YES! Weekly - June 2, 2021

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June 2-8, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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JUNE 2-8, 2021 VOLUME 17, NUMBER 22

10 5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930

CITY WITHIN A CITY

Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com

While people will be speaking about the Tulsa Race massacre this week and in the weeks to come, many of those people may have forgotten that, while not nationally recognized, the Triad held its own when it came to African-American COMMUNITIES BIRTHED OUT OF NECESSITY and self-sufficiency.

EDITORIAL Editor CHANEL DAVIS chanel@yesweekly.com YES! Writers IAN MCDOWELL MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD

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JIM LONGWORTH KATIE MURAWSKI PRODUCTION Graphic Designers ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com AUSTIN KINDLEY artdirector@yesweekly.com

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JUNE 2-8, 2021

The sign out front is a little hard to follow. It says, “Go. China.” But that is an abbreviation for GOURMET CHINA, formerly Captain Chen’s Gourmet China. I can’t describe the interior because I’ve never seen the interior. That’s because this is the safest restaurant I have encountered so far.

5 “OUT AT THE MOVIES,” WinstonSalem’s popular LGBTQ festival and screening series, will present a special lakeside screening of writer/producer/director Todd Stephens’s acclaimed comedy Swan Song this Saturday at SECCA...

6 In the 2007 documentary “Who is NORMAN LLOYD?” the late Karl Malden replied to the query as follows: “If you don’t know Norman Lloyd, you SHOULD know Norman Lloyd because Norman Lloyd is the history of our industry.”

7 A Quiet Place Part II, which sees Krasinski back at the helm, is also something of a rarity, a follow-up that retains and sustains the SAME LEVEL OF QUALITY as its predecessor. This is no mere retread but a smooth continuation, as worthy of praise as the first film. The film opens with a flashback to the first day of the alien invasion, allowing

Krasinski to briefly reprise his role as the heroic patriarch Lee Abbott.

12 Residents of the Dunleath Historic District invite folks to their lawns for the fifth annual “DUNLEATH PORCHFEST” on June 12, 2021. With a goal of “spreading only music and goodwill,” the Dunleath Porchfest continues expanding horizons of music and culture from a few dozen front porches; and will feature more than 40 performers scattered amongst the historic neighborhood nestled between the uptown, downtown, and Fisher Park areas in Greensboro.

13 “When the biggest employer in the area is paying poverty wages, it hurts all of us and our economy,” said Casey Thomas at a Wednesday rally held by Guilford for All in front of the Guilford County Detention Center on Edgeworth Street in downtown Greensboro. That employer is GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS. 14 Mental Health Greensboro invites folks to a honky-tonkin’ tailgater as they present STOMP THE STIGMA 2021, a drive-in concert and raffle fundraiser, with Russ Varnell & His Too Country Band and Michael Cosner & the Fugitives on June 12, 2021...

ADVERTISING Marketing TRAVIS WAGEMAN travis@yesweekly.com Promotion NATALIE GARCIA

DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT KYLE MUNRO SHANE MERRIMAN ANDREW WOMACK We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2021 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

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[SPOTLIGHT]

DELICIOUS BY SHEREEM-CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ONE MEAL AT A TIME

BY NAIMA SAID

“I’ve always felt that food is one of the best ways to build bridges and bring people together from different backgrounds,” said Shereen Gomaa.

After moving from Egypt to North Carolina in 2009, Gomaa officially opened Delicious by Shereen as a local non-profit in 2016.

Since then, she has been nationally recognized for catering work.

“Even though we live in challenging times, it is so very important for people to get together and sit down to share a meal and get to know one another. We have more in common than we realize!”

Gomaa’s mission was to help the refugee community by empowering them to work using their cooking skills to help their families while increasing their dignity by working rather than asking for help.

Specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Cuisine, with a twist and offerings of gluten-free/vegetarian/vegan options, the non-profit has received grants from the Winston-Salem Foundation and The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem. In 2018, Gomaa was nominated and attained the

ECHO Award for being a social entrepreneur that exemplified community leadership and creating interfaith relationships among the women, both refugees and locals of Winston-Salem.

Currently located at Buie’s Market, 749 Avalon Road North, Delicious serves up new options every week, and orders are picked up on Mondays between 4:30-6 p.m.

“Our business model is built upon social benefit for those in need. We’re interested primarily in helping people help themselves - being productive members of society that contribute to their community is the best way to integrate into life here in America.

It’s been said before, but we want to give people a hand up instead of a handout,” Gomaa added.

Kofta Dawood Basha is one of the most popular items at Delicious. It consists of savory, succulent ground beef flavored with a mix of Mediterranean spices and diced potatoes cooked in tomato sauce.

“It is rumored that a nobleman named Dawood Basha, who was a governor during the Ottoman Empire, loved this dish so much that it was named after him,”

Gomaa explained. The dish is accompanied

by Mediterranean rice with vermicelli, an aromatic rice pilaf mixed with delicate vermicelli noodles and vegetable turnovers, a savory blend of mixed vegetables with onions, garlic, and spices nestled in a fluffy pillow of flaky dough.

When asked, Gomaa shared that her favorite dessert was either between ma’mool, a semi-sweet cookie with date filling, or their baklava, a thin, delicate sheets of buttered phyllo dough, layered with walnuts, golden raisins, sugar, coconuts, and orange blossom water, drizzled on top with homemade syrup.

The company’s vision statement further solidifies that the goal is to educate and empower: Our vision for Delicious is to open a facility that encompasses a certified commercial catering kitchen, a cooking class, and community space where people can gather and learn more about the plight of refugees

in the Triad in a safe, comfortable, and social setting open to the public.

Delicious is currently working with five to 10 refugee families on an ongoing basis with the possibility of adding more or rotating between different families in the future.

Lena, a Syrian woman in the program who came to the States following the war, said she values the opportunities that being involved with Delicious by Shereen offer her.

“I spend most of my days in the kitchen, both in the States and back home in Syria.

It is my kingdom, a place I have familiarized myself with and have control over. Syrian women cook from the heart. You can taste it, that effort, that time — it’s simply delicious.”

For more information or to view a menu, visit www.deliciousbyshereen.com, and online orders can be placed for weekly meal pickups at deliciousbyshereen.com/onlineorders. !

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JUNE 2-8, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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EAT IT!

Chow down with John Batchelor at Gourmet China

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BY JOHN BATCHELOR

he sign out front is a little hard to follow. It says, “Go. China.”

But that is an abbreviation for Gourmet China, formerly Captain Chen’s Gourmet China. I can’t describe the interior because I’ve never seen the interior.

That’s because this is the safest restaurant I have encountered so far. A hole with a pass-through has been cut in the door, a microphone adjacent. You can order in person over the microphone, or online, or by phone. Everything is takeout. If you are picking up in person, you put your payment in the pass-through, and your food is returned the same way. In-person, from order to pick up, took about 10 minutes. I placed two delivery orders (see web address below), and both arrived as scheduled, with texts providing updates at each delivery stage.

I found the food interesting and enjoyable. There are things here that I seldom see in other places. In some cases, those things are quite adventurous, at least to my admittedly Western taste experience.

But the more conventional items are quite pleasant as well.

Steamed Pork Dumplings burst with pork and onion flavor, augmented by a sweet soy dipping sauce. Sichuan Cold Noodles turned out to be a personal favorite- a spicy-hot initial impact giving way to a soothing chill, with lots of fresh cilantro accent.

Dry and Sautéed String Bean is a major league winner, unique in my experience locally, long beans slightly charred, the natural green bean flavor infused with soy. Stir-Fried Cabbage repeats this

knockout, crunchy texture giving way to natural cabbage flavor.

On to fairly well-known entrees. General Tso’s Chicken is mostly breast meat with natural texture intact, lightly breaded, spicy hot and sweet, with fresh, al dente broccoli. White or brown rice is offered with all entrees. I would personally recommend brown, but other guests prefer white. Choose what you like.

Kung Pao Shrimp uses large deveined shrimp, tender, not overcooked, in a mixture of diced zucchini, abundant mushrooms, dried Szechuan peppers, and lots of cooked peanuts. There’s a lot of flavors here.

In Curried Shrimp, large, deveined, slightly firm shrimp rest in a fairly hot/ spicy broth also occupied by zucchini, bok choy, red and green bell peppers, carrot, onion, and snow peas, sprinkled with dried hot red pepper flakes.

Carolina Five-O takes its name from multiple ingredients: chicken, shrimp, scallops, beef, and pork, joined by sliced carrots, broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms in a fairly spicy Chinese brown sauce (the usual ingredients are soy, rice wine, sugar, and beef broth). The vegetables, cooked al dente, look and taste fresh. The shrimp are large and tender, the scallops just a little firm but still enjoyable. Thin strips of beef lie on the firm side, lean, not gristly, while the chicken and pork are soft-cooked.

Spicy Doubled Cooked Pork reveals a texture similar to thick bacon. A word of caution- there is more fat in this than is common in most pork dishes served locally. On the other hand, to quote one of the chefs I worked with in one of my

GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN books, “Fat is where the flavor’s at.” It tastes really good, and if you don’t like the texture of fat, it’s easily trimmed away.

Crispy Duck with Garlic Sauce is another knockout- the duck is indeed crispy, and that sauce is quite assertive. Be careful- the meat is not trimmed away from the bone. It’s chopped into sections, so you have to pick out small bones while you eat. But the resulting flavor impact is worth the effort.

Fish in Sichuan Style Sauce is a soupy construct based on soft flounder in a spicy-hot broth, with lots of onion and bok choy. My party especially enjoyed this in a bowl, over rice.

I ordered Cumin Lamb based on the advice of a guy I talked to when I placed my last order. He guided me well. Thin strips of tender lamb bear clear lamb flavor and

tender texture, enhanced with solid cumin spice—another serious winner.

I mentioned at the outset that you can get things here that you don’t often see elsewhere. In a few cases, that takes me outside my comfort zone. As a rule, I’ll eat anything that is not likely to eat me first, but I saw some selections that are just out of my league, although I recommend them for adventurous souls who are seeking “real” Chinese. For example: beef tendons, jellyfish (prepared several different ways), flame-seared pork intestines, beef tripe, ox tongue, and crispy intestines with sour cabbage. Send me a note after you’ve tried them. I’m interested, but I’m chicken to try them myself.

Meanwhile, I’ll stick to the more conventional ingredients. I like this place. I’ll definitely return. !

JOHN BATCHELOR has been writing about eating and drinking since 1981. Over a thousand of his articles have been published. He is also author of two travel/ cookbooks: Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants and Recipes from the North Carolina Coast, and Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina.

Contact him at john.e.batchelor@gmail.com or see his blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com.

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go?

Gourmet China is located at 3709-E Battleground Avenue, Greensboro. 336-340-9475 gourmetchinagreensboro.com Hours: 12 noon-10 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday; 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Friday & Saturday | Appetizers: $1.50-$9.95 Soups: $2.95-$7.25 | Entrees: $7.50-$19.95 Most recent visit: May 30

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visions

SEE IT!

“OUT” is in with quality entertainment

“OUT at the Movies,” Winston-Salem’s popular LGBTQ festival and screening series, will present a special lakeside screening of writer/ producer/director Todd Stephens’s acclaimed comMark Burger edy Swan Song this Saturday at SECCA (the Southeastern Contributor Center for Contemporary Art), 750 Marguerite Drive, WinstonSalem. Gates will open at 7:30 p.m., and the show will begin at dusk. Tickets are $10 and can be ordered at https://outatthemovies. org/. The rain date is Sunday.

“We have already sold a lot of tickets and are looking forward to our June 5th screening lakeside at SECCA,” said Rex Welton, the co-founder, and director of the festival and screening series. “It is a wonderful movie with great performances – a fabulous movie you definitely will want to see!”

In addition, Chad Harris, vice-president of “OUT at the Movies,” will moderate a prerecorded Q&A session with Stephens and leading man Udo Kier, which will be shown immediately after the screening and will later be posted on the “OUT” website. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, and leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome, too.

In the film, cult icon Kier stars as Pat Pitsenberger, a retired hairdresser who embarks on a journey across town – Sandusky, Ohio – when his services are requested to style the hair of a former star client (Linda Evans) for her memorial service. Initially reluctant and still reeling emotionally from the loss of his long-time partner, he ultimately consents – and along the way

comes to see himself in a new light.

Andrew J. Salazar of Discussing Film hailed Swan Song as “a new delightful gem within modern queer cinema, but it doesn’t end there. It’s a delicate story of self-worth and forgiveness, told through the eyes of an aging flamboyant stylist in conservative America. Its charm is incomparable.”

“Swan Song is a celebration of individuality and gay identity,” wrote Rachel Stacher in Quelle Movies. “Udo Kier is an absolute delight. Even when the plot begins to wander, Kier’s portrayal of Pat keeps us grounded, engaged, and interested in what will happen next.”

Mike McGranaghan of The Aisle Seat stated simply: “Udo Kier gives the best performance of his long, distinguished career in Swan Song.”

“The (COVID-19) pandemic has forced us to think outside of the box, and because of it, we have developed great relationships with Zack Fox at Marketplace Cinemas, Alex Brown and the folks at SECCA, and Matt Jones and Eric Self of The Moving Picture Show,” said Welton. “We are hoping to be able to host the traditional ‘OUT at the

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Movies’ International Film Festival Sept.

23-26 and return to UNCSA’s ACE Theatre Complex, but I would like outside screenings to become a part of our repertoire, as well.”

Welton said that the decision regarding how the festival will commence – whether in-person, digital, or hybrid – will be announced by July 1.

In addition to this screening and the upcoming festival, “OUT at the Movies”

has announced its 10th annual “Key West in Winston-Salem” celebration, which will take place 7 p.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, followed by an after-party in downtown Winston-Salem. Those attending the main party will receive free admission to the after-party.

Among the entertainers scheduled to perform are Sushi from Key West, male entertainer Davin Strong from Las Vegas, Shofonda Jayde-Addams, Petite Dee Jonville, Paisley Parque, and other entertainers will be announced soon. To ensure safety, attendance will be capped at 175. Guests who have not yet been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Aug. 14 will be required to wear a mask. However, there will be a contest for the best-masked guest and the best, most festively dressed guest. Pink and lime green are the signature colors of Key West and the party.

For more information, call (336) 9180902 or visit the official “OUT at the Movies” website: https://outatthemovies.org/. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2021, Mark Burger.

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Remembering Norman Lloyd: The Ultimate Pro

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n the 2007 documentary “Who is Norman Lloyd?” the late Karl Malden replied to the query as follows: “If you don’t know Norman Lloyd, you SHOULD know NorJim Longworth man Lloyd because Norman Lloyd is the history of our Longworth industry.” at Large And what a history he had. In his twenties, Norman was directed on stage by Orson Welles.

In his thirties, he was directed in films by Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock. In his fifties and sixties, he produced and directed award-winning episodic television, and in his seventies, Norman won acclaim starring on “St. Elsewhere.” In his eighties, he was directed by Martin Scorsese, and in his nineties, he costarred with the likes of George Clooney and Cameron Diaz. Norman had a

distinctly regal voice and a distinctly wicked sense of humor. He was a great storyteller and an even greater listener.

And I’ve never known anyone to match his energy level. Set designer Roy Christopher once remarked, “Norman’s creative motor was always running.” I guess that’s why I always thought Norman would live forever but forever came too soon. He passed away on the morning of May 11. Norman Lloyd was 106 years old.

I first got to know Norman and his wife Peggy nearly 30 years ago when I was doing research for a series of articles on “St. Elsewhere” (Peggy passed away in 2011). I had been in broadcasting for some time by then but was just beginning to test my writing wings. Norman opened doors for me, which eventually led to my new mid-life career as an author and columnist. I dare say Norman opened a lot of doors for a lot of people, mainly because he was a nice guy, but probably because he believed in paying it forward. In the early 1950s, Norman refused to name names for the House Un-American Activities Committee, so they blacklisted him. He was rescued out

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JUNE 2-8, 2021

of exile by his friend Alfred Hitchcock, who wouldn’t be bullied or intimidated

by HUAC. Norman never forgot Hitch’s courage and loyalty, so it’s no surprise that he helped a lot of actors and directors by hiring them to work on “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” One of those actors was James Best, who later gained fame as Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane in “The Dukes of Hazard.” I once asked Jim to comment on his friend Norman.

Best: “Having worked with hundreds of directors in my career, I found very few that had Norman’s qualities. He was most kind, gracious, and patient with his actors. He is in all respects a complete gentleman in his personal life, and I found it a genuine pleasure just to be in the presence of such a talented man.”

After the Hitchcock TV series ended, Norman’s considerable producing and directing skills were in great demand.

So were his talents as an actor, which landed him numerous guest roles on television. Then came a six-year run on the groundbreaking medical drama “St. Elsewhere,” in which Norman portrayed Dr. Daniel Auschlander, a role he called more like himself than any other. Ed Begley Jr. and Howie Mandel also portrayed doctors on the show and had the utmost respect for Norman.

Mandel: “I love Norman Lloyd. He is a legend. I have spent hours like a little kid while he regaled us with stories of Hitchcock. He teaches, he entertains. He is a legend”.

Begley: “I worked with Norman Lloyd the actor and Norman Lloyd, the director, and no one informed me better on the art of storytelling than that talented man. He is a constant inspiration and my eternal friend. I’m so lucky to have had him in my life for 40 years.”

“St. Elsewhere” producer Tom Fontana was particularly in awe of Norman’s incongruous youthful spirit and longevity.

Fontana: “Norman was a combina-

tion of Peter Pan and Father Time.”

For Norman, there was no slowing down after “St. Elsewhere.” Film and TV roles poured in, including that of a stern schoolmaster opposite Robin Williams in “Dead Poets Society.” In 2000, Norman appeared in a live TV adaptation of “Fail Safe,” produced by and starring George Clooney. Later, when Norman turned 100, Clooney took a break from honeymooning to email me his thoughts on his friend reaching the century mark.

Clooney: “Norman is not just the consummate professional, he’s also the consummate gentleman. In a town of two-dimensional sets designed to look like the real thing, Norman IS the real thing. Congratulations, Norman, on reaching mid-life!”

I will always cherish the telephone visits I had with Norman over the years.

Toward the end, he took more naps and was hard of hearing but still maintained his quick wit. The following is one of my favorite exchanges with Norman from a few years ago.

JL: Has anyone ever offered you a part in a film in which you would have to appear nude?

Lloyd: No, I’ve never been that fortunate (laughs). If I had, my career would have ascended. It would have been enormous. I would, of course, have had a great fan club of the female persuasion.

JL: So what’s the secret to your longevity?

Lloyd: I eat reasonably and play tennis, and I believe having a positive attitude is very important. I will make a confession. I do take a shot of bourbon before dinner.

JL: Is that to get your confidence up in case a nude role does come along?

Lloyd: I don’t need that. I can go do it without the booze (laughs).

It’s a rare thing for someone to be so accomplished in so many fields for so long, yet Norman did just that, having excelled as an actor, director, writer, and producer. But ask him which he prefers, and the answer always came quickly.

Lloyd: “When you start as an actor as I did, no matter what else you do, you’re always an actor.”

The late Hume Cronyn once described his friend Norman as “The Ultimate Pro,” and when I asked Norman to respond to that compliment, he said, “sounds like a fitting epitaph someday.” And so it is. !

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15).

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A Quiet Place Part II: A sequel that’s equal

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Quiet Place (2018) was that rarity, a genre piece that was both a critical and financial success, as well as an impressive showcase for leading man/ Mark Burger producer/director/ screenwriter John Contributor Krasinski. The saga of an American family battling an alien invasion found a neat balance between characterization and special effects. As scary as it was, the characters were the principal focus – not the special effects.

A Quiet Place Part II, which sees Krasinski back at the helm, is also something of a rarity, a follow-up that retains and sustains the same level of quality as its predecessor.

This is no mere retread but a smooth continuation, as worthy of praise as the first film.

The film opens with a flashback to the first day of the alien invasion, allowing Krasinski to briefly reprise his role as the heroic patriarch Lee Abbott. The narrative then shifts seamlessly to the conclusion of the first film, some 18 months later. Civilization has crumbled, or so it seems, but life does go on.

Lee’s widow, Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real-life wife), soldiers on, seeking sanctuary for her daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and newborn baby. The rampaging aliens, which stalk their prey via sound, remain a constant threat, and Krasinski builds suspense with complete assurance. There are definitely some good jolts here.

In an abandoned steel mill, the Abbotts unexpectedly encounter Emmett (Cillian Murphy), an old friend embittered by the loss of his wife and children. He has no faith in humanity or much sympathy for their plight. Indeed, he initially wants them to leave, not caring what happens to them – or himself, really.

The analogy to the COVID-19 landscape is obvious, but A Quiet Place Part II isn’t necWWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

essarily a message movie, although it does offer something of a tribute to family and community. It could be said that the storyline suggests John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath crossed with H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds. That may be a heady comparison but not an inaccurate one.

Once again, the heart of the film is the relationship between the characters.

Evelyn, Regan, and Marcus must each tap their inner strength in order to survive, and it’s Regan – so wonderfully played again

by Simmonds – whose resilience begins to sway Emmett, reigniting his own drive to survive and to care for others. Humanity may be in tatters, but it’s worth saving nonetheless.

As it befits its title and the nature of the aliens, the film is quiet in many places.

There isn’t a great deal of dialogue. The actors are able to convey their emotions through gestures and movement. The action scenes, however, are anything but quiet – and Marco Beltrami’s pounding score follows suit.

Simmonds’s performance in the first film was one of the most remarkable performances by a child actor in a genre film since Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense (1999), and she’s again the dominant force here. Jupe comes into his own as the fearful Marcus, attempting to adjust to now being the man of the family. Blunt and Murphy are also fine, and each – Blunt being British and Murphy Irish – nail their American accents.

In smaller roles, Djimon Hounsou brings compassion to the role of a sympathetic human and Scott McNairy just the opposite as a predatory thug singularly lacking in humanity. Neither is around for very long, but offer an interesting comparison of the good and bad in humankind when faced with seemingly insurmountable circumstances.

A Quiet Place Part II ends on rather an abrupt, “slam-bang” ending that’s par for the course in a sci-fi thriller. Given the film’s likely box-office success, another installment is hardly out of the question but were the franchise to end here, it would do so on a satisfying note. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2021, Mark Burger.

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[NEWS OF THE WEIRD] WAIT, WHAT?

Chuck Shepherd

The Tail Company, based in the United Kingdom, is starting production of its newest offering, miTail — a Bluetoothenabled animatronic tail that wearers can control with a phone app, Nerdist reported on May

13. For example, a wearer might want to express emotions such as “frustrated and tense” or “calm and relaxed.” Other moves include the Short Wag, the Happy Wag and the Erect Tremble. The company plans to start delivering the Kickstarter-supported products in August.

OH, CANADA

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, had a mystery on their hands on May 7 when

someone reported a load of fenceposts missing, RCMP reported on its website.

Officers opened an investigation, but the “bucktooth bandits” were quickly identified: “The stolen goods were located in a beaver dam,” said Constable Conrad Rickards. “A beaver — or beavers — helped themselves to the stash of posts and used them to help build a dam. I tried locating said beavers but they were GOA (gone on arrival).”

DON’T GO THERE

— A papier-mache statue of a stegosaurus, placed outside the Cubic Building in a suburb of Barcelona, Spain, had an odorous secret, The Washington Post reported. On May 22, a father and son who were admiring the statue noticed a foul stench coming from it and peered into a crack in the dinosaur’s leg. There they saw the body of a man. The 39-year-old was reported missing just hours before he was discovered; the local police said they don’t suspect foul play. Instead, they believe the man dropped his phone in the statue’s leg and tried to retrieve it, becoming stuck headfirst. He may have been in the statue for a couple of days, authorities said.

— Staff at the El Paso Zoo in Texas are preparing to press charges against a woman who jumped into a spider monkey exhibit on May 22 and fed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to the animals, the El Paso Times reported. Zookeepers found out about the stunt through Instagram, where someone posted video of the woman underneath a waterfall, with the monkeys just feet away.

“This young lady decided to hop a fence, climb through some bushes, drop down into a 4-feet-deep moat, walk across the moat and then try to feed the spider monkeys,” zoo director Joe Montisano said.

“It was stupid. She’s very fortunate that it didn’t have a worse outcome for her or the animals.” While the woman hasn’t been named, her employer, Lovett Law Firm, recognized her and she was fired from her job there.

POLICE REPORT

Two teenagers on their way home from a graduation party in the early hours of May 23 made the night even more memorable when their car crashed into the roof of a home in Eureka, Missouri, outside St. Louis.

Authorities told KSDK-TV that the driver lost control, rolled down an embankment, flipped over a fence and crashed frontend first into the master bathroom of the home. Startlingly, there were no injuries from the crash; the two teens escaped through the master bedroom, and two occupants of the home, who were sleeping at the time, were unharmed.

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JUNE 2-8, 2021

BRIGHT IDEAS

— On May 25, New York City councilwoman Helen Rosenthal virtually attended a finance committee meeting, commenting on school classroom sizes and education funding, as she shifted her focus back and forth between the camera and ... the road.

She was driving her car during the meeting, the New York Post reported. During her time as a council member, she has advocated for improving bike lanes and expanding speed camera use, but since 2013, the license plate registered to her car has received 62 traffic violations, including three tickets for speeding in a school zone, all in 2020.

— Adele Belizaire, 54, was held in the Pinellas County (Florida) jail after a stunt she pulled to “blow off steam” on May 11, The Smoking Gun reported. Belizaire, frustrated with her loss of nearly $400 playing slot machines at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, called the casino on her cellphone that evening from her hotel in Clearwater Beach and said, “I left a bomb in your casino.” What she failed to remember was that as a member of the casino’s Player’s Club, her phone number was on file.

In her confession, she admitted that she has “anger issues.”

SIGN OF THE TIMES

During the pandemic, demand for port-apotties in Maine increased. Customers were renting them for longer periods, and factories that make them ran into manufacturing issues, WGME-TV reported. As a result, South Portland is experiencing a critical deficit of the outdoor toilets. Supplier Royal Flush said they’re waiting for another shipment that was supposed to arrive in April, and new customers will have to take a back seat to returning customers until the backlog is resolved, probably in late June.

HAND-TOSSED

On May 23, when the 20-year-old daughter of Vero Beach, Florida, resident Tyler Worden, 41, declined her father’s invitation to eat the pizza he had brought to her home, the elder Worden became angry and “turned around and threw a slice of pizza at her, striking her in the face,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by the Indian River Sheriff’s Office. After Worden refused to leave, his daughter called the police, who noted the pizza toppings strewn across the entryway, the tomato sauce on the left side of the woman’s face and the strong scent of alcohol on Worden’s breath. The pizza hurler was placed under arrest on charges of battery. !

© 2021 Chuck Shepherd. Universal Press Syndicate.

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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June 2-8, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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feature

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City Within a City: The Triad’s Forgotten Black Wall Streets

T

his week the nation stopped and took a moment to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

The tragic event left Chanel Davis at least 300 dead, many more scarred, Editor traumatized and homeless, and a city on fire.

The destruction of the Greenwood District did much more than imagined, imparting generational poverty among many who were forced to create their own to have anything.

The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 took place May 31 and June 1, when mobs of white residents, many of them deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked African-American residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as Black Wall Street.

The attack, carried out on the ground and by private aircraft, destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the district and, at the time, the wealthiest African-American community in the United States. The Oklahoma National Guard imposed martial law around noon on June 1, effectively ending the massacre.

According to a federal Oklahoma commission, about 10,000 African Americans were left homeless, and property damage amounted to more than $1.5 million in

real estate and $750,000 in personal property (equivalent to $32.65 million in 2020). Many survivors left Tulsa, while Black and White residents who stayed in the city kept silent about the terror, violence, and resulting losses for decades.

While people will be speaking about the Tulsa Race massacre this week and in the weeks to come, many of those people may have forgotten that, while not nationally recognized, the Triad held its own when it came to African-American communities birthed out of necessity and self-sufficiency.

Warnersville - Greensboro Named after Philadelphia Quaker transplant Yardley Warner, Warnersville was one of the Triad’s first planned, self-sufficient African-American neighborhoods in the Triad.

Hoping to enhance opportunities for African-Americans freed from slavery, Warner purchased more than 35 acres of land in the name of a Quaker organization in 1867 and subdivided the property into one-acre lots.

Each lot was then sold to families to build equity and financial independence through home homeownership. That endeavor would turn into a community.

That community would grow into a school, the Union Cemetery on South Elm Street, a church, and more than 600 people living in homes and tending to gardens.

It would also become an example for other communities throughout the southern region.

Later on, the J.C. Price School would PHOTO BY GREENSBORO HISTORY MUSEUM

St. Matthews United Methodist Church YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

PHOTO BY CITY OF GREENSBORO

Homes in Warnersville be built, and the former school would become Bennett College for Women.

According to local HUD records, by the 1950s, poor housing and living conditions would draw ire from the city, calling for the revitalizing of the neighborhood.

The subject of Greensboro’s first urban renewal program, plans were drawn up to rid the area of substandard housing and blight. The renewal project was the first of its kind in North Carolina and was funded with federal dollars. The project left the neighborhood with only the historic J.C. Price School and the Union Cemetery intact.

After the redevelopment plan of the 1960s saw all but two community assets — J.C. Price School and Union Cemetery — leveled, it was the Warnersville Recreation Center that served as a gathering place.

James Griffin’s mother, Constance Griffin, served as the assistant director at the Warnersville Recreation Center for 25 years. Her son went on to found the Warnersville Historical and Beautification Society, according to YES! Weekly archives.

In 2008, Greensboro College’s plan to convert the J.C. Price School for athletic facilities drew opposition from the community.

Historical markers and tales of what used to be are all that is left in the physical sense, but the Greensboro History Museum has a permanent Warnersville exhibit to help those relive the past or step back into it.

The exhibit is the first of its kind for the museum, both in its intense focus on one neighborhood and in the use of a variety of multimedia technologies. A wealth of historical photos and artifacts fill the exhibit space, with lines of poetry by Alonzo Stevens displayed across the wall tops.

Museum staff collaborated with Greens-

boro’s GIS and IT departments to create maps and overlays detailing the homes, businesses and churches razed or moved during the redevelopment.

“As the community grew, a Black business district developed on Ashe Street, and neighborhood schools and churches thrived. Redevelopment irreversibly altered the landscape in the 1960s, affecting nearly every Warnersville family and institution, but a deep sense of community pride remains to this day,” said Elise Allison, archivist at the Greensboro History Museum.

Washington Street - High Point High Point’s Washington Street Historic District is one of the city’s most recent National Register Districts, having been established on the register in 2010.

The street still houses most of its early to mid-20th century buildings associated with High Point’s African-American community.

The Washington Street National Register District contains early to mid-twentieth century commercial, institutional, ecclesiastical and residential buildings associated with High Point’s African American community. During the time of racial segregation, High Point’s African American citizens erected dwellings, offices, shops, restaurants, churches, and entertainment venues in the Washington Street area beginning in the late 19th century, many of which prospered well into the 20th century. According to the city’s website, the district comprises about 29 acres stretched linearly along Washington Street from N. Centennial St. eastward to just beyond N. Downing St. Three properties within the district—the Kilby Hotel, First Baptist Church, and William Penn High School—are individually listed in the National Register. Washing-

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PHOTO BY PHYLLIS BRIDGES

Washington Street District ton Street was initially called Jamestown Road and once served as a primary connector between downtown and points east, but most through traffic now utilizes Martin Luther King Dr. The city renamed East Washington Street as part of the Kivett Drive realignment project and a citywide street renaming program in the late 1960s, calling it East Washington Drive. According to nomination documentation, the road name reverted to Washington Street in 2010, and “East” was dropped to avoid confusion with East Washington Street in Greensboro.

The district was boarded by early- to mid-twentieth century residential neighborhoods, including the Moon Lands and Griffin Park subdivisions and the 1942 Daniel Brooks Homes (High Point’s first African American public housing project) to the north, and an unpaved alley east of the Toussaint L’Ouverture Lodge No. 524 to the east.

The district includes the William Penn High School, now incorporated into the 35-acre Penn-Griffin School for the Arts campus, and the former Griffin Elementary School, which currently houses PennGriffin’s middle school students.

The district held Whitten Clinic, Haizlip Funeral Home, Yarborough Law building, the Carl Chavis YMCA/Mary McLeod Bethune YWCA, First Baptist Church, St. Mark Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Ritz Theater.

The Morgan Apartments, Hoover’s Funeral Home, and the Toussaint L’Ouverture Lodge No. 524 are at the district’s east end while quite a few of the commercial buildings and dwellings that once lined Washington Street have been demolished, leaving vacant lots - including the district’s pivotal buildings - the Odd Fellows Hall and the Kilby Hotel.

The district also encompasses nine resiWWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

dential buildings representing the area’s development from the early twentieth century through the 1960s. As proprietors, professionals, employees, and laborers lived within walking distance of Washington Street businesses, offices, and institutions, the residences in the historic district range from owner-occupied homes to rentals for working-class tenants.

The oldest extant single-family dwellings—the Dr. C. J. H. and Sallie Gaylord House (1906) and the Robinson House (1907)—were erected near Washington Street’s west end and exhibit elements of the Queen Anne style. Two foursquares (hip-roofed,two-story residences)—one of which has served as Hoover’s Funeral Home since 1932—display Craftsman Style features such as truncated porch posts on piers. Two front-gable duplexes, a modest front-gabled house, and two two-story brick apartment buildings still provide rental housing in the neighborhood. Similar dwellings once lined Washington Street, but these are the only survivors.

Local historian Phyllis Bridges is one of many fighting to maintain what is left of the city’s history. Like those fighting in Tulsa’s Greenwood District, she feels as if there should be some compensation for the families impacted by decision-makers who forget about the city as a whole.

“We lost a lot of African-American communities across the country because of urban renewal. I think there should be some sort of reparation to Black property/ business owners from that era,” she said.

Happy Hill, Depot Street, and Beyond - Winston Salem For Winston-Salem, its AfricanAmerican communities resulted in the “extraordinary boom period in the city at the close of the nineteenth century and in

the early years of the twentieth century when the textile and tobacco industries began their exceptional growth,” according to the county archives. The history tracks a highly successful society and a large, dedicated working class who took up homeownership there.

Happy Hill is the city’s earliest outlying neighborhood, recorded in Moravian records as “Liberia,” starting in 1872 when streets and lots were laid out on the former Schumann plantation site.

Many residents of Happy Hill worked at Salem College, just across Salem Creek, as maids, cooks, janitors, gardeners, and R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco factories.

According to county documents, recent research by Jon Sensbach and Scott Rohrer disclosed that the black community started its school near the neighborhood in 1867, the first school for blacks in Winston and Salem.

Diaries of the Salem village’s Board of Trustees state that the school was built in 1867 by the African-Americans at Salem. Just like in Warnersville, the school was formed with the help of a Quaker organization, and the land was then given to the Association by the Salem Board of Trustees. It is believed that the one-room school had two to three black and white teachers and 20 to 50 students.

The highly-celebrated educator, Simon Green Atkins, was one of Colombian Heights’ first residents, which soon became the place for African-Americans to live. City directories from the first decades of the twentieth century show

that lawyers, doctors, teachers, ministers, and skilled artisans were neighborhood residents. Today, there remains only a relic of the fine neighborhood that was Columbian Heights. Only 33 buildings on four streets were recorded in the 1993 architectural inventory, dating from the first half of the twentieth century.

The city’s Patterson Avenue and Liberty Street, then Depot Street, was an essential element of African American life in Winston. Initially developed due to its proximity to tobacco factories, the Depot Street area was the business, cultural, and social hub of the black community. In addition to single-family and multifamily housing, Depot Street was home to black real estate offices, doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, drugstores, printing presses, barbershops, beauty shops, funeral homes, movie theaters, and cafes, according to county archives.

Depot Street was also a strong educational and religious center in the late nineteenth century. St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal was the first church built in Winston, built-in 1882, and Lloyd Presbyterian Church on Chestnut Street was founded in the 1870s or 1880s. The Depot Street School was completed and opened for classes in December of 1887 and was the first public school for African-Americans in Winston. !

CHANEL DAVIS is the current editor of YES! Weekly and graduated from N.C. A&T S.U. in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s worked at daily and weekly newspapers in the Triad region.

JUNE 2-8, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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Get on the lawn at the Dunleath Porchfest Residents of the Dunleath Historic District invite folks to their lawns for the fifth annual “Dunleath Porchfest” on June 12, 2021.

With a goal of “spreading only music and goodwill,” the Katei Cranford Dunleath Porchfest continues expanding horizons of music and Contributor culture from a few dozen front porches; and will feature more than 40 performers scattered amongst the historic neighborhood nestled between the uptown, downtown, and Fisher Park areas in Greensboro.

Quite literally homespun from the start, the performer-list and host-sites has nearly doubled since the first porchfest in 2017, when according to organizers, “22 neighbors offered their porches, and 24 musicians and dancers volunteered to perform.” The grassroots endeavor—with an audience on the lawn—began as a means of fellowship for neighbors with the community-at-large, to highlight architecture and talent, celebrate a new name for the neighborhood, and start Dunleath with song.

Teresa Spangler (from the Headless Chickens) considers Dunleath “the perfect neighborhood” for a porchfest. “The shade trees, the wonderful porches, and the proximity to local breweries downtown gave our group a place to enjoy even after the festival,” she said. Beyond brews, Spangler praised the way music drives the community, “it’s such a togetherness creator,” she said.

Dunleath resident, and porchfest performer, C. H. Holcombe agreed. “Dunleath is the kindest neighborhood I’ve ever lived in,” she said. “People open their yards to the public to enjoy free music of all kinds, performed by all ages. Folks garden together, assemble for book clubs and offer helping hands to neighbors. I feel lucky to live here.”

According to Holcombe, her group, the Peace and Love Ukestra, “chooses a set-list based on helping people connect and feel unity,” she noted, “if only every neighborhood in Greensboro had outdoor music, it’d be a better world!”

Jeff, a member of the ukestra who hails from Peacehaven Farm (a sustainable farm and affordable-living community for adults with special needs), already thinks music makes a better world. “I have developmental disabilities, but music and being with an amazing group of people calms us all down,” he said. Fellow ukestra member YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 2-8, 2021

Gina Turcketta (who works with Jeff at Peacehaven) considers music “a universal language and a necessity that puts everyone on the same playing field. It helps us to understand that we are one.”

And Holcombe isn’t the only resident performing at Porchfest. Doodad Farm owner, Dean Driver, has long-called Dunleath home; and is proud to have performed every porchfest.

Meanwhile, folks newer to the neighborhood, like Holly Nuttall, are excited for their first time hosting. The Nuttalls moved into their 1916 Craftsman Foursquare two years ago; and have been looking forward to the experience—using it as an incentive to refinish the porch and enjoy their neighbors.

Extending beyond housework, Hosts have worked hard to transmit a neighborly vibe. “It helps to have a whole neighborhood supporting local musicians,” said guitarist Tony Low. “You take a beautiful historic district like Dunleath, then add all this live, local music, and you can’t help but have something very special. Not every community has this type of event.” And inspirational singer Michelle “Noir” Payne finds comfort in the homespun format.

“It’ll be like I’m on my front porch serenading neighbors,” she said, noting the ways a community with music brings people together.

Concepts of music and togetherness are woven amongst porchfest performers, which bluesman Mark “BuddyRo” Harrison considers some of “the binding threads in the fabric of this great community.” Folkster, Bryan Toney, agreed. “Music is critical to building community,” Toney said, “and Greensboro has talented musicians in almost every genre, with a music community that’s open and supportive of emerging artists.”

Toney, who hosts Sunday open-mics at Oden Brewing, sees something special in the Porchfest setup. “Dunleath is full of older homes designed around communities, with big front porches and sidewalks, so events like this are part of what those neighborhoods are all about. Listeners are treated to a smorgasbord of different styles of music, and artists build their audience. It’d be great to see other porchfests in similar older, walkable neighborhoods like Sunset Hills, Lindley Park, or Westerwood.”

Hunter McBride relishes non-traditional operations like Porchfest. “They open up great outlets to meet new people and get your art out there much further than just playing on the same old stages would,” he said. As does Jeff “Bigdumbhick” Wall.

“Dunleath Porchfest is a special event,” Wall said. “Everyone I’ve met in that neighborhood is a fan and supporter of

live music—I can’t tell you how welcoming, inspiring and affirming that can be.”

Wall, who considers himself less of a singer-songwriter and more “like a big, old, fat, hairy, grumpy, drunk uncle with a guitar,” reflected on his surprising first experience at Porchfest in 2019. “I’m used to playing songs for the over-50, ‘everything hurts, you kids stay the hell off of my lawn’ crowd. But I was amazed to look up during my set and see a yard full of people—including a toddler standing in front of me who was totally absorbed in the music.”

Committing itself to being a truly community-oriented all-ages environment, organizers developed the Porchfest “Kids Track” with young artists in mind—an endeavor for which Patrick Lilja is “truly grateful.” Lilja is the father of Finn Phoenix and the Blue Dragon (a duo featuring the 10-year old Finn and his 9-year old sister, Shay.)

“2019 was Finn’s first public appearance, and he was so proud that, at 8, his name was on the back of a t-shirt!” Lilja said. For 2021, Finn is excited to show his improvement over the past two years. And Shay hopes to see future stars. “You can see musicians you never knew,” she said, “and later, if they get famous, you can say you saw them!

Sabrina Patel, an 8-year old fiddler, is also making her second porchfest appearance. A part of the Walker Street Fiddlers in 2019, this time around, Patel will share a set with her instructor, Doug Baker. “We’re so thankful for this event,” said Sabrina’s mother, Danielle Patel. “She loves sharing her music with others, and this will be her first live performance since March of 2020.”

Patel’s excitement for the return of live shows echoed amongst the billmates.

“Nothing brings people together like music,” Baker said, “but it was too often taken for granted. Thankfully the music finds a way to be heard.” Americana artist James Anderson agreed. “After all that we’ve collectively endured for the past fifteen months, it’ll feel that much better to be together for fun and music.”

Anderson praised the Porchfest “community vibe,” similarly expressed by Kendra Harding from the folk-ish duo, Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs. “There’s something about neighbors all working together,” Harding said. “Everyone is invested and enthusiastic—it’s pretty special, and it’s one of those things that truly does tie communities together while continuing the long tradition of front porch picking and keeping that around for future generations.”

Glenn Jones and Laura Jane Vincent are also proud to have played each year

thus far. “I’ve not seen or participated in anything just like this, where it’s a neighborhood association, from the grassroots,” Jones noted. “Porchfest is neighbors being neighbors, with music in the air everywhere, folks mixing and chatting, kids running around, just a fantastic thing.”

For Vincent, “nothing makes me happier than making awesome events happen in random locations,” she said. “It’s easy to see that neighborhoods like Dunleath work hard to highlight their own creative community and take extra efforts to bring artists from across the region to hold this yearly event, just for the joy of it, and I think something like that can only further encourage more interesting events in unexpected places.”

Vincent further stressed the value of variety, for both artists and audiences. “It’s important that entertainment be accessible to everyone in the community,” she explained, “that directly impacts the art scene by inspiring people to step out of comfort zones that could otherwise stifle creative growth. DIY spaces can only enhance an artistic community for the better, and they allow a more direct connection between creators and the community.”

With that, the line-up featuring 40-plus artists spans several genres, including blues from Michael “Blind-Dog” Gatewood; country artists High Cotton, Denise Ball, and Maggie Monroe; with jazz from the Hot Club of Raleigh, and Latin styles ring from Mistura and Blue Ginger.

On the pop end are Scott Boudlin, Brandon Tenney, Half-Baked Betty, and Coldiron Ray, with an “all-Beatles” set from Joel Landau. Songstresses Courtney Lynn, Sydney Rose, and Emily Stewart are scheduled, and Dellwoods, Colin Cutler, Mason Jar Confessions, the Blokes. Zinc Kings, Porch Gobblers, and the Walker Brothers will run the old-time board.

Interactive and printable online maps help wrangle sets, which stagger throughout the afternoon, before the grande finale with Grand Ole Uproar at 4 p.m. in Sternberger Park.

Food trucks from Ghassan’s, Moe’s Dogs, and Big Boyz Catering will be situated around the neighborhood, as will food donation bins, from the Good Human Foundation, for the Triad Health Project food pantry.

Get on the lawn, with good will and good tunes, from noon to 5 p.m., at the fifth annual “Dunleath Porchfest” on June 12. !

KATEI CRANFORD Is a Triad music nerd who hosts the Thursday Tour Report, a radio show that runs like a mixtape of bands touring NC the following week, 5:30-7p.m. on WUAG 103.1FM.

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Guilford For All wants unused jail funds spent on school employees

Ian McDowell

Contributor

“When the biggest employer in the area is paying poverty wages, it hurts all of us and our economy,” said Casey Thomas at a Wednesday rally held by Guilford for All in front of the Guilford County Detention Center on Edgeworth Street in downtown Greensboro.

That employer is Guilford County

Schools.

Thomas and four other speakers, addressing more than 50 supporters in the 90-degree weather, argued that one way to pay school employees “a living wage” was to divert money currently not being used by the jail they were standing in front of.

“We believe that all people deserve at least fifteen an hour,” said Thomas.

“Nobody should be working two or three jobs just to get by. There’s an additional amount of money in the sheriff ’s budget, and it’s really just going to pay vacant positions. [The jail is] is funded for 950 people but holds about 664 on any given day. So, we have these vacant positions that are here, and I cannot understand why it would be difficult to move money from vacant positions to pay real live people who are working real jobs.”

An online petition titled County Commission: Invest in Educators, Not Incarceration is being distributed by Guilford for All and the Guilford County Association of Educators.

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Its opening paragraph states: “For too long, Guilford County has overinvested in incarceration and underinvested in education. Teacher assistants, cafeteria workers, and custodians are leaving the profession to work elsewhere.

An estimated 80% of our 5,000 custodians, cafeteria workers, teacher assistants, bus drivers, and other support staff don’t make $15/hr. Sixty-eight percent are Black.

We can do better than that.”

Citing “41 vacant positions at the Guilford County Detention Center, which was built to house way more inmates than it does,” the form letter to the County Commissioners states that, while Guilford County has consistently budgeted for a daily average of 950 detainees, but only held a daily average of 660 in the 2019 Fiscal Year. “Many of those positions will only be filled if we incarcerate far more county residents. Last year, our county prioritized $295,000 on an armored vehicle with seized funds that could have been used for additional investments in education. Eliminating 20 of the 41 vacant positions would free up $1.2 million that could be reallocated to our frontline educators.”

The form letter concludes by calling on the Board “to reallocate funding for half of the vacant jail positions to raises for teacher assistants, custodians, cafeteria workers, teachers, and bus drivers. Our students deserve educators who only need one job to survive.”

The petition, which had gathered over 1,000 signatures as of Monday, was started after County Manager Michael Halford declined to support Superintendent Sharon Contreras’ full supplemental funding request in his recommended budget. The $13 million he recommended for

Guilford County Schools was only a third of what the Board of Education asked for in the budget approved in early May. Another speaker at Wednesday’s rally, Cecile Crawford, asked those attending or watching the livestream to “make the county commissioners know that you prize education over incarceration and you want unused detention money to be used better.” She then spoke of the people she called “the backbone of our schools.”

“These are the bus drivers that transport our children safely to and from school. These are the cafeteria works that nourish our children with food and smiles, and care. These are the teachers’ assistants in oversized classrooms that help our teachers’ function and educate our children. These are the people who keep our schools clean – in the middle of a pandemic, we should understand just how important that is,” Crawford said. “Each and every one of these positions should be treated with dignity. The people who serve our children food shouldn’t have to worry about if they’ll be able to put food on their own tables. People who clean our schools before the lights go out shouldn’t have to go home and wonder if their own lights will be on when they get there.”

The most personal speech was from Tyler Walker, who described himself as someone “who grew up very poor and very small,” with “shoes that liked to talk back to you from the soles.” Because of this, said Walker, his school bus “wasn’t always the most hospitable place for a young person in my circumstances.” But then what he described as “something magical” happened.

“I walked on the bus, and my bus driver, Miss Kiesha, stood up behind me, and

she looked into each one of those kids’ eyes, and said ‘the next one of you that messes with him is gonna have to answer to me.’ Now, she put the fear of God into those kids because they never did it again.

And something just magical happened to me. I was no longer dreading going to school. I was looking forward to it. I was no longer bullied. I had friends. It was an incredible, essential important thing for me that my bus driver did. Who among us does not have a story exactly like that?

Who among us does not have a Miss Kiesha? As 2020 has taught us, over and over again, these people, these incredible unsung heroes, are essential, and they deserve everything we can do for them.”

Walker also said, “we’re not here to attack the County Commissioners; we are here today to let them know that if they are willing to stand for the Miss Kiesha’s of our community, we are willing to stand with them, we are willing to fight with them, to do everything that we can to provide for the unsung heroes of our community who have always provided for us.

Because fifteen dollars an hour, that’s the bare minimum, and if we can’t do that, what are we doing?”

The rally concluded with Casey Thomas urging supporters to sign up to speak in person at the next County Commissioners Meeting, which will be held Thursday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Old County Courthouse at 301 W. Washington Street in downtown Greensboro. !

IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

JUNE 2-8, 2021 YES! WEEKLY

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HEAR IT!

Stomp the Stigma

M

ental Health Greensboro invites folks to a honky-tonkin’ tailgater as they present Stomp The Stigma 2021, a drivein concert and raffle fundraiser, with Russ Katei Cranford Varnell & His Too Country Band and Michael Cosner & the Contributor Fugitives on June 12, 2021, in the Greensboro Coliseum parking lot.

“If we could stomp out stigma, more people would feel comfortable in talking about their mental health and would be more open to seek treatment,” said organizer, Suzanne Stafford, Director of Communications for MHG, noting, “depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental illnesses are prevalent in our society. “Even if you haven’t experienced mental illness, you likely know someone that has.”

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JUNE 2-8, 2021

Starting in 1940 as the Mental Health Association of Greensboro, MHG has been “advancing mental wellness” in the Triad for more than 81 years. “The goal of our Stomp The Stigma campaign is to educate the public that people experiencing mental illness deserve understanding and compassion—not judgment and inequity,” Stafford said. “It’s central to advocating for people experiencing mental health challenges.”

Tickets start at $12 for general admission single seats by the stage. Tailgating tickets start at $50 per car of four adults (with kids under 16 free) and include two parking spaces for dancing and picnicking, with a BYOB situation in the crowd. And classic country on the stage.

“The heart and soul of classic country music is where it’s at,” said Stafford, who’s also a Greensboro musician and talentbooker for Earl’s in Winston-Salem.

A more progressive genre than it gets credited, classic country hits were some of the first to explore topics related to addiction and personal struggles—in ways

that remained taboo in popular music for decades.

“Classic country music transcends generations and cultures,” Stafford said. The lineup features artists that have shared the stage with country music legends Buck Owens, Tim McGraw, Vince Gill, Ralph Stanley, and Charlie Louvin. Grand Ole Opry stars Jack Greene and Bill Anderson, Joe Diffie, American Aquarium, Dale Watson, and even Greensboro’s own “Mr. Country Rock,” Billy “Crash” Craddock.

For Stafford, a music event makes a natural match. “As a musician, I definitely draw upon my mental and emotional roller coaster to create music,” she explained. “I can be going through mental turmoil, sit down with those thoughts, a pen, paper, and my guitar, write a new song, and feel the burden of depression or anger ease from my shoulders. In turn, sharing those songs and having people be able to relate to the words is uplifting.”

She hopes attendees will likewise be uplifted and aid the mission of MHG. “We had over three thousand people join our concert online last year, and we raised over $36,000 to benefit our free community services,” she noted of their first “Stomp the Stigma” concert, which shifted online due to the pandemic.

Praising the work of producer Benjy Johnson and videographer Thaddeus Lamb for their assistance with the 2020 event, Stafford also acknowledged the work of Rick Schneider (head of MHG’s Development Committee) and the community sponsors who’ve helped bring the “Stomp the Stigma” show to life, while furthering the mission of MHG. “One out of four people experience mental illness in their lifetime,” Stafford explained of the need for their services.

“And the effects of current stigmas are substantial. People may be reluctant to seek treatment. It can affect one’s ability to find work, housing and impinge upon one’s social life. Health insurance often doesn’t adequately cover mental illness treatment, which adds another obstacle to seeking wellness.”

That’s where Mental Health Greensboro steps in. “People experiencing mental health challenges often don’t have the

means to afford traditional therapy,” she explained. “We’re able to provide support to them, as well as supplemental education to people that are utilizing therapy.”

MHG offers a number of free peer support programs, including support groups and one-on-one peer support sessions, weekly “Wellness and Recovery Skills” classes, a “Teens Gotta Talk” online service with local schools, and the “Mental Health Greensboro’s Compeer Connections” program, which promotes recovery through art and activities.

They also provide peer support groups at the Cone Health Behavioral Health hospital and will be involved in providing services at the new Cone Health Innovative Behavioral Health Crisis Center.

Beyond peer support, MHG works with providers through monthly workshops and an internship program for newly certified NC Peer Support Specialists. While also offering low-cost public workshops for QPR Suicide Prevention (Question, Persuade, Refer) and MHFA (Mental Health First Aid.) In an effort to cover costs, MHG is also hosting an online fundraiser raffle of paintings from artists Ashley Vanore, Thea DeLoreto, and Thania Orellana, which range in value between $200 and $1,200; and can be shipped to winners across the country.

Beyond donations, Stafford listed other ways people can help with stomping out stigma. “Educate yourself about mental health issues and talk about what you learn with others,” she said. “Watch out for your friends dealing with mental health issues. And share your own story with mental health struggles to relate.”

Stafford also recommends avoiding disparaging language and being specific when referencing the particular issues people are experiencing. But above all, “show compassion to everyone,” she said.

“You never know where someone has been on their journey through life.”

As for the journey of MHG, “we’re always excited to expand upon our reach, impact, and education to the public.” !

KATEI CRANFORD Is a Triad music nerd who hosts the Thursday Tour Report, a radio show that runs like a mixtape of bands touring NC the following week, 5:30-7 p.m. on WUAG 103.1FM.

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last call

[THE ADVICE GODDESS] love • sex • dating • marriage • questions

JERK DU SOLEIL

I’m a guy in my senior year of college.

I cannot figure out how my roommate gets all the women he does. He’s a huge jerk to everyone, including women — the typical “bad Amy Alkon boy.” He breaks any rule or law he can, Advice doesn’t care who he hurts, and makes Goddess very little effort with women, yet all my female friends go for him. A good friend (sleeping over, as it got really late) even left my bed in the middle of the night to get into his! Why?!! —Nice Guy Women — especially in their 20s — will blather on about how they want a nice, reliable guy. Then they find one and immediately despise him for how nice and reliable he is: like how he always calls when he says he will — usually to the minute! — and there’s never that recorded voice on the line first, “Will you accept a collect call from prison?”

Reading between the lines of your email, you seem to have the same question cognitive scientist Scott Barry Kaufman asked: Basically, do you have to be a jerk to get the girl? To answer that, Kaufman explored bad boys’ appeal.

He observes that bad boys tend to have big helpings of “dark triad” personality traits. Dark triad sounds like the name for three ne’er-do-well superheroes, but it’s actually the term for three malevolent

personality traits with some ugly similarities: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism.

Machiavellianism, named for 16th-century Italian political adviser (aka tyrant whisperer) Niccolo Machiavelli, plays out in ruthless scheming, callousness, and self-interest. Psychopathy shows itself in callous detachment, poor impulse control, and a lack of empathy and remorse.

Narcissism is reflected in egotism, an extra-large sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and “grandiosity”: an inflated sense of one’s greatness in contrast with all the rest of the human worms.

This is quite the personality poison pack, yet — in research mirroring your experience — evolutionary psychologist Peter K. Jonason found that dark triad traits were correlated with having more sex partners (as well as more of a desire for hookups).

Obviously, the dark triad traits themselves — essentially heartless, exploitative user-ishness — make exactly no one in their right mind go, “Wow, where do I sign up for somebody with all that?!”

However, Kaufman observes that dark triad “bad boys tend to have lots of positive traits that come along for the ride (with) the badness,” such as confidence, assertiveness, and fearlessness, along with creativity, humor, charisma, and high energy — “all things women find attractive.”

I think two types of women are particularly drawn to bad boys: hookuperellas — women who just want casual sex — and “sensation-seeking” excitement junkies.

Sensation seeking is a personality trait that psychologist Marvin Zuckerman finds

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your way” into the new confident you: basically, borrow a confident, easygoing, fun guy’s persona — meaning, secretly “be” him (like an actor playing a role) when, say, talking to a new woman in a coffee shop. Do this repeatedly, and you should see that women treat you very differently.

There are sure to be some hiccups, but you should eventually feel ready to do this confident, easygoing thing as you: a nice guy who’s trained himself into having the good parts of bad-boy mojo. By the way, you should have an easier time with the ladies as you approach your 30s because many women will have been jerk-burned at least once and learned their lesson.

They want a guy who can hold their attention for hours with his wit and good nature — as opposed to the dude who seems destined to hold off the cops for hours by shouting demands from inside the 7-Eleven. !

GOT A PROBLEM? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@ aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com). Follow her on Twitter @amyalkon. Order her latest “science-help” book, Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence. ©2021 Amy Alkon. Distributed by Creators.Com.

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answers [CROSSWORD]

plays out in a craving for novel, varied, intense sensations and experiences and a willingness to take risks to get them.

There’s a clue in all of this for the dismayed nice guy who can’t understand why women seem to fall out of the trees into bed with the jerk. Even women who aren’t danger-and-excitement junkies are drawn to men who are a consistent source of “novel” experiences: that is, who never stop surprising them (though playfully rather than evilly!).

Also, consider that what drives away women isn’t so much being a nice guy but an overly nice guy: a guy who comes off needy, tentative, and desperate to be wanted. Now, maybe you feel needy, tentative, and desperate — at least to some degree. (Who doesn’t?!) The thing is there’s no mandate for you to act the way you feel. That said, I explain in “Unf—-ology” that “fake it till you make it” is actually a bust, because you typically succumb to “cognitive overload”: you have so many things to remember (to come off confident, surprising, fun, etc.) that you end up getting overwhelmed and falling apart.

I instead advise that you “impersonate

[WEEKLY SUDOKU] sudoku on page 9

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