira said that through that partnership, they had about 45 children who were dropped off at the center; at least three parents said it was their first time voting in a midterm election.
“I just remember them saying how glad they were to stand in line and not have to worry about their kids crying or having to go to the bathroom,” said Sandlin, who noted that most of the parents who use the center are young — under the age of 30 — and are predominantly Black or Hispanic.
Katie Sonnen-Lee, a mother of two in Winston-Salem, remembers taking her kids to the polls when they were younger.
“I remember having a newborn and he cried nonstop for six to eight months,” said Sonnen-Lee, who lived in Texas at the time. “It was so hard to keep him somewhat quiet and not disturb any voters.”
A few years later after her family moved to Winston-Salem, she said that she and her spouse would go vote together so that one of them could take their kids to a county office building nearby to ride the escalators.
“If we were trying to vote on Election Day and we didn’t have two people, I don’t know what we would have done,” Sonnen-Lee said.
Even now, she said that she sees parents who have to request extra ballots because they were distracted by their kids in the voting booth.
That’s the kind of thing that Politisit is trying to prevent, Texeira said.
“There’s a lot of barriers to voting,” she said. “This is our lane that we’ve chosen to focus on.”
Bringing the program to North Carolina, Texeira said, is important because the state is currently what’s known as a “childcare desert.”
According to the NC Early Education Coalition, an average of more than five families with babies compete for child care space in the state.
Three years ago, the New York Times did a deep dive into rising childcare costs, focusing on Greensboro as an example. In the reporting, families noted that they paid twice as much for child care as they paid for their mortgage. Another news report by ABC11 found that the cost of childcare in the state was more expensive than tuition at some of the top state universities.
“We know that while North Carolina has good voter turnout, it could be great,” Texeira said. “We also know that about a million people who were registered did not turn out to vote [in the last election].”
That’s why for them, the solution is simple. Provide funding for childcare so anyone can access the ballot box.
“We find that the more voices at the table, the conversation gets better,” Texeira said. “Every time more people cast their ballot, representation gets better.”
A new initiative in NC is offering reimbursements for childcare for parents.
FILE PHOTO
Community organizers debut the Forsyth Black Roundtable, an effort to inform the community about the 2024 election
by Gale Melcher | gale@triad-city-beat.com
Jimmie Bonham stood in the middle of Delta Fine Arts Center in Winston-Salem on the evening of Aug. 4, his voice echoing off the gallery walls bouncing with colorful artwork.
“We have a lot of problems in our community right now; there’s a lot of disparity,” he said.
“And what we want to do is create parity — for us to get a fair share of the things in our community.”
One way to achieve that is “to be informed,” said Bonham.
That’s why Bonham invited the community to learn from Forsyth County election representatives about topics such as voter ID rules, where and when to vote and what types of ballots there are, and give them a venue to ask questions about the election.
Election education is a key focus for the newly-minted Forsyth Black Roundtable, an initiative led by Bonham and local entrepreneur James Grace. While the roundtable’s main focus will be on disseminating information this election season, one of their goals is to get elected officials to work together. According to the group, they have a variety of engagement ideas, from developing community “accountability reports” that would track elected officials’ progress on actions they’ve promised the community, to hosting candidate forums, to advocating for participatory budgeting — where residents can vote on where to send certain amounts of money in the city’s annual budget.
Faith-based organizations are another piece of the puzzle — FBR wants to partner
with local churches to promote absentee and early voting as well as voter registration.
The group also plans on creating a “community-backed agenda” to present to elected officials, focusing on “economic disparity, education inequality, healthcare access and housing scarcity,” according to an email from the group.
For some voters, a big concern is accessibility. A report from Rutgers University revealed that 11 percent of voters with disabilities had difficulty voting in 2020. Olivia Phillips with Forsyth County Board of Elections noted that there are special devices that voters can use such as the ExpressVote ballot-marking device. Even if a voter doesn’t have a disability, they can still use this device. Forsyth County Board of Elections is holding voter ID seminars throughout September. Learn about North Carolina’s new photo ID requirement and get a voter ID at any of these events.
WHEN:
Sept. 21 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sept. 24 from 3-5 p.m.
WHERE: Health and Human Services Campus 799 N. Highland Ave., Winston-Salem
Forsyth County Board of Elections representatives speak to residents about the upcoming general election.
PHOTO BY GALE MELCHER
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‘Excited, nervous, anxious’ First-time voters share their thoughts and feelings leading up to the November election
by Sayaka Matsuoka |
sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
n North Carolina, youth voters are projected to influence the outcome of the presidential race. That’s according to data analyzed by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, CIRCLE’s, Youth Electoral Significance Index at Tufts University.
And locally, that’s what’s driving young, first-time voters to the polls this November.
“I feel like for most young people, the presidential race is the one they are most interested in,” said Lily Oatis, a 19-year-old Greensboro resident. “But I’m also interested in learning about the local races as well.”
In the leadup to this year’s election, TCB spoke to three first-time voters who expressed the issues that are most important to them, what it’s like voting as part of Generation Z and which candidates they are gravitating towards.
Marissa Bewry
21 years old, student at UNC Chapel Hill, will cast her ballot in Guilford County
Marissa Bewry has been looking forward to the election this November for a long time.
“I’ve always been really interested in voting,” Bewry said. “I’m a strong advocate for voter advocacy and I’ve been convincing people around me to vote and have been helping them get registered.”
Bewry, who lives in Greensboro but attends school at UNC Chapel Hill, said that she voted in the last midterm elections but that this will be her first time casting a vote for president. As a registered Democrat, Bewry said that she was planning on voting for Joe Biden come November, but when Kamala Harris became the nominee, she was even more excited.
“For a lot of reasons, I relate to her,” said Bewry, who is a Black woman. “I’m excited to finally be represented in office in a way that can propel the country forward.”
But that doesn’t mean that she thinks Harris is perfect. Like many young voters, Bewry said that there are still things she’d like for Harris to speak out on.
“I think there are things that the left is ignoring,” Bewry said. “Namely, the genocide in Palestine. But there are issues that I think if Trump becomes president, and Project 2025 is initiated, I would be afraid for the state of my rights in this country.”
According to data collected by the Pew Research Center, younger voters are more likely to sympathize with Palestinians compared to older Americans; they’re also more likely to oppose the sending of US military aid to Israel.
In addition to the rights of Palestinians, Bewry said she’s concerned about reproductive rights, police brutality, systemic racism, environmental protections and censorship in schools. She’s also keeping an eye on the ways in which politics has become seemingly more divided in recent years.
“The proliferation of hate speech, racism and misogyny has been more rampant than
ever before,” she said. “You can see that in the way they talk about Kamala.”
As a young voter, Bewry said that prior to Kamala Harris becoming the presidential nominee, there was a lot of resignation within her demographic.
“There’s been a lot of dissatisfaction with the system as a whole,” she said.
But with Harris’s marketing towards her generation — namely the use of the “brat” aesthetic and her use of TikTok — Bewry said that she thinks more young voters are getting involved. Still, she understands that hype on social media doesn’t necessarily translate to votes. She points to 2020 when people were supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I felt like it was more performative,” she said. “I’m curious to see if this interest in politics and this political activeness will continue.”
Lily Oatis
19 years old, works in Greensboro
reensboro resident Lily Oatis is concerned about the economy. She’s worried about making a living, inflation and eventually, being able to buy a home.
“Everything is progressively getting more unaffordable,” Oatis said.
As an employee at a local nonprofit that helps bring resources to impoverished communities, she said that the burden of rising costs is something she sees everyday.
“The worry comes from things progressively getting out of hand,” she said.
While Oatis didn’t disclose who she is going to vote for, she mentioned the importance of voting rights and the issue of gerrymandering as topics she’s concerned about.
“It makes me realize how many systems are in place to suppress people’s votes,” Oatis said. “And to make sure people don’t vote in certain ways.”
Despite the challenges, Oatis said that exercising one’s right to vote is one of the most important rights there is.
“People have died for our rights,” said Oatis, a young Black woman. “So it comes with a certain obligation to be informed and let that vote not be in vain. Tomorrow, that right could be taken away so we need to not take it for granted.”
In terms of getting other people involved, Oatis said she’s been talking to people about how to vote, sending them information and having conversations with them about how “their vote will affect certain areas in their lives.”
She also said she sees a lot of her peers getting information online from social media like Instagram, TikTok and Youtube. Rather than reading traditional news sources, she says young voters will listen to celebrities or influencers talk about the candidates they are excited about.
“For young people, it’s turned into a one-on-one connection with a celebrity who has the same ideology who they respect,” she said.
As far as how she’s voting, Oatis said she’s ready.
“I’m very confident in what I stand for,” said Oatis, who is casting a vote in a general election for the first time. “When I go into the ballot box, I’m being firm. If the person I vote for doesn’t win, I’m still going to continue the work that I’m doing because I believe so heavily that voting is important.”
She also noted that it’s important for candidates to focus on younger voters, too.
“They represent us as well,” she said. “Because young people can become future politicians, leaders, they do need guidance. So if you care about the direction of this country…these new younger leaders will be taking over.”
Maria Mendez-Mungaray
20 years old, lives in Rockingham County
Although this is Maria Mendez-Mungaray’s first time voting, she already knows where she’s going to cast her vote. In fact, she’s been looking forward to this moment since she was registered to vote at the DMV four years ago.
As a second-generation Mexican American, Mendez-
Mungaray said that the top issue for her is immigration.
“I’m concerned about immigrants earning their citizenship easier,” she said.
At the moment, Mendez-Mungaray’s mother is living in Mexico; she’s been there for two years now, trying to get residency in the US.
“It’s just a matter of waiting, approval or denial,” she said.
While Mendez-Mungaray was born in the US, she and others like her have family members outside of the country waiting to be reunited with their family.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data, there was a backlog of more than 416,000 citizenship applications in 2023; that number represented a 44-percent decrease from more than 942,000 in 2020.
Today, immigrants make up about 14 percent of the US population; of that total population, about 23 percent come from Mexico, according to the Pew Research Center
According to Mendez-Mungaray, her stepmom’s son is a DACA recipient. That’s informing how she votes, too.
“Dreamers can’t vote so I want to put my vote in,” she said.
DACA, otherwise known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,
IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES
is an immigration policy that delays the deportation of undocumented people who were brought to the US as children. They are allowed to stay in the country on renewable two-year terms and get work permits.
For Mendez-Mungaray, voting for Harris is the clear choice.
“I’ve heard that [Trump] is trying to get rid of the DACA program,” she said.
In 2017, former President Donald Trump pushed to repeal the program but was blocked by a Supreme Court ruling. In June 2020, Trump said that he would try to end the program once again, according to the New York Times
Mendez-Mungaray also likes that Harris comes from an immigrant family like hers. Harris grew up with an Indian mother and a Jamaican father; both immigrated to the United States and met at UC Berkely.
“I feel like we have similarities,” she said.
In terms of other races beyond the presidential ticket, Mendez-Mungaray said she hasn’t done much research but that she plans on it before Nov. 5.
“I’m pretty excited,” she said. “I’m nervous, anxious, but I’m sure it’ll be a fun experience.”
• You can fill out a request for a mail-in absentee ballot right now by visiting your local county elections website. The federal deadline for county boards of elections to start mailing absentee ballots is Sept. 21.
• The voter registration deadline is at 5 p.m. on Oct. 11.
• In-person early voting begins on Oct. 17, same-day registration is available.
• The absentee ballot request deadline strikes at 5 p.m. on Oct. 29.
• In-person early voting ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2.
• Nov. 5 is General Election Day; the absentee ballot return deadline is at 7:30 p.m.
Jen Sorensen jensorensen.com
John Cole
Courtesy of NC Policy Watch
SHOT IN THE TRIAD
BY CAROLYN DE BERRY
Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro
Vice President Kamala Harris reacts to the crowd as she enters her Greensboro rally with more than 17,000 people in attendance.
by Matt Jones
PUZZLES & GAMES
Across
Down
CROSSWORD SUDOKU
1. Morse code symbol
5. Suffix meaning “lover”
10. 1950s poem with the phrase “pingpong of the abyss”
14. Penne ___ vodka
15. ___-Leste (U.N. member since 2002)
16. Like some arguments
17. French businessman with a politically controversial namesake cosmetics company
19. Sextet halved
20. ___ Hawkins Dance
21. Historic Tampa neighborhood known for its cigar factories
23. Little nitwit
26. Came down
27. “Apres ___, le deluge ...”
30. Succulent plant
31. “Danny and the Dinosaur” author
___ Hoff
32. Bronx-born member of Congress, familiarly
33. Pork ___ (convenience store snacks)
35. Therefore
1. Makeup of a week
2. Edison’s middle name
3. Winter transport
4. “Rumour ___” (hit song by Adele)
5. Hrs. accrued for vacation, in many workplaces
6. “Drank water too fast” sound
7. “Really looking forward to it!”
8. “Stay” singer Lisa
9. Baseball misplays
10. Drink popular with fall leaf-watchers
11. Former senator Hatch
12. Rider-___ (popular tarot deck)
13. Christopher who played Doc Brown
18. Prepare, as leftovers
22. Light beam
24. Film director Kazan
25. “The Daily Show” correspondent Chieng
27. Past and future portrayer of Kamala on “SNL”
28. Move like molasses
29. Cake decorator
34. Computer admin
by Matt Jones
© 2023 Matt Jones © 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
39. NHL Hall of Famer Steve who led the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cups and is now their general manager
41. Element #39 (one of four named after the same Swedish village)
44. Flying start?
45. Mario character hatched from an egg
47. Dr. behind Beats headphones
48. Consumed
51. Dramatist Coward
52. Japanese flag symbol
53. Sword-and-___ (period film genre)
56. Fencing swords
58. Peruvian-born 1950s singer with a Guinness-certified five-octave range
60. Car wash step
64. Decisive defeat
65. Tropical plant with oils used in perfume
68. Land area
69. Tougher to come by
70. Sacha Baron Cohen persona
71. 1/168th of a week
72. “___ it goes”
73. Drains energy
36. Clears
37. Expert
38. Albatross, in some literary works
40. Open-top car
42. “From hell’s heart I stab at ___” (“Moby-Dick” quote)
43. Factory that makes mosaic pieces
46. Minimal poker draw
49. Letter after sigma
50. Pet-loving “Tiny Toon Adventures” character
53. Dark-skinned wine grape
54. Old Exxon competitor with a torch logo
55. Pacific island nation that had one sprinter in the 2024 Olympics
57. George Eliot’s “___ Marner”
59. Actor Alda
61. Disney feline
62. Tiny cut
63. Carton purchase
66. “Metroid” console
67. Miracle-___ (garden product)
Thu 9/19
Merciful Zero @ 7pm
Monstercade, 204 W Acadia Ave, Winston-Salem
The Wildmans @ 8pm
The Ramkat & Gas Hill Drinking Room, 170 W 9th St, Winston-Salem
Fri 9/20
Greensky Bluegrass @ 8pm
COHAB.SPACE, 1547 West English Road, High Point
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns at Monstercade @ 9pm Monstercade, 204 W Acadia Ave, Winston-Salem
Sat 9/21
Geeksboro Market
@ 12pm
At the Geeksboro Mar‐ket, explore diverse vendors offering unique collectibles, art, and more. Admission is free —don't miss out on this exciting com‐munity event every 3rd Saturday of the month! Geeksboro Market, 4645 West Market Street, Greensboro. sherri@ dragonshoardnc.com, 336-617-5668
BIG Something
@ 4pm
First National Bank Field, 408 Bellemeade St, Greensboro
BROADWAY to GREENSBORO featuring Ryan Silverman
@ 7:30pm / $16-$16
The Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre at Well·Spring, 4100 Well Spring Drive, Greensboro
Sun 9/22
The Steel Crows @ 7pm Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Sunday Yoga @ SouthEnd Brewing Co.
@ 10am / $5 SouthEnd Brewing Co, 117b West Lewis Street, Greensboro
Galen Deery & The Reason Why: The Flat Iron @ 7pm Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Mon 9/23
Jay Benjamin: MondayMic @ 6pm High Point Bistro, 3793 Samet Dr # 165, High Point
Nicky Diamonds @ 8pm Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Tue 9/24
Making Words Matter Out Loud with Ashley Lumpkin and Deonna Kelli Sayed @ 7pm / $30 Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro
Wed 9/25
Wine Pairing with Left Coast Estate @ 6pm / $60 19 & Timber Bar at Grandover, 1000 Club Rd, Greensboro
Cane Hill @ 6pm Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
Chuck Owen & The Jazz Surge @ 7:30pm
The Ramkat & Gas Hill Drinking Room, 170 W 9th St, Winston-Salem
¡Tumbao! @ 8pm
Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Thu 9/26
kat taylor: Performance at Toasty Kettlyst Beer Company in Gibsonville, NC (6-8 pm) @ 6pm
Toasty Kettlyst Beer Company, 106 W Main St, Gib‐sonville
The Lawsons: New Hope Baptist @ 7:30pm
New Hope Baptist Church, 1520 Hinsdale Rd, Walnut Cove
Tannahill Weavers @ 7:30pm
High Point Elks Lodge 1155, 700 Old Mill Rd, High Point
Fri 9/27
Norma Jean @ 6pm
Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
Candlelight: A Tribute to Adele @ 7:30pm / $30.96
Van Dyke Performance Space, 200 North Davie Street, Greensboro. fever@eventvesta.com
Monchy @ 9pm
MANSION Nightclub, 3081 Waughtown St, WinstonSalem
Sat 9/28
Greensboro True Crime Tour @ 5pm / $12
Explore the dark side of Greensboro's history with this guided tour sites related to Greensboro's history of crime Scuppernong Books, 304 S Elm St, Greens‐boro. andrew@nason.net, 206-914-9492
The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs @ 6:30pm
Incendiary Brewing & Winery, 5495 Williams Rd, Lewisville
Sun 9/29
The Lawsons: Freeman Street Baptist Church @ 5pm
Freeman Street Baptist Church, 2311 Freeman St, Winston-Salem
powered by
Sunday Yoga @ SouthEnd Brewing Co. @ 10am / $5
SouthEnd Brewing Co, 117b West Lewis Street, Greensboro
Mon 9/30
Jay Benjamin: MondayMic @ 6pm
High Point Bistro, 3793 Samet Dr # 165, High Point
Harsh Realm @ 7pm etc. Greensboro, 1333 Grove St, Greensboro
Tue 10/01
T.J. Miller @ 6pm
Comedy Zone, 1126 S Holden Rd, Greensboro
Gary Harris Music: The Ultimate David Sanborn Tribute @ 7:30pm Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Wed 10/02
Will Overman: Willin' To Be Movin' Tour (solo) - Greensboro NC @ 7pm Flat Iron, 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro
Teddy Swims @ 8pm / $167.50-$172.50
Piedmont Hall, Greensboro
Calendar information is provided by event organiz‐ers. All events are subject to change or cancellation. This publication is not responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in this calendar.
The best place to promote your events online and in print. Visit us @ https://triad-city-beat.com/local-events powered by
October 3-6
the wood brothers
Donna The Buffalo lee fields
Donna The Buffalo • The Wood Brothers • Lee Fields • Cortadito • Fireside Collective • Chairmen of the Board
Driftwood • Kaleta & Super Yamba Band • Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad • Missy Raines & Allegheny
Kaira Ba • Preston Frank • Greg Humphreys & Friends • Jose Albizu Jazz Trio • Tray Wellington Band
Jim Lauderdale • Orquesta K'che • Holy Roller • Sam Fribush Organ Trio • New Planets • Florencia & The Feeling
Photon ft. Felix Pastorius • The Keith Allen Circus • Easy Honey • Cypress Society Singers & Dancers
Tenzin Chopak • Tambem • Alex Krug Combo • The Swingbillies of Boonetown • Andrew Scotchie
Paperhand Puppet Intervention • Richie Stearns • BIG FUR • Emily Musolino • Gooseberry • Living Arts Collective
Taylor Winchester • The Moon Unit • Katie Blvd. • Ric Robertson • Wildcat Creek • Emanuel Wynter
Big Wonderful Variety Show • Zac Richey • MaisCéu • The River Otters • Krekel and Whoa
Onyx Club Boys with Sophie Dal-Pra • Dub Lorenzo • Compost Theatre • Ali Forrest • Lyle de Vitry • Preston Parsons
HapyValy • Bulltown Strutters • Nature Out Loud • Michael Schott Band • Grassroots Vinyl Lounge
