CITY LIFE
WEDNESDAY
Fish Stories and Other Truths about Nature Exhibition @ the Art Gallery at Congdon Yards (HP) 12 p.m.
This exhibition showcases the works of Roy Nydorf and Stephen Brooks. Both painters express their passion for the natural word through their unique and expressive
NOV. 27 - 29
Annual Thanksgiving Eve Party @ One Thirteen Brewhouse (GSO) 8 p.m.
Create unforgettable memories as One Thirteen hosts its annual Thanksgiving Eve party with live music by Muddy Creek Revival. More information on Facebook
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THURSDAY
Scan the QR code to find more events at triad-citybeat.com/local-events
5 Before the Feast @ Truist Point (HP) 8:30 a.m.
Get a morning run in at the eighth annual 5 Before the Feast! It includes different events for all ages to run, walk or trot. The 5K is 3.1 miles, finishing on the High Point Rockers Field and includes a T-shirt, medal and prizes. The Fun Run is a one-mile loop and includes a t-shirt and medal. Kids 12 and under run the Run Fun for free. Register at runsignup.com/Race/NC/ HighPoint/5BeforetheFeast
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FRIDAY
Craftsmen’s
Christmas Classic @ First
The Craftsmen’s Christmas Classic is a weekend-long indoor fine art and craft festival. This long-standing tradition has been ranked as one of the best shows of its
kind by Sunshine Artist Magazine. Shop with hundreds of artists and craftsmen from 20 states as you find baskets, clothing and other unique finds that make the perfect gifts. Buy tickets online at christmasclassic.com
Love Jones Friday @ Demhaj Poetry Lounge (HP) 8 p.m.
Demhaj invites you to a night of love, poetry and good vibes. Enjoy an evening of spoken-word performances while sipping on a glass of wine in an intimate setting. Purchase tickets on Eventbrite
SATURDAY
SAFE Yoga @ Greensboro Cultural Center, Room 325 (GSO) 10:30 a.m.
SAFE Stands for safe, accessible, free flowing and energy. Join this free yoga class seeking to engage and educate racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations about the benefits of community yoga glasses. Bring your own mat. Register on Eventbrite
Small Business Saturday Market @ Foothills (W-S) 12 p.m.
This local market showcases small businesses selling
handmade items. Enjoy food trucks, music and sweet treats as you shop for exclusive finds for others or yourself! Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.
house with fun activities for all ages including special reenactments, a visit from Santa, music, candle dipping and more! No reservation required. More information on Facebook
5 1
SUNDAY
Vyb Studio Grand Opening @ 5009 Country Club Road (W-S) 12 p.m.
A new yoga studio is opening in Camel City! Head to the grand opening of Vyb Studio where you can tour the studio, meet the team, experience a live DJ yoga class and sound bath, enter a free raffle and even more. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.
52nd Annual Holiday Open House @ High Point Museum (HP) 1 p.m.
High Point Museum is hosting a free holiday open
THURSDAY
Hope for the Hills: A Showcase
Benefitting Western NC @ Hanesbrands Theatre (W-S) 6 p.m.
Western North Carolina still needs your help in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. This evening of arts entertainment will directly benefit the NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund which supports artists and arts organizations in western NC impacted by Helene. Visit the event page on Facebook to purchase tickets.
Santa's Workshop Santa's Workshop
— Ron Schultz, pg. 5
PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE
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
Office: 336.681.0704
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, Jen Sorensen, Todd Turner
OPINION
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Gratitude, now more than ever
Iwas born on July 26, 1992 in the St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan at around four in the afternoon. The weather was mild, a balmy 75 degrees, much cooler than summer days in the city today.
I weighed about two pounds, six ounces; I was born two months early.
The other day, my mom told me that for weeks, she would get up every two hours to breastfeed me after she brought me home from the NICU. She got up every two hours to keep me alive. Can you imagine?
This Thanksgiving season, I know many of us will still be reeling from the results of the election. Some of us may be going home or visiting family who voted directly against our rights and our safety. It’s a time fraught with anxiety.
But I’m working on grounding myself in gratitude.
I’m only here because of the great care the nurses and doctors at the hospital took to deliver me and care for me in the NICU. I’m only here because my mom woke up every two hours to feed me, nourish me.
WEBMASTER
Sam LeBlanc ART
ART DIRECTOR
Aiden Siobhan aiden@triad-city-beat.com
COVER:
Winston-Salem resident Ron Schultz has been unhoused with his dog, Hope, since 2022. [Still from a short documentary available to stream at triad-city-beat.com/ron-schlutz]
Design by Aiden Siobhan
I have a house because of the hard work of my partner, but also because of the help we got from my parents and Sam’s grandparents.
I went to college because my dad
worked long, hard, thankless hours — seven days a week — at the restaurant for 20 years.
Sam and I have a loving marriage because in 1967, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving fought against all odds to show the world that their love deserved the same rights as others.
I’m able to live in this country because in 1898, Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese American, took his fight for citizenship to the Supreme Court, ultimately winning his case, cementing the idea that anyone born on US soil is an American citizen regardless of race.
I can vote because in the late 19th Century, women across the country fought for the right to cast ballots alongside men on Election Day. And we would be remiss to exclude the further work of Black, Latina, Native and Asian women decades later, which resulted in voting rights for them too.
I am here, alive, and thriving thanks to the hard work, dedication and bravery of those who came before me. The summation of all of their efforts cast echoes throughout my life today.
So as you all travel this week and move through the world, I encourage you to dig deep, root yourselves in the past and toil in the soil. Uncover what seeds were planted long before you sprouted that eventually produced the fruit of your life.
Because as dark as the days may seem, the ancestors have always looked out for us, and you and your life are so much more strange and beautiful than what they could have ever imagined.
by Sayaka Matsuoka
My Unhoused Story
Winston-Salem
resident Ron Schultz tells his story, onstage and off
by Gale Melcher, Ron Schultz | gale@triad-city-beat.com
y name is Ron, and I’m homeless.”
Ron Schultz sits on a step in Winston Square Park next to his faithful dog, Hope. He’s wearing a sweatshirt from La Barberia, a local barbershop that gave Schultz a free shave and haircut in September.
Ron Schultz and his dog, Hope, have been unhoused in Winston-Salem since 2022. FILM STILL
An accompanying short documentary about Ron can be streamed on our website at triadcity-beat.com/ronschultz.
Schultz recently participated in Voices from the Dwelling, a twice-yearly public performance featuring unhoused members of City With Dwellings, a Winston-Salem resource center. Partnering with arts nonprofit Authoring Action!, participants develop their material in a writing workshop over a period of eight weeks, culminating in two public performances at the Dwelling at 502 N. Broad St.
Nathan Ross Freeman, co-founder and creative director of Authoring Action! explained during the second performance on Oct. 25 that the program aims to help unhoused people “give themselves permission to say what they need to say.” They chose four prompts for this ensemble: Judgement, resilience, storm and grace.
In the park, Schultz describes how it felt when he first came out onstage to perform his “judgement” section.
“I pulled my hoodie down over my head, and I kinda shuffled as I walked,” Schultz says.
When it was his turn to speak, he lumbered up to the stage, “swinging [his] arms around like some people [he’s] seen that [he knows] know are deeply in addiction.”
“In my mind I’m like, I’m gonna demand these people judge me and I hope I throw it back in their face when I start talking,” he says.
That’s when he pulled his hoodie off and began his monologue.
Schultz stood under the stage lights, his voice booming out to the ears of the audience: “On the top of the mountain, there is no judgment from friends or strangers. You can avoid the incredulous glare from others while you admire the surrounding nature.”
Onstage, Schultz told the story of his life, and how he got to where he is now.
Schultz had a successful career in architecture. Then, in 2008, the recession hit. His marriage was on the rocks. Despite having years of experience, he was unable to secure another job in that field.
“I went overnight from this guy that had tons of experience that any company would love to have, to ‘Well, what’s wrong with this guy?’” Schultz explains. “And suddenly I felt like my career was over.”
“After an eviction, I moved in with my elderly mother so we could help each other,” Schultz explained onstage. “For a blessed moment, the shipwreck that my life was becoming found a dock in a safe harbor with mom.”
He began working in a warehouse, and then driving a forklift in a chemical plant.
“Things were looking up,” he said.
But then tragedy struck once again.
“After about two years, my mom passed away unexpectedly,” he said.
Schultz was left to clear up her financial matters.
“I found out that I was missing the signs of her mental health declining when I was going through her affairs and found out that her house was about to enter foreclosure,” he says. “She’d write checks to her charities religiously, but the mortgage not so much.”
Since then, Schultz has been sleeping on the streets for two years.
“Sleeping in public is a crime in Winston-Salem,” Schultz says, sitting on the park steps next to Hope. “I didn’t know that until I got a ticket one morning. There was a bench that had some shelter from the rain, and I stayed there for three weeks.”
One morning when he woke up, he said, an officer asked to see his ID.
Schultz thought the officer was just checking to make sure he didn’t have any warrants or anything, but he came back with a ticket for sleeping in public and trespassing.
“He made the comment, ‘If you’re not causing any trouble, you’re not bothering anybody, you really need to be out of sight, out of mind.’ And after that I’m looking around, I’m saying, ‘Well, any place where I’m out of sight, out of mind, I’m not feeling safe,’” he says.
“If I didn’t have Hope, I would’ve been worried about getting jumped at night or robbed, or someone will steal my shoes to buy a hit of crack. I mean, that stuff happens,” he adds.
On top of the physical dangers of living on the streets is the mental burden.
“Living on the streets is hard and it weighs on you, and anybody that is unhoused has some form of mental illness, if you will,” Schulz says. “If nothing else depression, from the situation you’re in. Any time that I start feeling really down, and maybe….”
Schultz trails off and takes a pause as he fights back against a wave of emotion.
“There have been times when I’ve wondered if I should just give up,” he continues. “But I couldn’t do that to Hope. She’s kept me strong… and I think she helps people see me as a person, too, because they see her before they see me.”
Life on the street has been tough, but some windows have opened up. Schulz says that people have given him dog food and he’s been able to keep her shots up to date. One kind person even paid to have her microchipped. Someone helped pay for her spay surgery and service-dog training, too.
He hopes that by sharing his story, more people come to have empathy and understanding for people like him who are unhoused.
“I hope I gave my words — my story — life,” he says of his performance at the Dwelling. Schultz says people thanked him for “having the courage to get up there and say my piece, tell my story.”
He hopes that sharing his story will fight preconceived notions about those who are struggling like him.
“I think people think that us that are unhoused are lazy, alcoholics or on drugs, just don’t want to work, just want to get handouts and to get high,” he says. “And that’s really not the case at all.”
“My name is Ron, and I’m Hope’s dad,” Schultz says as he looks out toward the city’s skyline.
“I’m a human, just like you.”
Omnibus disaster bill kind of a disaster itself
by Brian Clarey
SB 382 was initially titled “Dental Practice Act Changes,” because things like this happen when the legislature guts a bill that is likely to pass and then changes the text of it to mean something completely different.
Now it is known as the Disaster Recovery Bill part three, which is slightly less misleading.
Though it does quite a bit to aid the parts of western North Carolina most affected by Hurricane Helene — clarifying policies and procedures for public schools and universities, healthcare services, water resources, cleanup, real estate development, infrastructure and recovery loans — this omnibus bill (131 pages!) does a lot of other stuff too, some of it potentially problematic.
to be named in a future bill.
But the biggest and most controversial piece comes in subpart IIIa, directed at elections. It’s biggest play is to move the State Board of Elections under the authority of the newly elected state auditor, Dave Boliek, who would take over naming members of the board from the governor, who currently handles the task. Boliek, for the record, told the News & Observer that he didn’t ask for this power, though an audit of the SBOE was a minor issue in his campaign.
That’s one of the problems, if you believe in separation of powers. How can the State Auditor’s Office audit a board that they themselves created?
This omnibus bill (131 pages!) does a lot of stuff , some of it potentially problematic.
The punchline to all this is that backers of this section of SB 382 say the move was made to address perceived partisanship in the BOE.
Jen Sorensen
John Cole
There’s the establishment of the Office of Learning Research, “to identify and evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of programs, activities, initiatives, procedures, and any other factors related to elementary and secondary education in the State.” As our schools are under attack from the legislature, this could be seen as a measure to further emaciate them.
It stacks the courts with two new Superior Court judges to be named by leaders in the state House and Senate, both solidly Republican-majority, and allows for the redrawing of Superior Court districts statewide, with new boundaries
“I don’t think anybody can objectively look at how the Board of Elections over the past probably seven plus years has functioned in a manner that is free from suspicion of partisan influence,” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger told Carolina Public Press
The bill passed both houses along partisan lines last week, and now awaits the governor’s signature. But the NC GOP must act quickly.
Gov. Roy Cooper could veto this bill. But as it stands, the NC House can override a veto because of a GOP supermajority.
This past election dissolved that supermajority, putting a kibosh on future overreach. And we all know that state Republicans have no problem calling everyone into an override vote during the high holiday season.
Courtesy of NC Policy Watch
Bitters Social House
ooking for the perfect gift for the cocktail enthusiast in your life? Visit Bitters Social House onState Street! Choose from our pre-made, curated cocktail boxes or create a custom gift with our extensive selection of bitters, syrups, shrubs and home bar essentials. Need a hand? Our expert bartenders are here to help you craft a selection tailored to your lucky recipient—or grab a gift certificate in any amount!
While you shop, sip on our fantastic cocktails, mocktails, Delta 9 drinks, beer, wine, or mead. Don’t miss our exclusive, handcrafted glassware from StarWorks in North Carolina, adding a truly impressive touch to any holiday gift. Come be social with us. For more information visit us at www.bitterssocial.com
Gray Legal Group
ark VL Gray II is the managing attorney of Gray Legal Group. He is also the son of the founder, Mark Gray, who founded the firm in 1991. Attorney Gray II’s legal background doesn’t end there. His mother, Angela Gray, has been practicing law in North Carolina for decades. Several of his aunts and uncles are attorneys, and even his grandmother, Dottie Newell is an attorney who practiced in Greensboro. It is quite apparent that Mark Gray, II has generations of legal knowledge passed down to him.
While many might say Attorney Gray II has been groomed to practice law, he independently developed a desire to assist others. The initial interest began during his undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University where he aspired to become a sports agent. However, during law school at North Carolina Central University, his legal interests expanded to the areas of civil and criminal litigation, including personal injury, criminal defense, family law and others, while still maintaining the sports and entertainment practice.
season, visit historic Körner’s Folly to make memories!
elegant Reception Room to the petite Children’s Playrooms, decorators Victorian-era home with trees, wreaths, garlands, ornaments, lights and creativity inspired by a different theme each year.
Gilded Christmas, set to dazzle visitors with gold, glamour and all that are a perfect way to explore the whimsical home of Jule Körner and his Self-guided tours take approximately 1 hour, and are offered Tuesdays–pm, and Sundays from noon–4 pm, with the last entry time at 3 pm. seeking to discover the unusual home’s history in detail, are available be scheduled in advance by calling 336.996.7922.
Candlelight tours will be held on December 7 and 21 from 5–9 pm, in Kernersville Little Theatre. This interactive experience also features hot apple cookies. at kornersfolly.org and onsite inside the John & Bobbie Wolfe Visitors Street, Kernersville.
to the Boho Depot, where bohemian charm meets holiday magic! in Winston-Salem, our boutique is the ultimate destination for thoughtful and unique gifts. Discover a curated selection of healing celestial decor, handmade jewelry, cozy candles, and whimsical ornaments that will delight everyone on your list.
gift-giving easy with our affordable stocking stuffers, vintageexclusive hippie holiday finds. Whether you’re shopping for a enthusiast, or someone who loves a touch of the eclectic, The Boho gift to brighten their season.
of finding meaningful, one-of-a-kind presents in a warm and atmosphere. Shop small, shop soulful, and make this holiday unforgettable
Triad Local First Buy Local Season
Shop Local This Holiday Season!
When we support local businesses, we all win! You know that local store around the corner where you love to shop…. The bar or restaurant where you love to meet up with friends…. Your favorite coffee shop that serves your morning brew—and knows your name too…. When we support those local businesses, we ensure that they’ll be around for us tomorrow, next month, and next year. SIGN THE PLEDGE to BUY LOCAL for YOUR chance to WIN one of three $50 GIFT CARDS from our local merchants!
As local businesses thrive, they’re able to: Hire more employees! Provide competitive wages! And offer better benefits! When you spend your dollars locally, you help: Fund the creation of new local jobs! Provide livelihoods for our community members! Foster a sense of purpose and fulfillment!
Strengthen the financial security of our neighbors and friends! AND the cycle continues with local economic growth that fuels further investment in vital community infrastructure, education, and other initiatives! When we buy local, we all win! Support our Triad Local First member businesses and ALL local Triad & NC businesses this holiday season. SHOP LOCAL TODAY!
Visit TriadLocalFirst.org to sign the pledge and see our directory of local business members.
Havana Phil’s Cigar Co.
Cigar Store
shopping by purchasing directly from the source. As loss of a local McKay’s, fill the void for one day
shopping event for amateur clutter into a little cash score holiday deals on games, media, collectibles,
people who hate driving features up to 30 local artists. tables are available to
Scheduled four days before Christmas, the December edition of the Geeksboro Market gives shoppers a chance to shop for beautifully made art, crafts, jewelry, drinkware, plushies, and more from regional artists and vendors.
The December vendor lineup includes Whiskey Lane Designs, Kepa Crochet, Blue Collar Candle, The Knotted Dinosaur, Just Some Rocks, Little Shop of Horror, Aimee’s Apothecary, and more!
ounded in Greensboro in 2010 by longtime cigar enthusiast Phil Segal, the cigar shop he created is a true haven for aficionados. Now helmed by Philip Segal IV., Havana Phil’s features the complimentary Rocky Patel Lounge and the private Davidoff Lounge, available with a membership (starting at $500/year). A wide selection of the world’s finest cigars, housed in a beautiful and spacious walk-in humidor, offers something for every cigar enthusiast, or beginner on your list. Seasonal selections include Year of the Snake, a very limited-edition release from Davidoff, and the limited, exclusive Havana Phil’s Rocky Patel cigar, Plasencia, and Room 101, blends created in collaboration with Havana Phil himself. There are an abundance of other gift ideas for anyone that enjoys a life of luxury — Philip and his knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect item for that special person.
Store: Mon-Wed: 11am-7pm | Thu-Sat: 11am-10pm | Sun: 1-6pm Davidoff Lounge: Mon-Sat: 4pm-11pm
Reconsidered Goods
Come see why everyone loves Reconsidered Goods! Our 15,000-square-foot creative reuse center and resale store, located at 4118 Spring Garden St. in Greensboro has everything for your holiday gift-making, gift-giving and decorating. Arts and craft supplies and kits, jewelry, books, home décor, party supplies, vintage clothing, frames, etc. We have it all! Can’t decide on a gift? RG gift cards can be used for store purchases, summer camps, classes and workshops. Give something uniquely creative this year and help save the earth by reducing waste. We envision a world where nothing is used once and thrown away but reused again and again.
CULTURE
New photo book centers and shows Black life, moments of resistance throughout history
by Sayaka Matsuoka | sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
Two hundred and twenty feet below ground in a small town called Boyers, Pa., Damarius Johnson found himself surrounded by millions of invaluable pieces of history.
“I was blown away by the images,” says Johnson, a Winston-Salem resident. “I saw the original photo negatives from the March on Washington.”
The freezing cold — -4°F to be exact — underground vaults at the Iron Mountain complex, hold some of the most valuable works in the world, including millions of photos owned by Getty Images. It was within these underground limestone caves that Johnson first started examining many of the images that would be digitized and printed to publish the book, Picturing Black History: Photographs and Stories that Changed the World, released on Nov. 12.
Order Picturing Black History: Photographs and Stories that Changed the World from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem or Scuppernong Books in Greensboro. Go to picturingblackhistory.org to learn more.
The book, which can be bought at local bookstores, chronicles the achievements of Black figures in American history — those well-known and lesser so — in sharp, crisp photos taken from Getty’s archive along with essays contextualizing the images.
As a graduate student at Ohio State University, Johnson had the unique opportunity to work on this project along with three other co-editors — Daniela Edmeier, Nicholas B. Breyfogle and Steven Conn — to bring the book to fruition.
The idea is a continuation of a website that Getty started in 2020 in conjunction with Ohio State University. In the wake of the George Floyd protests, the company decided to unearth some of its photos that were taken by Black photographers and upload them to a website called picturingblackhistory.org that started the work of identifying photos and adding historical context to them in the form of essays.
While some of the photos on the website may look familiar to viewers, a majority of the shots uncover untold stories of Black life throughout American history from the invention of photography in the late 1800s through 2022. The book puts those into a physical form.
“We looked at maybe 2,000 images,” Johnson says. “We wanted to think about the table of contents to give a lay of what the book might be and ask, ‘What are the stories about Black history that are not well known?’”
In the end, the book identified seven categories of images: portraits of Black history, Black women activists, Black politics, Black culture, Black education, Black America in wartime and the global dimensions of Black history. They also worked to elevate the work of Black photographers, like the cover photo by Barbara DuMetz titled “American Gothic, 1970’s style,” which depicts two individuals staring directly into the camera, the man with glasses and overalls, the woman next to him in a knit sweater, arms crossed, a slight smirk pulling her lips up at the left corner. Johnson says that he is scheduled to interview DuMetz this week and that her story about the cover shot will be featured on the website next year.
One of Johnson’s favorite images in the book shows former Supreme Court Justice Thursgood Marshall laughing alongside the first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. The shot is unique in Johnson’s eyes not just because there are so few images of Kenyatta laughing, but because the photo connects two social movements: the rising Civil Rights Movement in the US and Kenya’s fight for independence from the British Empire. It shows how many prominent Black political figures were connected to the movements for social justice around the world, and vice versa.
“Black history is a global story,” Johnson says. “There are connections of African Americans to other people in the world, and people around the world are connected to Black history. For this book, we are talking about African Americans, but it’s very important to know that this isn’t the only place in the world that people are resisting oppression, that there is solidarity with other groups who are imagining a better society. Black
history isn’t just a story of Black people in this country; it’s a global story, an international story.”
These days, when conservatives have recast teaching Black history as controversial, Johnson says that the best antidote is to show history plainly.
“This book is one of the ways to counter that long tradition of suppressing images related to Black history,” he says.
In addition to choosing images that feature prominent civil rights figures and activists, Johnson says that he and the other editors were intentional about picking photos depicting normal Black life, too. They picked several photos of children, which Johnson says makes the book unique.
“A lot of African-American history is taught about in the activities of adults, but it’s important to think about children,” Johnson says, “because children were at the forefront of integration, and I think elevating Black youth as activists in history is significant.”
Other photos depict more mundane scenes like community events, family gatherings and religious centers. The goal is to show that Black life throughout American history has been a multifaceted and nuanced one, just as it is today.
While the project began several years ago, Johnson says that in the aftermath of the presidential election, a book like Picturing Black History can be a grounding reminder of everything that came before.
“This is one of the reasons why I’m most excited about the book,” Johnson says. “People are always asking this ongoing question: How did we get here, and what do we do about it? In a moment when many people are asking that question, Black history gives context of some of the answers of how they dealt with oppression in their time. In terms of being optimistic, there is a playbook for responding to any political oppression and there is a long history of people standing in solidarity to challenge these oppressions.”
And for Johnson, listening to or reading the stories of history is important, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to see them in photographs.
“It means that in the moment that these events were unfolding, people knew that it would be significant enough to preserve it,” he says. “The photos are proof in and of themselves that they were significant.”
Now, for the first time in history, many of these photos have been uncovered from the underground limestone vaults and will be visible on the pages of this new book. And hopefully they’ll inspire generations to come.
“These photos gave people the encouragement to live everyday life and resist systems that shrunk the possibilities of their lives,” Johnson says. “It’s such a powerful way to demonstrate those stories.”
Picturing Black History: Photographs and Stories that Changed the World was released on Nov. 12 and can be bought at local bookstores. COURTESY PHOTO
CULTURE
The Triad’s Really, Really Free Markets fight capitalism, encourage mutual aid by giving things away for free, really
by Sayaka Matsuoka | sayaka@triad-city-beat.com
The first time Kathy Clark helped organize a Really, Really Free Market in Greensboro, she remembers watching a little boy sink further and further into a white loveseat couch as he sat in a black toboggan, black-and-orange windbreaker, jeans and white sneakers.
“The best thing in the world ever was at the first Really, Really Free Market,” Clark remembers. “Somebody brought a couch and a little kid sat on the couch the entire time and he was like, ‘This is my couch.’ And eventually the couch went home with him.”
The Winston-Salem Really, Really Free Market takes place on Nov. 29 from 12-4 p.m. at 239 W. Acadia Ave. The Greensboro market will take place on Nov. 29 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 1312 Glenwood Ave. The market will move to 1310 Glenwood Ave. if it rains.
That was 16 years ago in 2008. This year, Clark is planning a Really, Really Free Market in Winston-Salem this Friday at Mothership Studios, an artist collective and gift shop off of Acadia Avenue. In Greensboro, the GSO Mutual Aid group will hold its own market the same day at 1312 Glenwood Ave.
“I loved the idea of offering people an alternative to mass consumption,” Clark says, “and to provide goods and workshops to people who may not have a lot of money or income.”
The idea for these markets, in which people bring and take stuff for free, started in 2003 in Miami and Raleigh during protests against the limiting of international trade within the Americas. Soon, the markets began popping up in cities across the country and even expanded abroad to Australia, Singapore and Russia.
Often, they are held on Black Friday as a direct response to the consumerist wave that takes place on the holiday.
“The mission is important because we live in an abundant world where there are more than enough resources for everyone’s needs to be met,” says Greensboro Mutual Aid organizer Saya’ka, who is helping to host Greensboro’s Really, Really Free Market this year. They preferred to use just their first name.
Clark agrees.
“There’s so much stuff that we have already that we can upcycle or re-gift,” she says. “I’m just trying to get people into the mindset of pro-upcycling, pro-recycling, progifting economy and have fun with it.”
The idea is simple. Anyone from the community can bring items they no longer want to the market and drop them off. Then, others can come and “shop” the market and take things they want. People don’t have to donate to shop, and those who give things away don’t have to take anything if they don’t want to.
“It’s kind of like a multi-family yard sale, but it’s free,” Clark says. “It’s very loosey goosey.”
In the past, Clark says she’s had people come up to her during the markets and ask how much certain items cost.
“And I’ll tell them, ‘It’s free!’” Clark says. “And then they’ll just look at me like, What?!”
The idea of giving and receiving things without the exchange or expectation of money is still a rather taboo idea for many. And that’s because of the society we live in, says Saya’ka.
“We have always been fed a scarcity mindset that resources are limited,” they say.
“Capitalism teaches us that we must hoard resources even if we don’t need them, but just in case.”
But the Really, Really Free Market pushes back against those deeply embedded ideas.
“We know together that we have all we need, and the Really, Really Free Market is just a living embodiment of that,” Saya’ka says. “When we combine our resources together, give and take freely, our needs can and will be met.”
At this year’s market in Greensboro, organizers are also calling attention to the ongoing genocide in Palestine as a way to keep the suffering of those in Gaza at the forefront of people’s awareness. The organizers won’t be donating any of the items to Gaza but hope that just raising awareness will remind attendees of what’s going on.
“We believe we won’t be free until we are all free,” Saya’ka says.
For Clark, she hopes that “shopping” at the market reduces the stress of gift giving this time of year.
“It’s more happy than going out into a busy shopping center,” Clark says. “The market is an attempt to alleviate the stress of the shopping season with an alternative way to acquire goods.”
In the past, items like furniture, dishes, beds and even fake Christmas trees have been dropped off. Every year and every market, there’s new and different stuff. That’s part of what makes the events so exciting.
“You don’t know what to expect,” Clark says.
In addition to the variety of objects that get donated to the market, the events draw a diverse crowd. According to both organizers, the markets draw people from all ages, cultural, race and ethnic groups.
And that’s important to Clark because it shows how easy being in community with others can and should be. She points to how quickly people came together to support one another in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the western par t of the state.
“The community came forward to lift them up,” she says. “I think there will be more instances where more of that is needed climate-wise and economically speaking. I think we need to build that mentality of help your neighbor without expectation.”
In the aftermath of the presidential election when many are feeling lost and scared, Clark says that the market can be a light that restores faith in humanity.
“Because there’s much hatred and division, anything nice that can be put into the world, to build friendship, to build community, to do something to make someone’s world a little brighter,” Clark says. “We’re going to need more of this in the coming year.”
Kathy Clark, pictured here at a past Greensboro market, has been organizing these events for more than 15 years.
COURTESY PHOTO
SHOT IN THE TRIAD
BY CAROLYN DE BERRY
Chestnut Street, Greensboro
November afternoon.
THE TRIAD’S LOCAL EVENT
PLATFORM POWERED BY TRIAD CITY BEAT
TCBTix is the local ticketing platform created exclusively for Triad-area community events. It’s free, easy to use, and fully customizable with all-access ticketing features to meet your event’s unique needs.
For more information, scan the QR code or email chris@triad-city-beat.com.
PUZZLES & GAMES
CROSSWORD
by Matt Jones
SUDOKU
by Matt Jones
Across
1. McEntire of “Happy’s Place”
5. Backup idea
10. Racetrack gait
14. Alternatives to lagers
15. Indian currency
16. Water conveyor
17. Group of British whales covered in Band-Aids?
19. “You ___” (Burger King ad campaign)
20. Outdoor dining arrangement
21. Chinese zodiac sign
23. Accelerated
24. Dog-walker’s item
25. Prescription sleep aid
28. Word sung before “dear [insert name here]”
31. “La ___” (Debussy opus)
32. Celery portion
34. Spine-tingling
35. ___-Z (old Camaro model)
37. Swung around a pivot
39. Take time off
40. Head & Shoulders target
42. Inherited factors
44. Actor Mahershala
45. Secluded spot
Down
1. “Mean Girls” star Reneé
2. Late “First Lady of Children’s Folk Songs” Jenkins
3. Rhythm
4. St. Francis’s home
5. Puts forward
6. Drawn in
7. Scheduled mtg.
8. “The Matrix” protagonist
9. Two-___ (apartment spec, slangily)
10. Classic skateboarding magazine
11. Nightmare that keeps you tossing and turning?
12. 1952 Olympics host city
13. Prom attendee, usually
18. Overdrinks
22. Taxi posting
24. Compare (to)
25. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “___ Paradise”
26. Thanks, in Quebec
27. Ballots using really wide sheets of paper?
28. Bandit’s kid
29. Supermarket section
30. Some coolers
33. Aquarium growth
A Carolina Christmas
Sunday, Dec 1 | 3PM Reynolds Auditorium
Ring in the holiday season with your Winston-Salem Symphony & Chorus, conductor Michelle Merrill, stunning soprano Dee Donasco, and Santa!
© 2023 Matt Jones © 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
47. “___... on the side of my face” (line from “Clue”)
49. Cow, in Cannes
50. Equipment
51. Pyongyang’s country, in some headlines
53. Shout at some parties
57. Overnight ___
58. What to do in the search bar to get the latest scores?
60. One T of “ST:TNG”
61. Tiniest bit
62. Vacillate
63. Crafter’s website
64. Cowboy’s catcher
65. Till filler
36. Cloudless forecast
38. Lets have the last word
41. Treasure hunter’s step
43. Acronym for a lawsuit filed to silence or intimidate opponents
46. “___ it be?”
48. Dry creek bed
50. Shot
51. Memo
52. Mario ___ (Nintendo series)
53. Aquatherapy locales
54. Press clothes
55. Eyelid nuisance
56. Those, to Jose
59. “Motion approved”
Tuesday, Dec 10 | 7:30PM Wait Chapel
Thu 11/28
Greensboro Gobbler 5K & 1-Miler
@ 8am
Join us for the 24th Annual Greensboro Gobbler 5K or 1 Mile Run! Save 35% OFF until Aug 30th with early bird registration! Center City Park @ Greensboro Downtown Parks, Inc., 200 North Elm Street, Greens‐boro. jamie.smith@stacksports.com
5 Before the Feast
@ 8:30am / $15-$40
301 N Elm St, Truist Point (home of the High Point Rockers), High Point
Calibre 50
@ 9pm
MANSION Nightclub, 3081 Waughtown St, WinstonSalem
Fri 11/29
Drew Foust & The Wheelhouse: Red Oak
Lager Haus
@ 6pm
Red Oak Lager Haus & Biergarten, 6905 Konica Dr, Whitsett
Comedy & BrewPub Tour
@ 7pm / $36.99
Join us the last Friday of each month for some laugh‐ter and beer! 176 Ywca Way, Winston-Salem
Los Primos del Este
@ 9pm
MANSION Nightclub, 3081 Waughtown Street, Win‐ston-Salem
Sat 11/30
Dragons Hoard Smalll Business
Saturday Holiday Craft Show
@ 10am
Get a head start on Christmas shopping with oneof-a-kind gifts for loved ones! Admission & Park‐ing: FREE! Mark Your Calendars: November 30th, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM (same event Dec 14 10-4) Dragons Hoard, 4645 W Market St Suite A2,, Greensboro. shopandstrollmarkets@gmail.com, 704-920-8662
Jazzy Wonderland @ SECCA @ 8pm / $45-$55 North Carolina Muesum of Art, Winston-Salem, (for‐merly SECCA), 750 Marguerite Drive, Winston Salem
The Mountain Goats w/ Joelton May�eld @ 8pm The Ramkat, Winston Salem
Sun 12/01
Crown Magnetar
@ 6pm Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
Sunday Yoga @ SouthEnd Brewing Co.
@ 10am / $5 SouthEnd Brewing Co, 117b West Lewis Street, Greensboro
Mon 12/02
HarmHouse: MondayMic with Jay Benjamin @ 6pm High Point Bistro, 3793 Samet Dr # 165, High Point
Tue 12/03
Two Piece @ 6:30pm Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
High Point Panthers at UNC Greensboro Spartans Mens Basketball @ 7pm
Fleming Gymnasium, 1408 Walker Avenue, Greensboro
Wed 12/04
Campbell Fighting Camels at Wake For‐est Demon Deacons Womens Basketball @ 11:30am
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 2825 University Pkwy, Winston-Salem
Thu 12/05
Katy Nichole: NewSong's Very Merry Christmas Tour 2024 @ 7pm
SMC (St. Marks Church), 1230 St Marks Church Rd, Burlington
Micah Tyler: The Very Merry Christmas Tour
@ 7pm
SMC (St. Marks Church), 1230 St Marks Church Rd, Burlington
The Norm Lewis Christmas Show @ 7:30pm / $16-$16
The Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre at Well·Spring, 4100 Well Spring Drive, Greensboro
Fri 12/06
Unto Others: Hangar 1819 @ 7pm Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
RetroVinyl Band: RetroVinyl LIVE @ Garage Tavern @ 8pm Garage Tavern, 5211 A W Market St, Greensboro
Sat 12/07
Singles-On-Segways
@ 9:30am / $89
Get ready to mingle and roll at Singles-On-Segways, where you can meet new people while cruising around on two wheels! 176 Ywca Way, WinstonSalem
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
Yayoi Ikawa @ 7:30pm / $25
North Carolina Muesum of Art, Winston-Salem, (formerly SECCA), 750 Marguerite Drive, Win‐ston Salem
Sun 12/08
Sunday Yoga @ SouthEnd Brewing Co. @ 10am / $5
SouthEnd Brewing Co, 117b West Lewis Street, Greensboro
William Nesmith @ 2pm
Incendiary Brewing & Winery, 5495 Williams Rd, Lewisville
A Killers Confession @ 5:30pm
Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
Waylon Reavis: A Killer’s Confession @ 6pm
Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
A Killer's Confession @ 6pm
Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
LYLVC @ 7pm
Hangar 1819, 1819 Spring Garden St, Greensboro
Mon 12/09
Grandover Gingerbread House Competition ~ Registration @ 9am / Free-$50
Grandover Resort & Spa, 1000 Club Road, Main Lobby, Greensboro
HarmHouse: MondayMic with Jay Benjamin @ 6pm
High Point Bistro, 3793 Samet Dr # 165, High Point
Jay Benjamin: MondayMic @ 6pm
High Point Bistro, 3793 Samet Dr # 165, High Point
Tue 12/10
Enrico Lagasca: Winston-Salem Symphony: Handel Messiah @ 7:30pm Wait Chapel, 1834 Wake Forest Rd X, WinstonSalem
Wed 12/11
Winston Lights Fun Run @ 6pm
Fleet Feet Winston-Salem, 278 Harvey St,, Winston Salem
Elf The Musical @ 7:30pm
Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, 300 North Elm Street, 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.
