TCB Sept. 2, 2021 — Steeped in History

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

Steeped in History Candace Holder spills the tea on the world’s oldest drink

BY SAYAKA MATSUOKA | PAGE 12

madison cawthorn is the worst PAGE 10

vaccines and venues PAGE 13

is cure violence working in gso?

PAGE 6

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

flatisback.com SEPT. 2-8, 2021

In the yard, changing my ways

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, September 10th

Saturday, September 18th

Abigail Dowd

Saturday, October 2nd

Sam Fribush Organ Trio with Charlie Hunter

Saturday, September 11th

The Southern Gothic

Saturday, November 6th

ever trust a man who doesn’t cut his own

Perhaps the more experienced yardsmiths are now asking themselves: Why didn’t he use the mulch bag?

Because I never use the mulch bag. lawn.”

Never! Because I learned everything I That’s someknow about tending a lawn the summer thing I used to say I worked for the parks division of the often, but I’m tryGarden City Municipal Services Yard: how

by Brian Clarey ing to de-gender to service a mower, how to make an edge my language, so now I say “Never trust with a weed-whacker, how to turn a crate anyone who doesn’t cut their own lawn,” full of nickel-deposit cans into a full case using the singular “they” which we all agree of beer. And we never used the mulch is now grammatically acceptable. bag. And so, for 20 years, I never used the Longtime readers likely mulch bag. Why would I? know that I cut my own lawn, Until this weekend. Now my After 20 years, still, even though I am technilawn looks like a freakin’ golf I feel like I’m cally “not young” and might course. And I feel, as I have so starting to get even be a little bit “at risk” on many times before, like a fool. the hang of it. hotter days. I take it a little We had our reasons, that slower than I used to, which long ago summer, to do is why this summer the grass things the way we did. But has been lengthening more than usual. So those solutions never really applied to my when I cut it — inevitably on dewy, dewy short quarter-acre, which I cut with a push mornings — the mulched grass has been mower. The best solution to my problem, clogging up the chute and gathering in in fact, had been sitting on a shelf in my large clumps along the cut rows. It looks garage gathering dust and straight-up kinda like shit. Then I spend another hour spiderwebs. I looked at it all the time; I just or so raking up the clippings that land thought I knew better. But now I see. everywhere: the driveway, the walkway, the And so, after 20 years of cutting this flower beds, the patio, like when someone lawn, I feel like I’m really starting to get the throws a handful of glitter in your car. hang of it.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We go where most police officers can’t because they don’t trust the police.

— Ingram Bell, pg. 6

Sacred Steel (w/DaShawn Hickman)

Assertion feat. William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate/Foo Fighters) w. BAL, Janet Flights

TUESDAYs Charlie Hunter & Friends

WedneSDAYs DJ PREZ - In the Beat of the Night

THURSDAYs Maia Kamil

Live Broadcast 103.1 WUAG

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BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

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WEEKLY EVENTS MONDAYs Open Mic with J Timber

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.256.9320

221 Summit Ave. Greensboro, NC Across from The Greensboro historical museum

STAFF WRITER

Nicole Zelniker nicole@triad-city-beat.com

CHIEF CONTRIBUTOR

Michaela Ratliff michaela@triad-city-beat.com

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EDITORIAL ADVISOR

OF COUNSEL

Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

ART ART DIRECTOR

Jonathan Jones

Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

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TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2021 Beat Media Inc.

SALES SALES EXECUTIVE

Drew Dix drew@triad-city-beat.com

KEY ACCOUNTS

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, James Douglas, Matt Jones, Jordan Howse, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones

COVER Cover shot of Candace Holder by LaTrayl Nichole, Perfect Snap Photography

SEPT. 2-8, 2021

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UP FRONT | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

PARTICIPATE IN OUR RESEARCH with Dr. Blair Wisco at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

WE’RE EXAMINING: emotional and physical reactions to memories of stressful or traumatic experiences.

YOU MUST BE: •Age 18 or older •Able to read and write in English THE BASICS: •5 visits to our lab within 2 weeks •$150 total compensation

WHAT YOU’LL DO: •Interviews and questionnaires (3 hour visit) •Monitor your bodily reactions while you think of past experiences (2 hour visit)

CITY LIFE SEPT. 2-7

by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Sept. 2

Let the Record Show @ Central Library (W-S) 10 a.m.

FRIDAY Sept. 3

Dada First Friday Gallery Hop @ Downtown Arts District (W-S) 7 p.m.

•Wear a cardiac monitor and answer questions on a tablet computer on 3 days (30 min set-up per day)

WANT TO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE?

CONTACT US TO GET STARTED! You will be asked to complete screening questions online and over the phone.

Email or call us to get more information and be directed to the online survey.

As part of the annual Bookmarks Festival, the DADA First Friday Gallery Hop is honoring literary artists and business members. “Grimm,” the featured exhibition by digital artist Allison Hutchins includes works inspired by the Grimm Brothers. For maps, parking information and more, visit dadagalleryhop.com.

Or, scan the QR code to take you straight there.

Dr. Blair Wisco - UNCG

copelab@uncg.edu

Artists from DENT, a Winston-Salem based nonprofit creative reuse center and art laboratory have created 28 pieces made from old vinyl records and album covers for this musical art exhibit. Catch it on display in the Central Library’s second floor gallery until Sept. 30.

One Week at Woolworths @ UNCG School of Theatre (GSO) 7 p.m.

Vegan Chalking Night @ LoFi Park (GSO) 6 p.m.

Piedmont Area Vegan Educators is hosting a chalk art event encouraging participants to send messages in support of non-human living beings.

Chalk will be provided! Check out the event page on Facebook for more information.

SATURDAY Sept. 4

Paddleboard yoga @ City Lake Park (HP) 8:30 a.m.

Zenful U yoga studio invites you to a morning of paddleboard yoga, the beauty of the surrounding water enhancing exercises focused on strength, flexibility and balance. Register at City Lake Park or by calling 336.883.3498. Find more info and future event dates on the event page on Facebook.

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UNCG School of Theatre presents One Week at Woolworths, a musical short film about the February 1, 1960 sit-ins at Woolworth’s, available for on-demand streaming until Sept. 4. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit vpa.uncg.edu/theatre.

John Coltrane International Jazz & Blues Festival (HP) 3 p.m.

This two-day music festival honors the life of jazz saxophonist and High Point native John Coltrane through musical performances by Kenny Lattimore, Coltrane All Star Band and more. To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit coltranejazzfest.com.

Coronavirus in the Triad: (As of Wednesday, Sept. 1)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | UP FRONT

THRASH! Skate Art Installation @ Brewer’s Kettle (HP) 7 p.m.

NC 1,220,902 (+48,331) Forsyth 43,296 (+1,572) Guilford County

55,287 (1,870)

COVID-19 deaths

Head to the Brewer’s Kettle for THRASH!, an exhibition featuring skate art, original decks and photography by Triad artists NOS77, Jag One and more. Stick around for a reception event and meet the artists. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.

SUNDAY Sept. 5

Fall Market @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S) 12 p.m.

NC

14,529 (+317)

Forsyth

460 (+17)

Guilford

742 (+6)

Documented recoveries NC

1,112,923 (+33,368)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

51,111 (+1,339)

Current cases NC

93,450 (+14,646)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

3,433 (+525)

Hospitalizations (right now)

Angelo’s Artisan Market has partnered with Wise Man Brewing to bring you a market featuring handmade items, vintage goods and more. Don’t forget your mask! They’re required for this market.

Patiently Rooted and the Blooming Board @ Radar Brewing Company (W-S) 3 p.m.

Browse Patiently Rooted’s vast collection of plants available for purchase or charcuterie boards from the Blooming Board. Take a seat in Radar’s beer garden while dining with Cousins Maine Lobster. See the event page on Facebook for more information.

TUESDAY Sept. 7

Patio Event @ Havana Phil’s (GSO) 4 p.m.

Head to the Montecristo Patio at Havana Phil’s for cigars, cocktails and live music by Maia Kamil. Lobster Dogs food truck will be there to provide dinner. There is a business casual dress code.

NC

3,757 (+254)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

150 (-19)

Vaccinations NC First Dose Fully vaccinated

5,315,206 (+136,786) 5,226,936 (54%, +113,232)

Forsyth First Dose

211,490 (+5,755)

Fully vaccinated

193,451 (51%, +4,166)

Guilford First dose

302,547 (+5,637)

Fully vaccinated

280,504 (52%, +5,254)

5

NEWS | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

NEWS

Cure Violence in Greensboro looks at the ‘entire individual’ to prevent gun violence rather than using policing

by Sayaka Matsuoka

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his past Tuesday marked the 10-year anniversary since Ingram Bell was shot in the head. At the time, she was with her boyfriend in a car when a man pulled up next to them and shot her point blank. Her boyfriend had been in a fight with the person who shot her a few weeks before and Bell was shot in retaliation. That’s where Bell’s journey to fight gun violence began.

“I thought, this is the time that we need to band together and fight against violence instead of being angry,” she said.

Bell currently works as the program manager for Gate City Coalition, the Greensboro branch of the national organization, Cure Violence which works to end gun violence through preventative measures.

And as gun violence continues to surge across the country, with numbers on track to surpass incidents in 2020, Gate City Coalition is seeing measurable changes brought upon by their unique prevention approach.

According to an analysis of data by CBS News, homicides in 24 major cities increased by 24 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2020. In Winston-Salem, there have been 17 gun homicides so far this year. In 2020, the city had a total of 24, according to data from the police department. In Greensboro, data provided by the police department shows that the city’s numbers are trending significantly downwards. During the period of January to July, the city saw 54 firearm homicides for 2020. This year, the number is less than half at just 22.

One such explanation could be the city’s effort to take more guns off of the street, according to Ron Glenn, the police department’s public information officer.

Earlier this year, Police Chief Brian James suggested increasing officer pay to recruit more police to curb violent crime.

Activists pushed back on that notion and urged more funding for community initiatives like Cure Violence.

‘We go where most police officers can’t’

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C

ure Violence was first brought to Greensboro in 2019 when city council unanimously voted to

allocate $500,000 to the program. The initiative is administered by One Step Further, a nonprofit owned and operated

by Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson. In the past, city council member Michelle Kennedy has also praised the program, noting that “the outcomes are proving that it works.”

The initiative, which has grown to dozens of cities across the country and the world, looks at violence as an epidemic, much like a contagious disease.

Rather than relying on policing to tackle the problem, Cure Violence takes a multiprong preventative approach by looking at the root causes of violence.

One of the most well-known aspects of the program is the use of mediators or messengers who are deployed to victims’ families to talk them out of retaliating to eliminate the possibility of more violence.

Currently the Gate City Coalition operates in two target areas in the city: the Smith Homes neighborhood, tucked between Freeman Mill Road and Randleman Road in the southern part of Greensboro, and along the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive corridor from Bennett to Douglas Street. Since the program’s implementation almost two years ago, the area has seen virtually no homicides. Last year, when gun violence began to spike across the country, none of the murders through July had taken place in the areas where Cure Violence is active. This year, according to Bell, only two homicides have occurred in their territory. And that’s because of the exhaustive work that she and her team engage in.

Written on a whiteboard in their office is a weekly schedule of the employees’ duties for the week. On Mondays, the staff at Gate City Coalition set a weekly agenda and conduct meetings. On Tuesdays they hit the streets and pass out flyers about their program and on Wednesdays, they accompany their participants to court. On Thursdays, they go to the hospital to mediate conflicts and on Fridays they do whatever work is left for the week. And that’s if everything goes to plan.

This past Tuesday, Bell and Starmecca Parham, the lead outreach worker for the organization, tidied up their office which is tucked away in a neglected strip

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

Program manager Ingram Bell says the key to curing violence is working to find solutions to systemic issues like poverty, homelessness and unemployment.

mall off of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Greensboro. Parham cleared off the large conference table in the back room and swept the floor, collecting a small plastic child’s toy with dirt and dustbunnies as she worked. In the background, Bell lit a bundle of sage and placed it gently in a bowl on her desk.

“I sage daily,” Bell explained. “It clears the room and brings in the peace before we talk about homicides.”

The goal of Cure Violence is in the name — to cure violence, a lofty target that’s easier said than done. Most people familiar with the program think of it as a crime-prevention method that seeks to mediate between parties of conflict. And while that constitutes a portion of the work, Bell says that’s really just a fraction of what they do.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bell and Parham met with a local organizer, Omari West, about planning an event to feed homeless individuals in their target area in September. Earlier in the afternoon, they accompanied a 21-year-old man to court for his bond hearing. He had been arrested earlier this year while attempting to mediate a conflict. On Wednes-

day, they’ll be speaking at the corner of South Street and Randleman Road to raise awareness about a shooting that took place over the weekend in which a young man was shot and killed in his car while he was at a stop sign. The goal is to show the community that they’re there to grieve with everyone and to show that violence shouldn’t beget more violence.

“It’s not an easy job because when dealing with the family members; it’s really touchy,” Bell said. “We have to be able to be trusted by our community because we have to have uncomfortable conversations. We go where most police officers can’t because they don’t trust the police.”

Bell says Cure Violence is so effective, in part, because she and others in the program are well-connected to the community they serve. She points to the fact that her mother, whose portrait hangs on a wall in the office, was a foster mother to dozens of children in the city.

“I’m a sibling to 100 people,” Bell said. “That’s why I’m effective: because I’m able to reach people that a lot can’t.

That’s how my team is; we reach people

I

‘We work on the entire individual’

n addition to acting to prevent violence through mediation, Bell and her team work to get at the root causes of violence like poverty, homelessness, unemployment and other systemic issues.

The work is exhausting and neverending but that’s what makes it different from a top-down punitive approach like policing, Bell says.

“We work to make people a more viable citizen in the city so they don’t commit crimes,” Bell said. “So they can focus on their lives like their jobs and their families. If they have something to focus on they’ll do that…. We work on the entire individual rather than working on just bits and pieces and just violence.

If we do that, then violence takes a back seat.”

Currently the program targets individuals ages 16-24 with 32 participants.

They work to help find stable jobs and housing for their participants, in addition to prevention work. But a lack of funding and being restricted to just two target areas means that they can’t necessarily have the impact they want to have, Bell says.

“We’re hoping for more funding for next year,” she said. “And we’re hoping to extend the target areas and get another target area in the city.”

In addition to the $500,000 they got for 2020, the program got another $500,000 last year to operate in 2021.

Bell says it’s not enough. She looks to cities like Durham, where Cure Violence has been successful and has had the sup-

port of both the city council and county commissioners. Earlier this year, Durham city council agreed to spend close to $1,000,000 to hire more staff for Bull City United, the city’s branch of Cure Violence, according to the News and Observer. And that’s the kind of support they need in Greensboro, Bell says. Rather than pour more money law enforcement, Bell says she could use that money for restorative programs like GED classes to help lift people out of situations that would lead them to be violent.

“Police are here to stop crime; they come after it’s over, that’s their job,” Bell says. “Their job is to arrest criminals.

Our side is more restorative, trying to build the human up…. I understand we need the police for certain things, but overpolicing in our Brown and Black communities, that’s not it.”

Greensboro activist Casey Thomas also noted in an interview from April that she believes more funding should go to programs like Cure Violence, rather than to police departments.

“I would encourage the city to really look at the Cure Violence program,” said Thomas. “You do need to target your response. It can’t just be that we change these [police] policies broadly over the next 15 or 20 years, but the genius with that program is that it targets it directly.”

Bell says she would use an increase in funds to create more community centers and to host more events like their annual Trunk or Treats and Thanksgiving turkey giveaways and Christmas toy drives. She wants to see people given opportunities so they don’t feel like their only option is to turn to violence.

“No one understands that this is a holistic approach,” she says. “You can’t just focus on violence. Even though we are a violence prevention program, you can’t prevent violence if the person isn’t whole or is broken.”

But to do that, they need more buy-in from the city and county leaders for more funding.

“I feel like we can save us,” Bell says.

“The community can save each other because we’ll listen to each other before we listen to the police officers.”

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | NEWS

that most can’t.”

Of the seven staff members who currently work for Gate City Coalition, Bell says many are connected to local gangs or are inactive members of gangs. They know who to look for when a problem occurs, even who to be aware of before violence occurs.

“We go straight to those that we know have access to being a problem or have been a problem,” Bell said. “We look for known gun carriers or known gang members or known felons. And then we build that person from the inside out.

“Having those relationships and having inroads in the community helps us keep an ear to the street because we can’t be everywhere at all times,” she continued. “So having those in the community that are willing to talk to us and trust us because we are them and they are us, helps open up a line of communication.”

To learn more about Gate City Coalition follow them on Facebook. To learn more about Cure Violence, visit cvg.org.

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NEWS | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

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Winston-Salem has tens of millions in federal disaster funding, leaving city council stymied

by Nicole Zelniker

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unds from the American Rescue Plan Act are coming to Winston-Salem, and city council is struggling with the spend.

The ARPA, signed into law on March 11, provides $1.9 trillion total in funds for all eligible governments, including local, state, territorial and Tribal governments. The point of the funds is to aid recovery from the economic collapse of 2020. . In theory, the money would help by allowing healthcare workers, small business owners and others to do their jobs and rebuild after last year.

Winston-Salem’s proposed budget is $530.9 million for 2021-22, so the incoming funding would be a little over 10 percent of the total. Similarly, Greensboro has been awarded $59.4 million.

Overall North Carolina will receive $1.3 billion.

On Aug. 23, the Winston-Salem city council met on to discuss how best to spend the funds, but left with no final conclusions. Council member Kevin Mundy of the Southwest ward noted after the meeting that he still had a number of questions himself and is planning a follow-up meeting to discuss ARPA spending with the city manager.

Mundy did suggest during the meeting, however, that some of the money go to small businesses owners, especially those who went into their own savings to help their businesses during the pandemic.

“It’s not really fair for us to not help them out,” he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Denise Adams, however, stated during the meeting that she wants to have conversations with local businesses first to figure out how they can best use the money.

“We all know that minority businesses operate differently than majority-white businesses,” said Adams. “We need to be prepared to talk to Hispanic and Latino businesses.”

As Brookings reported of last year’s CARES Act funding, many minorityowned businesses were unable to access loans due to lack of awareness and outright discrimination. Communities with people dedicated to opportunity and inclusion were able to better distribute their funds, like in Akron, Ohio.

On July 20, Forsyth County opened applications for the public to submit how they think the money would be

STOCK PHOTO

best spent. And residents have a lot of is currently in talks to be sold to the Aropinions, too. den Group LLC according to reporting Other comments from locals include by the Winston-Salem Journal.

Lis Harvey wondering if it would be pos“Additionally, multiple cities have startsible for the cities ed covering cost of to invest more in for tenants in Winston-Salem has $51.7 legal green spaces, and eviction hearings,” Kellie Easton hopes million earmarked for Crease said. “The there could be a city and county projects that support way to give money to follow suit public-health responses, need to programs that and invest allocated address negative economic funding towards deal with gun violence prevention. tenant defense.” impacts and invest in Several of the Evictions have infrastructure. residents remain continued defocused on the issue spite the national of affordable housing. moratorium. And in spite of developers Jilly Crease, suggested the money go to coming in to attempt to create more fixing Crystal Towers, a public housing affordable housing, the city still lacks afdevelopment downtown. Crystal Towers fordable units.

“Winston-Salem is in need of affordable housing,” echoed Arnita Miles, a Winston-Salem activist. “Job training programs. A serious recruitment team to bring new corporations and businesses into the city. New grocery stores throughout the entire city.”

The city council will meet with the public sometime in September or October for feedback.

The city has more information on their website at cityofws.org/2924/Coronavirus-LocalFiscal-Recovery-Fund.

then you know...

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | NEWS

If you read

•Why people are vaccine hesitant.

•What local Afghani Americans want us to know about their home country.

•Why there’s an alcohol shortage.

Triad City Beat — If you know, you know

Get in front of the best readers in the triad, contact Chris or Drew.

chris@triad-city-beat.com

drew@triad-city-beat.com

9

OPINION | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

10

OPINION EDITORIAL

Madison Cawthorn makes Thom Tillis look like Jimmy Carter

T

ep. Madison Cawthorn is not keep himself in office as long as he can. one of ours — Congressional His loyalty to Trump waxes and wanes with District 11 covers Asheville and the former president’s power and popularthe surrounding areas — except ity. He’s abandoned strongly held beliefs that he’s from North Carolina, and he’s when necessary. As a political animal his making us all look bad. instincts have been on point — he is, after Cawthorn, whose most distinguishing all, still around, though lately that may characteristics are the wheelchair to which have more to do with Cal Cunningham’s he’s been bound since a 2014 car wreck weird affair during the last election than and the smug look on his punk face, is a Tillis’ own maneuverings. known liar. He’s lied about the circumNevertheless, Tillis has staked out a stances of his paralysis, his acceptance to position that is much closer to the truth the Naval Academy (he wasn’t) and his than he is usually comfortable with: He’s status as a Paralympian (he gone against the Republican isn’t). He’s equivocated the orthodoxy by disputing, howCawthorn, coronavirus vaccine with govever lightly, the absurd claim ernment confiscation of “guns that immigrants are bringing consistently and bibles,” and has spread so the coronavirus across our awful, is the southern border. much disinformation about the 2020 election that he’s “So I would say that new face of been accused of being part of they may be a factor, but I the NC GOP. think the biggest factor right Trump’s “Shadow Cabinet.”

In a speech this week to now is we have far too many the Franklin (NC) GOP, he people who are refusing to get threatened violence over election laws the vaccine,” he told a business group in and referred to the insurrectionists who Cawthorn’s district just last week. attacked the Capitol on Jan 6. — just Tillis is one of the Republicans who has after Cawthorn himself had addressed spoken publicly about getting the vaccine. the crowd across the National Mall — as Cawthorn, proudly, has not. “political prisoners.”

And while it’s tough to root for Thom By being consistently awful, Cawthorn Tillis, we must hope that his vision for the has at least distanced himself from Thom Republican Party more closely hews to reTillis, his colleague in the Senate. ality than that of Cawthorn, who is so truly Sen. Tillis has no hard-and-fast ideology appalling that we don’t have the space to other than his highest purpose, which is to adequately document it here.

FRESH EYES

Working toward healthy food for all

by Michael Banner

F

or many, summertime means ties mortgage assistance program have easy access to fresh tomatoes, allowed us to keep our water connected peaches, squash, string beans, and keep our agriculture sustained. Our cucumbers, butterbeans, top priority heading into the fall season is watermelons and other goodies. For othimplementing an irrigation infrastructure ers, including those living in urban food that will enable us to grow our budding deserts, access to fresh fruits and vegcooperative. etables is a luxury. As some sit down to In other work, we have maintained a bounty, others make do with dollar-store constant presence on the Winston-Salem junk food. But at Island CultureZ, a local Urban Food Policy Council, making a nonprofit dedicated to access to healthy strong case for the establishment of food for all in east Winston-Salem and EBT/SNAP addressing the needs of “the surrounding areas, we’re changing that. ones who feel it most,” thus increasing Our organization is supported by market viability at the Liberty Street WSSU’s Center of Study for Economic Farmer’s Market.

Mobility and led by board chairman While the COVID-19 pandemic Marcus Hill and me. Through our urban increased the supply of produce that agricultural efforts, we’ve been withstandflooded the food pantries, we found ing the atomic storms of the COVID-19 that much of it was food that was pandemic, exacerbated by the systemic recalled from food chains because of the poverty and the disadvantageous condibreakdowns in logistics. So the floodtions of East Winston. With participants ing of give-away food, coupled with of all ages, we’re marching on with Grow other factors, temporarily caused lower Winston Grass Root Agricultural Pollinademand for locally grown food from our tor Herbal Sanctuaries, or GRAPHS. We urban farms. But we know the demand transformed a lot we leased will return. from the Simon G Atkins To accommodate that CDC into a 30-by-30-foot demand, we have plans for garden teeming with winter With dogged a wash-and-pack station and summer squashes, determination, so food is ready to be okra, peppers, eggplant, retailed in market spaces this growth was or through CSA subscrippole beans and a plethora of herbs and flowers. tion boxes, thus reducing sustained....

With dogged determiwaste. We are also looking nation, this growth was to energize our grassroots sustained by laboriously agricultural efforts with our pouring water from a tin pail over the schoolchildren and support from WSSU’s vegetation during the sweltering heat Center of Study for Economic Mobility, of 2019 and 2020, ultimately yielding which we hope will provide interns to hundreds of pounds of produce that was work and fellowship with the youth of sold at market and through a communi“the island community.” ty-supported agriculture program. We As we move forward, we are working intentionally carried out this effort in the to fulfill our mission, “Nurturing Comhardest way, just to defy the odds and to munity Wealth Through Unity,” and show many who have no water hook-ups our vision: a thriving network of synerhow to hydrate their gardens. getic communities, a matrix of “islands,” In 2021, with the threat of COVID still working in innovative, research-based, compromising our social interactions, community-led ways toward healthy, we decided to withdraw much of our equitable local economies. We want to volunteering from outlying communicreate spaces for cultural and economic ties (islands), and hunkered down and connectivity, experimentation, impledevoted more time to our homestead. mentation and diversity.

My wife, AnAkha Anet, partnered with We’ll keep working hard for access to me in establishing our style of “grasshealthy food for all. root agriculture” in the front yard of our home, where the moratorium on Michael Banner is the executive director utilities cutoffs and the city’s rent utiliof Island CultureZ.

Claytoonz

by Clay Jones

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | OPINION

OPINION

claytoonz.com

11

CULTURE | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

Culture

C

‘It’s not just white people culture’: Candace Holder of Candy’s Tea House spills the tea on the world’s oldest drink

by Sayaka Matsuoka

andace Holder likes her tea strong. Like two bags and maybe even a third one strong.

That’s why when Holder came to the United States seven years ago and tried American bagged tea for the first time, she was taken aback.

“The tea in America is weaker than the tea in England,” Holder says. “I’m used to a stronger tea palette. I even went to the Asian grocery store, and nothing was the same…. I think it’s the way it’s produced. So I would still drink tea bags in America but one bag wouldn’t taste the same as one bag in England. It’s not as much flavor. I would have to use two bags.”

Holder, who speaks with a British accent, is originally from London. She came to the US at the age of 18 to attend college in Alabama. Eventually she found her way to Greensboro, graduating from UNCG’s hospitality program last year.

As she continued to crave the stronger brews she was used to, Holder realized that she might be able to turn her passion for tea into a business. During her junior year at UNCG, she began researching different kinds of tea and eventually launched her own business — Candy’s Tea House — in January 2020.

Currently, she sells her blends online and at Greensboro shops like Savor the Moment and Black Belt Soap Company. She also has a regular table at the Corner Farmer’s Market.

And while she grew up drinking bagged tea back home, Holder decided that for her business, she would experiment with selling loose-leaf tea.

“It gives you more flavor,” she says.

“Bagged tea is more convenient but it’s not better for you. The bags have chemicals in them and also bagged tea is older.”

Now she sells about 10 different tea blends including everything from fruity green teas to a chai blend to a vanilla spice offering.

Holder, who draws on her background as a Brit and as a Caribbean, wants people to see her tea as something different. And part of that comes from the fact that she is a Black woman.

“It’s different because you usually see white women selling tea or Asians

selling tea,” she says. “You don’t normally see Black people selling tea. In that aspect, it’s important to me too, because I’m a Black British woman and also Caribbean. It’s a part of our culture too, but we don’t have a lot of representation, so it makes me happy to share that and say tea is a part of our culture also.”

She says that when she first started researching other tea companies, she found that they were mostly white-owned.

“I found very few other Black tea companies and for me, coming into this industry, it’s not really a Black industry so it was something I just had to be sure of myself and to show people that there are Black people who drink tea and it’s not just white people culture. I’m not just doing this because I’m a British person; it’s also my Caribbean culture.”

Holder says she was used to drinking bags of black tea but also remembers watching her father, who is Caribbean, make herbal blends of ginger, lemon, garlic and honey. In fact, she says the tradition of using herbs for medicinal purposes through tea has been a part of Caribbean heritage for centuries. And that’s exactly how Holder views her relationship with tea.

“I think for British people, they drink tea to drink tea,” Holder says. “But for Caribbeans, we drink tea for health purposes.

We use herbs. Caribbeans would make their tea from scratch rather than getting it from a tea LATRAYL NICHOLE, bag. My grandpa PERFECT SNAP collects differPHOTOGRAPHY ent herbs, and he puts it all Candace Holder draws from her heritage as a British-Caribbean woman to guide her business and educate others about tea. together.”

For new tea something new every day,” she says. “You learn about new customers, Holder starts by asking whether herbs every day. Tea isn’t necessarily just something to drink. or not they drink other caffeinated drinks like It’s also good for my health. It can give my body the nutrients coffee. If they do, she’ll recommend a black tea that I need. The connection I have reminds me of home and because of its bolder flavor. If they want somesince I’m not longer there, it just brings me back to my childthing lighter, she’ll offer a green tea like her popular zen berry hood.” green tea blend. For a spicier option, she’s got her iced chai milk tea, too. The point, she says, is that tea is for everyone.

“My favorite part about tea is honestly I feel like you learn

Learn more about Candy’s Tea House on Facebook and Instagram.

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Culture

by Nicole Zelniker

W

hen Winston-Salem’s Ramkat where this is not the case, owners of individual venues are posted on their Facebook page well within their rights to protect themselves, their artists and that they would be requiring their patrons with their own rules, they say. either proof of COVID-19 vac“I’m glad we’re part of an industry that feels similarly,” said cination or a negative PCR test for all Emmett. “I don’t know of a similar venue like ours that don’t customers attending events, their social have these kinds of policies. It’s not like we’re doing somemedia blew up. thing no one else is doing.”

Some of their patrons thanked them But negative responses are common all over the Triad. Jenfor doing the right thing and keeping nie Stencel, owner of the Idiot Box and Next Door Beer Bar, music alive. Others said they felt much has had people both thank her and get annoyed at her busimore comfortable attending events. On nesses for following Greensboro’s mask mandate. the flip side, many called it a bad idea.

“The most common question people have when they walk One Facebook user threatened to never through the door is, ‘Are you seriously enforcing this?’” she spend money at the Ramkat again and said. “We’ve been as polite as we can be and supplying masks, another told them to “quit being sheep.” which is another small business expense. It’s been a little “It certainly elicited a wide variety of stressful.” response,” said Andy Tennille, co-owner Part of the problem with people accepting the mask manof the Ramkat. “A lot of people were dates, Stencel believes, is that the mandates have been comvery supportive and thanked us, and ing and going with very little warning. She would have liked then we’ve certainly heard from people a little more lead time, or for officials to decide on a specific who don’t think that’s a good decision percent of infections in the city that would lead to a mask for a variety of reasons, whether that’s mandate. their interpretation of science or just All of the staff are vaccinated at both of her businesses , but their opinion.” they do not have any policies in place for customers. Many Guilford County reinstated a mask customers come in without masks at all, she said, despite the mandate on August 13 and Forsyth did mandate. the same a week “I’ve just been kind about it, which is later, on August 20. hard for me because I’m a combative perAt least 3,612 son,” she said. “It seems to have settled people were being down now that we’re a little further into hospitalized with the mask mandate. But every time someCOVID across the thing changes, people get angry.” state as of August Meagan Kopp at the Carolina Theatre in 30, up from 1,240 on Greensboro has had a similar experience July 30 according to where she has fielded a lot of pushback, - Andy tennille, co-owner of the state’s Departbut also a lot of support. People have ramkat ment of Health and thanked her for the theater’s masking Human Services. policy, and also told her that they will not Forsyth County has had about 741 new be coming in if they have to wear a mask. cases per 100,000 residents over the last Right now, the theater does not have a vaccination policy, 14 days and Guilford County has had 624 but Kopp says that could change at any time. per 100,000 residents over that same “We need to get approval from the board,” she said. “It’s period. not just a decision we can make on a staff level. We can’t make Given this, Tennille and co-owner everyone happy, but we can do our best to try to keep everyRichard Emmett plan to keep their one healthy while also trying to provide a bit of an escape.” policy of asking for vaccines or negaThe theater had required masks through mid-July, and then tive tests for as long as they think it is recommended them after that, until Greensboro reinstated necessary. the indoor mask policy. However, masks were always manda“I’m not a doctor,” Tennille said. “I tory at the Carolina Kids Club because children under the age don’t have MD behind my name, so I’m a of 12 still cannot be vaccinated. They have not yet had a show little bit out of my depth knowing when at full capacity, which Kopp said would be 1,200 people. the community is at risk. At this point in “We’ve had to postpone a couple shows and we’ve had a time our policies are until further notice. couple artists postpone,” she said. “We’ve had a couple artists We’re going to defer to medical profesmove because we don’t require proof of vaccines or a negative sionals in terms of how we’re going to test. It’s definitely a challenge, but our guests are happy to operate.” see some live music or take in a classic film, to see something In some cases, whole cities like New other than their TV screen.

York and San Francisco have required “We haven’t brought back any of our big music shows proof of vaccination to go many places, yet, but we have some in the fall,” Kopp continued. “Tabitha as reported by News 12. But even in cities Brown will probably be the first big one, and that will be our

‘We’re going to defer to medical professionals in terms of how we’re going to operate.’

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | CULTURE

Venue owners talk mask mandates and vaccine requirements as COVID-19 numbers rise and fall approaches

STOCK IMAGE

first bigger show where we’re looking at hundreds of people in attendance. The big music shows aren’t for a few months yet.”

Carlos Bocanegra of Monstercade in Winston-Salem, says he has not run into much pushback from his own decision not to do shows indoors yet, but he commends those who have had to combat that.

Monstercade has kept their events outside and Bocanegra hopes to reopen doors in October. For now, they recommend masks outside but do not enforce the policy. Anyone who comes inside to get a drink or use the bathroom must wear a mask as required by the city’s mandate.

“We’re trying to figure it out week by week, if not day by day so we don’t contribute to the rising hospital numbers,” Bocanegra said. “A lot of artists have really suffered. But at the same time, we have not opened our indoor stage yet.”

Of his club, Bocanegra said, “It’s like ground zero for anything artistic that’s happening. We push the alternative arts and keep it as a safe space for them to explore without alienating a more mainstream audience. But we are a small club, and we don’t believe it’s time yet to reopen.”

Bocanegra says he had reached out to several hospitals and the county health department in an effort to get mobile vaccination units to come to Monstercade, but that this has proved more difficult than he originally thought it would be.

He had hoped that people who had not yet gotten the vaccine might be encouraged by their community coming out to support them.

“It’s a little irritating because I felt like we were trying to help the community out,” he said. “I have no idea why we hit so many roadblocks with that.”

Like many other venue owners and managers in the area, Bocanegra is trying to be flexible as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise and fall approaches.

“It would have been different if I had opened the indoor stage and then closed it, but we haven’t until we feel like this is manageable,” he said. “I’m not quite sure what the future holds. I’m generally an optimist. We have to be, or else this thing is just going to eat us alive.”

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SHOT IN THE TRIAD | SEPT. 2-8, 2021

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Curtis Street, Greensboro

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Greensboro’s first Freedom Fridge is located in the parking lot of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in the Warnersville neighborhood. GSO Mutual Aid has partnered with several local groups including Hickory Winds Farm, who is currently supplying 20 pounds of produce every week, to offer fresh food and water to anyone who needs it at any hour of the day.

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CROSSWORD ‘It’s Symbolic’— a trip around the keyboard.

SUDOKU

If you read

Across 1

5 8 13 14 15 16

18 19 20 21 22

24 27 28

29 30 33

38 39 40 41 42

45 49 50 51 54

55 57 58 59 60 61 62

Joan who sang “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” Shaq’s former college team “Family Guy” dog Laguna contents Street through the middle of town Casual eatery, in Canadian slang Underground illegal activity that may be busted by the Feds Passing notices “Butter” group Alla ___ (cut time, in music) Adorable pet Some negatively persuasive strategies Goes by Some med. insurance groups Time magazine © 2021 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) co-founder Henry Intuitive ability Sports drink ender Unrealistic comparisons for real-life couples (since problems don’t often get resolved in 30 minutes) Obnoxious person Willful participant?

Fit one within the other Answers from last issue “Bye Bye Bye” group ‘N ___ 12 They get counted or turned up Former spelling of “Westworld” actress 14 Jazz vocalist Carmen Newton’s name (she restored the W in 2021) 17 Basics Turned up on the beach 22 Built to ___ Otherwise named 23 AFL-CIO part Moby-Dick, for one 24 “Frozen” princess URL ending, sometimes 25 “Sesame Street” human character for 25 years Dwarves’ representative in the Fellowship of 26 Does something the Ring 29 To an advanced degree Searchlight used in Gotham City 30 Like some bourbons “___ Holmes” (Netflix movie) 31 Lucie Arnaz’s dad Release, as energy 32 90 degrees from norte MC ___ (“Keep On, Keepin’ On” rapper) 34 Strident agreement Jorts material 35 Heal up ___ ipsa loquitur 36 Optimistic “David Copperfield” character Yoked animals 37 2nd or 4th of VIII? Down 41 “Okay to proceed?”

42 “In other words ...”

1 Door frame component 43 “The Planets” composer Gustav 2 Multi-award-winning accomplishment 44 “Whose woods these ___ think ...”: Frost 3 Margarine containers 45 Carried on, as a battle 4 Paving material 46 Flaring dress style 5 Shaq’s former pro team 47 Judge seated near Sofia 6 Pasta-draining device 48 Ignominy 7 Release from a leash 51 Stone used for chess sets 8 Food that comes in florets 52 Give out some stars 9 Counterargues 53 Watkins ___, NY 10 Question about Biblical betrayal 56 Day-___ (fluorescent paint) 11 High point of a house

then you know...

• Why people are vaccine hesitant.

SEPT. 2-8, 2021 | PUZZLES

by Matt Jones

• What local Afghani

Americans want us to know about their home country.

• Why there’s an alcohol shortage.

©2021 Jonesin’ Crosswords

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Triad City Beat — If you know, you know

To get in front of the best readers in the Triad, contact Chris or Drew

Answers from previous publication.

chris@triad-city-beat.com drew@triad-city-beat.com

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