Queen City Nerve - June 17, 2020

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 15; JUNE 17 - JUNE 30, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

MOVEMENT OR MEME? Local Boogaloo Boys dispute bad rap as notoriety grows

BY PAT MORAN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS& OPINION

5 EDITOR’S NOTE BY RYAN PITKIN 6 MOVEMENT OR MEME? BY PAT MORAN

Four attacks in 1965 made racial tensions impossible to ignore

8 THE SUFFRAGIST BY RHIANNON FIONN 9 OPINION: DEFUND THE POLICE BY CLARISSA BROOKS

ARTS

10 TAKING TO THE STREET BY NIKOLAI MATHER

Local artists discuss new Black Lives Matter mural in Uptown

12 BOOM PUTS OUT THE ‘CALL TO CREATE’ BY PAT MORAN Avant garde festival pivots to become virtual forum for community voices

MUSIC

14 THE MANY MINDS OF MASON BY RYAN PITKIN Mason Parker is back for the first time with debut album and different outlook 15 LIFEWAVE A dose of reality

16 IN SOBRIETY, ISOALTION IS THE ENEMY BY KRISTEN WILE Restaurant shutdown threatens to trigger relapses in an industry prone to addiction

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17 ARE GHOST KITCHENS THE NEXT BIG THING?

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LIFESTYLE

FOOD& DRINK

18 PUZZLES 20 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 20 STRANGE FACTS 21 HOROSCOPE 22 SAVAGE LOVE THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, CLARISSA BROOKS, RHIANNON FIONN, KRISTEN WILE,

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MOVEMENT OR MEME? Local Boogaloo Boys dispute bad rap as notoriety grows

BY PAT MORAN

COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON

JOSHUA GALLOWAY, PETER TAYLOR, KATIE GRANT, AMANDA DELGADILLO AND DAN SAVAGE.

EDITOR’S NOTE HERE’S TO YOU, VANLANDINGHAM Momentum in the age of irreverence

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BY RYAN PITKIN

“What would the Native Americans think of this?”

That was a question my dad used to pose to me when faced with some awe-inspiring thing. The question was meant to reference indigenous people who lived on this continent before white people arrived, not their descendants whose reservations we would regularly visit.

He might be speaking literally about something those folks absolutely did experience, such as a big lightning storm. And with me going through a long childhood phase in which I studied Native American history closely, I could sometimes answer. But he often meant it rhetorically in the manner of a wouldbe time-traveler (The Indian in the Cupboard was a favorite of mine at the time.). He meant, “What if they could see what’s happening now?”

In that case, he would pose the question in regard to something magnificent or tragic. I say all that to bring us into the present, because a similar thought has been bouncing around my head over the last week in regard to situations we’ve seen play out that are both magnificent and tragic.

As I write this, a large mural is spread across a city block on South Tryon Street reading “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” The city paid 17 local artists to paint the mural, which you can read more about on page 10. City officials then shut down the road to traffic after some asshole peeled out across the entire thing in his cowardly way of giving a middle finger to the movement (we see you, J.D. Goodman).

Regardless, artists came back to the site on a recent Sunday and touched up the mural, and it’s served as inspiration for countless community members and families since its creation. As Clarissa Brooks points out in this issue’s op-ed on page 9, it’s going to take a lot more than paint on the street to make change, but it’s an encouraging show of support.

Long ago, Tryon Street was a part of the Nations Path, used by members of the local Catawba Tribe and other indigenous folks to travel between Georgia and Virginia. However, I haven’t been thinking as much

about the folks who used the Nations Path as I have been about the folks who came along later.

Never in its 200-year history has Charlotte seen what we’ve seen over the last month, and I can’t help but wonder how some of the people who were once in power might view that mural on South Tryon Street.

Most immediately I thought of a reaction from Mary VanLandingham, wife of leading Charlotte cotton broker John VanLandingham, as quoted in Tom Hanchett’s mustread 1998 book, Sorting Out the New South City. In the local elections of 1896, during which the newly emerging Fusionist party brought Black residents together with mill workers and gave true voting power to the working class, the racist Democrat party of the time lost every countywide race and most in the city.

“Irreverence is one of the tendencies of the age,” Mary responded upon hearing the results. “It is liberty run mad.”

Later, an article reprinted in the Charlotte Observer in 1897 stated, “Many of our people are waking up to the fact that young negroes of today are going to school and preparing themselves to enter into competition with their white neighbors.”

White party leaders and power brokers capitalized on that anxiety in the years to come and used racial fear-mongering to divide working class whites and their Black neighbors, in a cycle that we’ve seen play out in different ways for more than a century.

And now in 2020, seven years into the Black Lives Matter movement, Black Americans are done waiting around to see if this year, this decade, this century might be the one in which the white ruling class treats them with respect.

There’s not time for respectability politics anymore, and folks will continue to march as they have through Myers Park, South End, NoDa, Dilworth, Waxhaw, Huntersville and Mooresville. The only place I haven’t seen them march yet this month is by the VanLandingham Estate in Plaza Midwood, ironically enough, but I’m sure that’s coming soon.

When I spoke with local rapper Mason Parker for this week’s issue (page 14), he wrapped up our conversation with some important observations about these most recent protests as compared to unrest that our city has seen in the past.

He pointed out that there are more white people than ever who are ready not to passively voice their support from the sidelines but to go out and march — to stand on the right side of history.

“I have never seen such a surge of white consciousness and that’s something I don’t think anybody’s seen. This is some new shit,” Parker said.

I think, unfortunately, this plays a role in the willingness of city leaders to pass laws and ordinances against tear gas. You can’t have folks that look like me out here getting gassed, it’s a bad look. In that role, white allies are important, but then he pointed out an inconvenient truth: Whether these white folks will take that next crucial step even as change begins to affect their own lives is key.

“The true test is going to be when it becomes uncomfortable, because it is going to become uncomfortable very fast. Because there’s a power shift, and if you’ve been living in a system that is tilted to your favor, even if it’s unbeknownst to you, and you’ve been comfortable in that system, it’s like being born again.

You was in the womb and you was chilling and all the sudden the doctor smacks you on your ass and you’re like, ‘What the fuck, I don’t like this, I’m uncomfortable,’ and it’s going to be an issue adjusting to true equality.”

Black Lives Matter protesters will continue to make folks uncomfortable until real change is made, and the momentum is on their side like never before. They feel no need to ask that we grace them with our reverence.

In fact, irreverence is one of the tendencies of the age, and it’s working.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE MEME OR MOVEMENT?

But Young rejected the characterization of guys with guns,”Young asserted. “They don’t get tear- group has been referred to as “accelerationist,” meaning that their goal is incite violence so as to the Boogaloos as a group of white supremacist gassed. They don’t get shot with rubber bullets.” extremists along the lines of racist militias like the Young felt that, as a white guy with a gun, he bring about a new civil war faster.

Writing for The Intercept on June 10, British Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. He described needed to show up in solidarity with BLM advocates.

“It was time for me to stop being an armchair journalist Mehdi Hasan called Boogaloos “perhaps himself as a left-leaning Libertarian. “I am prothe most dangerous group that, until the past week black, pro-brown, pro-LGBTQ, pro-community, antiquarterback,” he said.

What many folks noticed on social media or so, most Americans had never heard of.” To bolster government and anti-cop,” he said.

Local Boogaloo Boys dispute that night wasn’t the AK-47 in Young’s hand, his claim, Hasan listed a series of Boogaloo run-ins In fact, the Boogaloos are hardly a movement at all, he asserted. There are loose amalgamations of bad reputation as notoriety but the patch on his vest. The patch resembled a with the law: groups, mostly 3-to-5-man-strong, scattered across In March, 36-year-old Timothy Wilson was shot and can of Campbell’s soup and read, “Boogaloo Bois grows Condensed/ Alphabet Boi Soup.” It depicted three killed by the FBI after plotting to bomb a Kansas City the country, he explained.

Boogaloos are primarily an online phenomenon, hospital. An undercover FBI agent reported that Wilson bullet holes surrounding a government seal.

BY PAT MORAN The day after the protest, Young was taken into referred to his aborted attack as “Operation Boogaloo.” Young maintained, or at least that’s how people In April, 36-year-old Arkansas man Aaron Swenson get into the Boogaloo headspace. Young said he On May 29, Jonathan Young posted two pictures custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was arrested for threatening to kill a police officer in a got into the Boogaloo loop through Facebook gun Joint Terrorism Task Force. to his Facebook page. groups. Then a stream of anti“Y’all think I should wear the government jokes and memes AR w/the high tops, the AK w/the led him to more closed groups. low tops, or the Shockwave with “A lot of the groups … are the turtle slippys?” Young asked slightly left-leaning,” Young above a three-way split photo asserted.

“I have an affinity showing his footwear choices for fighting with racists on the accessorized with body armor, a internet, [so] that moved me to pair of assault rifles and a shotgun. the forefront of these groups. I “The people have spoken!” got administrative powers so I he captioned a later post with could block people. a picture depicting Young At the same time, it’s brandishing the Shockwave a mistake to think of the pump-action shotgun, while Boogaloos as a fraternity, sporting an incongruous pair he offered. “I always felt like of fluffy Teenage Mutant Ninja Boogaloo is an action word. It’s Turtles slippers. In the end the end result of all of [our] antithough, he went with the AK-47. government struggles.”

This was not just a Facebook fashion show, this was Young’s The Feds Come Knocking way of finding out how he wanted In fact, it was a meme that got to arm himself before attending a Young into trouble with federal Black Lives Matter protest planned authorities.

He posted a picture that night in front of the CMPD’s of a soldier in a skull mask with Metro Division office on Beatties the accompanying caption, “I Ford Road.

JONATHAN YOUNG MARCHES AT A BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTEST ON BEATTIES FORD ROAD ON MAY 29.

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN want you to join the United States Young was openly carrying Boojahideen. ” Young appended his own caption, “If we Facebook Live video.

According to the police, Swenson Boogaloo Boogeymen his customized polymer-frame AK-47 with a could all get on the same page, we could sack every PD also made Boogaloo references on Facebook.

Though he doesn’t use the term to describe foregrip when Queen City Nerve tweeted a photo But the highest profile Boogaloo case [police department] in America in one day.” of him standing with a crowd of Black Lives Matter himself, Young has at least once posted memes Young said he was inspired by watching surfaced early this month in Nevada, when federal professing sympathy with the Boogaloos, also demonstrators outside the CMPD department that protesters in Minneapolis take over a police precinct prosecutors charged three men with conspiring to called Boogaloo Bois or the Boojahideen.

That’s not night, the first night of Charlotte protests spurred by on May 28 and redistribute riot gear. “cause destruction during protests in Las Vegas,” to mention the patch that he openly flaunted at the the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Apparently, the FBI was not amused. according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Beatties Ford protest.

Young later told Queen City Nerve that he came to The day after the Beatties Ford Road protest, Former military personnel Stephen T. “Kiwi” The Boogaloo Bois are a loosely knit group the protest because of the shocking disparity between Young was stopped in Clover, South Carolina, by five Parshall, Andrew Lynam, and William L. Loomis of heavily armed, anti-government activists — police treatment of white and Black protesters. He unmarked cars, he recounted. attended a May 29 protest honoring George Floyd in though some media outlets have recently upgraded cited photos published in May showing heavily armed “Eight York County sheriff’s deputies jumped out Las Vegas, CNN reported.

After Parshall tried to goad “activist” to “extremist.”

The name originated from Reopen NC demonstrators parading unchallenged in full tactical gear and pointed rifles at my head, so the crowd to commit violent acts, the three men were internet slang for sequel, referencing the 1984 outside the State Capitol building in Raleigh. they could walk me across the street to the Clover arrested for carrying a Molotov cocktail to a second film Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, and evolved into “Every time Black and brown people try to take to the streets and exercise their rights and be heard, terminology referencing the second Civil War on BLM demonstration the next day. Prosecutors allege Police Department,” Young remembered. There, two plainclothes FBI agents sat down across the table they’re met with force. But they don’t do that for white far-right anti-government 4chan chat groups. The that the three men have Boogaloo ties.

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

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from Young and pulled out a folder filled with screen grabs of memes he had posted.

“I told them how I felt,” Young recalled. He said he complained about CMPD’s use of overwhelming force with military grade weapons during the previous night’s protests.

The authorities subsequently stripped Young of his Second Amendment rights; he asserted. Citing a 15-year-old misdemeanor in which then-17-yearold Young was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after throwing a keg party for his teenage friends, the FBI made Young agree to move his weapon to his mother’s house. “[They] told me when I get this misdemeanor expunged then I can have my guns and armor back,” Young said.

After being held for 24 hours and released on a $1,000 bond, Young went home to discover all his social media accounts had been taken down and his access blocked.

“I was completely shadow banned by Facebook — no notification, no warning, no violation of community standards,” he offered.

What’s In a Name?

Despite the rather humorous roots of the memes’ name, the Boogaloo movement itself is deadly serious, according to law enforcement agencies (referred to as Alphabet Bois by many Boogaloo supporters).

The Boogaloos are extremists who are fixated on an apocalyptic war, The Economist reported in May. “Boogaloo Boys style the forthcoming war as a repeat of the American civil war,” the publication explained, saying that violent overthrow of the government was the end game.

Kevin, who asked that Queen City Nerve not mention his surname, disagreed with that assessment.

“I don’t believe that there is any such thing as the Boogaloo movement,” Kevin said. “[Boogaloo] is more of a running joke on the internet.”

Kevin who described himself as “a Christian, a Conservative, a Libertarian and an American Patriot,” could be considered an online warrior. He’s interested and knowledgeable about the Boogaloos, but he has not taken part in any protests.

“I’ve got a pretty busy schedule and a family to take care of,” Kevin offered. “[Protesting] hasn’t been a part of my schedule.”

Like Young, Kevin was drawn into the Boogaloo world through online memes, which led to Facebook groups. He remembered when he noticed the word “Boogaloo” gaining traction within that virtual world.

“Any event that would involve rising up against a tyrannical government or trying to wipe out authoritarianism or totalitarianism was loosely referred to as the Boogaloo,” Kevin recalled.

The term spawned puns and wordplay, he continued. “The Big Igloo” came to be seen as a synonym for a violent schism, civil war or period of unrest. Boogaloo aficionados also started wearing Hawaiian shirts to signal to other followers that they supported the apocalyptic “Big Luau” that was coming.

Still, for all the attention that the Boogaloo Boys have received, it has still not translated to paramilitary action in the real world, Kevin insisted.

“It’s a meme that has gathered a large cult following,” Kevin asserted. “It’s more or less tactical cosplay.”

According to Young, Kevin’s account comprises only part of the online Boogaloo story.

He said the Boogaloo movement — and he still uses the term “movement” loosely — can be broken down into two groups. The first group started in the underbelly of the internet, websites like 4chan and 8chan that host extreme white nationalist views and hate speech.

“I’m not a part of that,” Young said, “I don’t know what those guys talked about.”

Once Boogaloo moved to Facebook, it started picking up younger members like himself, Young maintained.

“Mostly we talked about guns and the government, as far as regulations and everything,” he offered. A large subsection of the group is more left-leaning, he asserted. There are members that support their communities and people of color.

There are many Boogaloos that are anti-police.

“For what it’s worth, a lot of those people see the brutality against Black people and they’re pissed off about it,” Young said.

There are plenty of folks taking different tones on the internet, as well, if you know where to look.

The #Charlotte-Urgent sub-channel of the Citizens Liberty Organization on the Discord chat app was home to many self-identified “boogs,” and the talk often focused on protecting local businesses from looting protesters, rarely on defending protesters from police.

On May 29, while the Beatties Ford protest was happening, a man who said he was working security at a Cook Out on Sunset Road four miles from the protest sent out an urgent “Send Help!” alert into the chatroom that read, “Not a drill.” He reported that someone had waved a gun out of a car while driving by the restaurant and he needed backup.

Immediately users like NC_Redneck_Jarhead and Gizmo started asking for “clear comms” and “sitreps” while Zoomer Medi said “We need EXFIL immediately.”

A few users said they were on the way, some from hours a business with guns and body armor, the police are away, but it’s unclear whether any of them ever actually not so quick to say anything about it,” he said.

According to Teeter, the Boogaloos have met up. The #Charlotte-Urgent has since been retired. dealt with threats from the Ku Klux Klan, which threatened to blow up a grocery store his group was Boogaloo Maneuvers in the Dark “I’m part of the Booj army,” Ryan Teeter professed defending. The Boogaloos took up position, but the proudly. One of the Boogaloos angered by police- Klan never showed, Teeter claimed.

“Every now and then somebody would roll up inflicted oppression and violence against people of color, the 22-year-old from Hampstead, North behind us and take a couple pot shots,” Teeter said.

“There’s been a lot of shooting but not a lot of hitting.”

Carolina, has been in Minneapolis since late May. Teeter had been following the news in the wake Hitting the Target of officer Derek Chauvin’s killing of George Floyd The Boogaloo movement, as loosely when he heard through social media that one of the local North Carolina Boogaloos had been detained amalgamated as it may be, is growing. This by police in Minneapolis and was then maced month Reuters reported that according to the Tech during a protest the following day. Teeter, who is Transparency Project, “tens of thousands of people self-employed as a handyman and home renovator, joined Boogaloo-related Facebook groups over a 30-day period in March and April as stay-at-home hopped in his car and drove to Minneapolis “I’ve never been one to stand by when something orders took effect across the United States.”

If, as Young, Teeter and Kevin attested, the bad I think is going on,” Teeter said. “George [Floyd] was from North Carolina, so I figured that somebody burgeoning Boogaloos are disinterested in anarchy and destruction, what exactly is their target? better stand up and represent with him.”

Minneapolis may point the way. When the city’s Teeter is gay and a staunch supporter of gay rights, though he says he doesn’t support the kind governing council pledged to do away with the of civil rights legislation that would force bigoted police force altogether in order to find a “new model of public safety,” Teeter applauded the decision. bakers to make a cake for a gay marriage.

“I think community policing is a great idea,” he said.

“If we mandate that someone has to do labor for In that respect, Teeter, Young and other someone that … is enslavement,” Teeter professed.

“I think people should be allowed to have bad ideas.” Boogaloos may not be so far outside the mainstream, He said he simply prefers not to give his business to which has seen growing support to reassess police people who believe he doesn’t have a right to exist. departments and redistribute community resources.

“If I could wave a magic wand, I would like our “Let bigots be bigots,” Teeter maintained.

When asked to describe his political stance, his police department to go back to being Andy and [Barney, of The Andy Griffith Show], and not the answer carried more than a hint of bravado.

“I heard if I came up here, I might get to hunt military assaulting citizens,” Young said.

He felt a solution to the societal ills he opposes Nazis and I was pretty excited about it,” Teeter may already be forming amid the Queen City’s offered. “So, I think that should explain that.”

In practice, he hasn’t had much time to hunt cauldron of protest. The demonstrators are laying fascists. Most days, Teeter’s brigade of Boogaloos are the groundwork for a better tomorrow, he said, with out among the peaceful protesters. During daylight progress already marked by Charlotte’s tear-gas ban.

“We’re talking about serious police reform, hours they leave their assault rifles and body armor defunding the use of chemical weapons, and taking behind so they can blend in with the populace.

“We’re not trying to co-opt this and make it money away from militarized police departments about us,” Teeter maintained. “The point was to and putting it back into underprivileged come out here and protest with these people, and communities in our city,” Young said.

If there is a Boogaloo, he asserted, it’s not some then if need be, to protect them.”

Protection becomes a priority after sunset. That’s hypothetical future event on the horizon. It’s been normally when the Boogaloos take up positions happening in Charlotte and other cities for the past to guard local businesses or apartment buildings. few weeks. Young said he hopes we get it right.

“I want good community policing,” he said. “I Teeter’s kitted out then, open-carrying an M4A1 want people to be treated fairly. And I want everybody semi-automatic pistol.

Teeter claimed that the Boogaloos have received to have the opportunities of the American dream.” an enormous amount of support from members of Ryan Pitkin and Jordan Green contributed the community, but from the police, not so much. reporting to this story.

He shrugged off the cops’ suspicions.

“When you and 20 of your buddies are protecting PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

THE SUFFRAGIST WHITEWASHING THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT It’s a time for us all to question what we think we know

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BY RHIANNON FIONN

The most difficult, but unfortunately not surprising, part about writing this column is facing the reality that even the history of the women’s suffrage movement is whitewashed, a reality forcing me to face my own truths.

When I pitched the idea for The Suffragist as a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment I thought I knew a lot about the subject, despite it only being a blip in history classes.

Since the first column was published, much of what I thought I knew has been upended. I am, however, glad to learn the truth, glad to share it with you and even more glad that anyone willing to embrace truth can find it if they seek it.

Now, more than ever, many of us need to question what we think we know. It’s also important to bear in mind that voting rights are still under threat as we see when the North Carolina General Assembly gerrymanders the state and passes Voter ID laws. We see it in our president’s tweets as he spreads lies about mail-in voting. We saw it during this year’s primaries in places like Georgia where voters stood for hours in precincts with fewer voting booths in minority communities than before, only for new voting systems to crash.

When I saw Lucretia Mott’s name at the top of the “Declaration of Sentiments,” a manifesto for the early women’s rights movement that was read at the 1848 meeting of the Seneca Falls Convention in New York, it was a point of pride because she’s a distant relative.

Then I dug deeper and realized the convention only came about because women were excluded from abolitionist meetings.

As I dug deeper still, I’ve learned the suffrage movement didn’t begin with Mott and her cohorts, it began a couple decades earlier and Black women

deserve the credit. Not only do they deserve the credit, but white women actively excluded them and worked against the 15th Amendment, the one that enfranchised Black males.

Mott was a Quaker, a group that espoused the virtues of truth, equality, peace, and other fine qualities since its founding in the mid-1650s in England, with many members making their way to this continent in search of religious freedom. This has also been a point of pride in my life. However, knowing this much about my family tree is a type of privilege, I realize, because too many of our brothers and sisters in the United States were taken from their homes and brought to this shore to build this country and its economy as slaves and can’t trace their family tree back as far as I can.

While it hurts my heart to realize someone I venerated was a hypocrite, it’s important to face reality and learn from it. My research led me to “The Myth of Seneca Falls,” by Lisa Tetrault. From her I’ve learned that while women like Mott and Susan B. Anthony may be credited with sparking the U.S. suffrage movement at Seneca Falls, that is indeed a myth. For one thing, Anthony wasn’t even present at the convention. For another, she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another white woman heralded for her suffrage efforts, actively honed our collective history to make themselves seem like the leaders of the movement with speeches like the “History of Women’s Suffrage.” Today we would call that speech what it was: a power play with talking points for frontline protesters.

The truth is Black women like Mariah Stewart, who wrote for the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator and bravely gave ill-received anti-slavery and women’s rights speeches in the 1830s, deserve the credit that Mott, Anthony and Stanton stole. Stewart was the first woman to lecture about women’s rights and the first to speak to mixed-race audiences in the United States.

Today, as we are well aware, speaking truth to power can be deadly. (Even jogging, driving, sleeping in your own bed and other activities of daily living are threatening to some if you’re doing them while Black.) Now, imagine being a Black woman in the 1820s giving fiery speeches in the time of slavery and few women’s rights. Educated women were not

appreciated then, and it is the white women of much less so educated America.”

Black women -- especially We still do, all of us when they weren’t afraid to – men and women. Too be outspoken in the streets. many of us don’t question Stewart was not the little bit we learn in the only Black woman history class or from our speaking her mind long families. We often don’t before it was considered question or even recognize safe or proper to do so. our privilege. We don’t As I’ve written before: question the authorities “Southern women, Black or the status quo. We don’t and white, lagged behind stand up for justice and FRANCES ELLEN WATKINS HARPER northern women” when it equality. But we can.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS came to suffrage, and those I humbly submit this who did speak up were considered ‘radical.’” But that column while noting the throngs in the streets since didn’t stop Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

George Floyd’s death. My hope is we are all facing In Harper’s famous speech “We are all bound up ourselves and being conscientious of not only the together,” she actively pushed back against white truth, but our truths, that we are learning, that we suffragists in the 1850s, at a time when doing so could are sharing what we learn and all vowing to be better. conceivably get her killed, saying things like, “Talk of (And to vote!) giving women the ballot-box? Go on. It is a normal I’ll leave you with a few of the words from Maria school, and the white women of this country need it. Stewart that she submitted to The Liberator in 1831: While there exists this brutal element in society which “I am sensible of former prejudices; but it is high time tramples upon the feeble and treads down the weak, for prejudices and animosities to cease from among I tell you that if there is any class of people who need us.”

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NEWS & OPINION OP-ED DEFUND THE POLICE OR BUST

We’ve been through this too many times to go back again

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BY CLARISSA BROOKS

The first time I saw a Black person killed by police I was 5 years old. Living on Burkland Drive meant you could see the entirety of the Grier Heights neighborhood, known by me and my fellow residents as Griertown, from the top of the hill that I lived on.

My cousins and I survived poverty not because we were exceptional but because our mothers put their wellbeing on the line to scrape together a way of life that could remind us that a different way of living was possible.

That storyline of struggle is one that permeates throughout the city of Charlotte; it’s a story of Black exceptionalism that does not benefit anyone, but instead feeds into neoliberal notions of success and derails the ways that policing surveillance and white supremacy nurture the world we live in — a world that kills black people for white comfort.

Charlotte has responded yet again to civilian uprisings in reaction to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. This city, however, is not new to this.

Since the death of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016, organizations like Charlotte Uprising and the Southeast Asian Coalition have led and propelled a radical political shift in the city, to nurture the need to defund the CMPD. The power of necropolitics is that it demands the state, more specifically the police state, and in this case the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, to be the judge, jury, and executioner, deciding how some people may live and how others must die in the name of social and political power.

In the neighborhoods where I grew up — Griertown, Little Rock, and Boulevard Homes — poor Black people have known since birth that our lives could be snatched away at the quick movement of a police officer’s finger.

Charlotte’s city government has a long history of centrist mayors who have feeble politics but are saddled with the job of trying to get their fellow representatives to see the value in Black life. Systems

hold power and resources, and while a performative gesture to commission the painting of “Black Lives Matter” on a street in Uptown can feel like a real victory in these times of upheaval, it erases the hardfought struggles that black creatives in Charlotte have had to fight for institutional investment in their work.

It also does not stop the terror that rains down on poor Black communities at the hands of the CMPD — communities that are being pushed out via gentrification while those who are left are overpoliced due to the rapid influx of new white neighbors who are quick to call the police on Black people for just about anything. Their dialing hands may as well be trigger fingers.

The call to defund CMPD is a call to trust our communities. It requires us to no longer provide resources to systems that show us time and time again that they are dependent on our marginalization to sustain themselves.

No amount of reforms, community conversations, or holding hands with the police will change the core of what the police do. Police protect property over the lives of people, that will not change unless we defund their ability to target and kill Black people.

As Mariam Kaba said in her latest essay for the New York Times, “We should redirect the billions that now go to police departments toward providing health care, housing, education, and good jobs. If we did this, there would be less need for the police in the first place. We can build other ways of responding to harms in our society.”

Much of my life has been marked by certain milestones. I was a junior in high school when Jonathan Ferrell was shot and killed by CMPD officer Randall Kerrick, a freshman in college when Janisha Fonville was shot and killed by CMPD officer Anthony Holzhauer and a sophomore in college when Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed by CMPD officer Brentley Vinson.

In those same years, I have also seen Charlotteans take for granted Black trans and queer organizers as they put their bodies on the line for Black people over and over again.

Charlotte has a pattern of engagement: A black person is killed, the city council responds by saying their hands are tied, a charming Black police chief responds by saying that they “engaged in the community” and leaders across the city organize community conversations that leave everyone feeling good about themselves. Everyone walks away apathetic to the legacy of Black death that we have all become accustomed to … until it happens again and the cycle repeats.

CMPD currently receives $290 million of taxpayers

dollars — more than 40% of the entire city budget — to target, brutalize, kill, and defend structural property over the safety of the people they are supposed to work for.

The call for defunding police asks that our society create a new common sense, one that asks to trust our communities’ abilities to handle harm. The mass incarceration system does not keep us safe.

The newly founded coalition Charlotte For Black Futures, of which I am a partner, has released demands calling for the divestment of CMPD from all Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, colleges and universities. We also ask that no department salary increases occur with funds from the 2021 Charlotte city budget, but instead that all those funds be used to increase salaries for other city workers, or be put toward affordable housing, reentry programs, transportation, mental health, and other community health and wellness infrastructure.

Lastly, we demand that the city of Charlotte acknowledge and take accountability for our pain and injustice by issuing a proclamation apologizing for their historic role in slavery and the lasting, negative impact of slavery on current generations of Black people and that a board and task force be created to explore monetary reparations for Black individuals in

Charlotte.

A Charlotte that is actually invested in prioritizing Black life will be one that is able to face the hard truths. It will be a Charlotte with the political will to show up for Black people in tangible ways.

That requires us to be brave regardless of how it may implicate ourselves and our culpability in the new world we need to build.

As a thriving center for business, cultural production, and commerce, Charlotte has been largely left out of the national conversation on police violence.

Charlotte is burdened with the crutch of white liberals and Black politicians focused on protecting their positions as beacons of social change rather than the safety of Black people.

In order to see a day where the police stop targeting and killing Black people, it requires us to look at abolition, not as a catch-all but a way of seeing the world where we address Charlotte’s internalized white superiority head-on.

If not, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, at the price of Black people’s lives, and the blood will remain on our hands.

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ARTS FEATURE TAKING TO THE STREETS

Local artists discuss new Black Lives Matter mural in Uptown

BY NIKOLAI MATHER

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On Tuesday, June 9, a group of 17 Charlotte-based artists made international headlines by painting “BLACK LIVES MATTER” across South Tryon Street between East 3rd and East 4th streets. The project was the result of a partnership between the city of Charlotte, Charlotte is Creative, Brand the Moth and BlkMrkt CLT, with each artist paid $500 for their work on that Tuesday afternoon.

After the mural was finished, we chatted with four of the participating artists to discuss their creative process, their feelings on this month’s protests, and their hopes for the future.

We began with Dammit Wesley, founder of BlkMrkt CLT, who sent out a call on Sunday night asking artists to contribute to the mural. Within 72 hours, South Tryon had a bright new addition.

But Wesley — and the rest of the art scene — is just getting started.

Tell me about your mural. What does the crying woman represent?

In college, one of my favorite artists was Roy Lichtenstein. The way that he would take these big, bold 1960s romance comics and blow them up to large-scale … it really intrigued me. So for me, a couple years ago, I did my own rendition of “Crying Girl.” I used an image of Storm from the Chris Claremont era X-Men comics.

I just started using that as a vehicle to express my feelings as a Black person in America. Looking at the character of Storm, you know — she’s Black, she’s a woman, and she’s a mutant. She’s discriminated against in ways that people on her team don’t even understand.

It’s a level of intersectionality — like being an outcast from the outcasts. But you still gotta put on your big boy or big girl pants and go out and save the world every day, even though the world continues to hate you.

As one of the key organizers for this project, what role do you think art plays in the movement?

Art has always been a part of revolution. People are very visual-oriented; we need symbols to get behind. You can kill a person but you can’t kill an idea. One of the best examples we have of that right now is Kobe Bryant. He was a person but he also had a persona — there was Mamba, the Mamba mentality. People use that as a credo, like they live by it, right? So we have visual representations of Kobe Bryant that people still live by.

Whether it’s a painting, a poem, a song, a dance — these ideas, when they’re put out there, they no longer belong to the artist, but to the public. They galvanize the people. They become immortal. So despite whatever happens to that mural on Tryon, that moment will

DAMMIT WESLEY WORKS ON THE “B” PHOTO BY KATE GALINDO

always mean a lot to those who experienced it. It was a cathartic time for those who were looking for answers, for those who needed to express themselves in some way that didn’t result in retaliation from the police.

That’s what art is to the revolution.

A lot of people see this mural as a jump-off point, but some folks seem to think it means the movement’s over.

Oh, no. It’s not. I mean, I see all of this as a great starting point. With everything that happened in

nine hours, we saw that you can raise public morale graffiti and architectural drafting there’s definitely and make a huge change. Not too long after we a strong focus on letter forms. Those things always shut down, after the blockades were lifted, people stuck with me. I’d get a lot of comments on people came out and blocked the street itself to prevent liking my handwriting. At some point, I tried to just people from driving over it. Why? To preserve the mural. [Later, after a man from Mooresville peeled his tires over the mural, artists returned on a Sunday to touch it up.]

This city has a connection to its artists — its artists are the ones who are defining the identity of Charlotte. If the city would just give us 1-2% of that budget, we could finally get beyond the point of asking, “What is Charlotte’s identity? Who are we?” We don’t need a marketing team or a brand strategist!

It’s within me, it’s within BlkMrkt, it’s within Southern Tiger Collective — we’re putting in the work to highlight the heart and soul of this city. We’re gonna art regardless — we can either work with you or against you, but we’re gonna be working.

As far as racism, I don’t know CHD:WCK! PUTS WORDS IN A LETTER. if I can fix that as a Black man.

PHOTO BY KATE GALINDO That’s more of a whites-only problem. That’s gonna require a turn my handwriting into a more visual element lot of talking and therapy. instead of just words. Overall, I really like to go even more abstract than I did in [the Black Lives Matter Anything else you’d like to add?

Um, if you’re reading this, you know, piece], but I very much wanted this message to be defund the police. (laughs) Sit back and think communicated. about all the times they pulled you over for Your letter features the phrase: “There Is a broken tail light and 12 cop cars and three dogs later, they let you go with a warning. No Change Without Disruption.” What made Cut the shit. Conservative Republican or not, you choose that quote?

For me, “There Is No Change Without Disruption” they’re wasting your money. speaks to the fact that problems and problematic We then spoke with Chad Cartwright, behaviors usually come from a problematic way of better known as CHD:WCK!. A self-taught artist thinking about things, and you’re not going to be hailing from New Jersey, CHD:WCK! is fascinated with able to build better habits or solve problems with visual art of all kinds: fonts, photography, abstracts, old problematic thinking. You have to disrupt your nude figures, and so on. His letter (the second T in own habits and views in order to change.

“MATTER”) features his unique handwriting.

How do you apply that to these protests?

There’s a whole lot of systems in place that I’ve noticed that a lot of your work does revolve around typography. What about that we think work effectively but don’t actually work medium, in your opinion, makes it so powerful? effectively. They just prove themselves to be ... the I’ve always been into graffiti, just from what I systems that we used for a long time (laughs). Even saw growing up as a teenager … When I went to the movement to defund the police — which I am high school, I took architectural drafting, and with very excited about — like people been marching

ARTS FEATURE

don’t want to have and don’t like having but need to be had. So this mural is a huge step — especially considering that like, I’ve been kicked out of shows because people weren’t ready to have some conversations.

But one thing that really riled me up was actually looking at the Q.C. Nerve video of protesters getting gassed by CMPD. I remember posting a status about it being like, “I’m not okay with law enforcement or the National Guard gassing onlooking civilians.”

They’re fighting a war! With these kids! These people running away and being trapped … It just makes me so upset. People are protesting the murder of unarmed Black men. The fact that you feel the need to gas them?! It makes no sense! Wrong is wrong. That’s it.

months ago, decades ago, even in the ’50s and ’60s for that. It’s not a new movement at all.

With all the money going to the police — like CMPD, 40% [of the city budget] — you cut all types of social programs. You cut things for mental health, you cut things for the arts, you cut things for education, and like … all of these, this lack of resources, it’s what drives crime. If you made a change and gave these things the resources they needed, there’d be a lot less need for policing in the first place.

In order to see the way to a clearer solution to a problem, you have to be willing to say: “Lemme ask some questions, and let me assess these things.” It wouldn’t be so much policing if we were pumping The world is Abel Jackson’s canvas. T-shirts, cars, a lot more funding into resources that actually help motorcycles, walls — you name it, he’s airbrushed it. the people who we criminalize.

Originally, airbrushing was a way for him to financially support himself after quitting his corporate job, but in Marcus Kiser is a forward-thinking, self-described time, he made it into a fine art — which helps him “comic book nerd” and Charlotte native. Growing tell the story of our community. up, he was captivated by astronomy, often spending nights looking up at the moon with his father. That So when I was researching your art, I childhood interest is apparent in his Afrofuturistic realized I had already seen one of your works. artwork. What’s also apparent is his passion for social It’s the mural off South Brevard Street. justice.

Brooklyn!

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So, making the mural was really moving That’s the one! History is clearly important for a lot of onlookers, but what was going to you. Tell me more about that. through your head while painting?

I feel very strongly about history ... When I It all happened so quickly. This was a huge do that type of mural, I always learn something community effort and it just amazed me that so about myself. When I did the Brooklyn mural, it many artists came out.

The fact that people from all walks of life — different genders, different sexualities — all working towards this one cause to bring attention and awareness to Black Lives Matter. It was real hot out there, but absolutely worth it.

What do you hope to see the city do from here on out?

I’ve done a lot of work around social justice. I know it’s really hard to do public art that speaks on social issues and isn’t just beautification. You gotta be able to create conversations that people

made me realize that Negro Wall Street wasn’t are not distracting from the protests — we are just in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Negro Wall Street was all playing a part in the protests.

To me, art really bridges the emotional gap. over the country, like Charlotte. And a lot of places throughout the country were so viciously attacked that you’d be hard pressed to even find buildings from that time.

But in Brooklyn, those buildings still exist — like Grace A.M.E. Zion and the Mecklenburg Investment Company building … It’s why I put them in [the Brooklyn mural]. I like to show that part of history that’s not normally talked about.

Otherwise, you won’t know!

And that really seems to apply now, too. What’s it like commemorating history now? Would you say we’re in a pretty historical moment?

Yeah! I mean, I’ve been a part of protests, but I have never seen or felt anything quite like this. The emotions are so intense, more intense than anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s potent right now.

Some people are saying that the city council still has work to do, and others seem to think that commissioning this mural and banning tear gas is enough. Would you call this mural a starting or stopping point?

Well, it ain’t a stopping point! My thing is this: As artists, we know that the revolution will not be televised, it’ll be painted! It’s gonna be song, it’s gonna be dance, it’s gonna be emcees and DJs. We

ABEL JACKSON AT WORK. PHOTO BY KATE GALINDO

When you see art, it goes right to your heart; it bypasses your intellectual thinking and hits your emotional understanding. You become receptive.

That’s what I’m trying to do here. I wanna reach the people who understand what’s going on and the people who don’t.

What’s your advice for those protesting against police brutality in Charlotte?

All I can say is stick with the protest. Find constructive ways of putting work into it and sticking to it.

But also be very mindful.

Think for yourself, be creative, and continue to push forward. Don’t become complacent.

These interviews were edited and condensed for clarity.

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THE FINISHED WORK.

PHOTO BY ALEX ORELLANO

ARTS FEATURE BOOM SENDS OUT THE ‘CALL TO CREATE’

Avant garde festival pivots to become virtual forum for community voices

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BY PAT MORAN

In mid-March, when it became apparent that the COVID-19 crisis was on a collision course with BOOM, Manoj Kesavan temporarily pulled the plug on Charlotte’s biggest, best and riskiest arts festival.

But you can’t defuse an arts explosion for long. BOOM had built a reputation for flexibility, says Kesavan, the founder and executive director of the three-day grassroots avant-garde arts festival that takes place each year in Plaza Midwood.

“Unlike [other] organizations that are set in what they do, we are able to adapt quickly,” Kesavan asserts.

A Call to Create, BOOM’s latest adaptation to swiftly moving events, goes up in July. The event invites artists and performers to respond to the current state of affairs, specifically the Black Lives Matter protests that continue to sweep Charlotte and the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer. From 4-7 p.m. on July 11, artists will express themselves live and online to a virtual audience. Fittingly, the artists submission deadline for the online festival is Juneteenth, July 19 at 11:59 p.m.

As videos documenting Black lives lost to oppressive policing and systemic racism continue to surface, BOOM pledges to amplify community voices in this time of crisis and transformation, Kesavan offers.

“The conversation starters and thought provokers not only lead demonstrations, they also move masses, provoke and inspire reflection and action through their performances,” reads BOOM’s June 12 press release for A Call to Create. “They put brushes to canvas to share different perspectives. They immortalize moments with their camera shutters. They use art to give voice to the unseen and the unheard.”

The model for A Call to Create, Kesavan says, is much like the one BOOM established in April for BOOM in the Living Room, a live showcase where artists who

had been scheduled for the canceled BOOM festival took the opportunity to share their work with online viewers.

True to their clarion call to creatives, BOOM is not launching A Call to Create without collaborators.

“The great thing is that we are not doing it by ourselves,” Kesavan says. BOOM is partnering with BLKMRKTCLT, the Camp North End gallery and studio space featuring artists such as Dammit Wesley, Will Jenkins, and others; Charlotte is Creative, the inexhaustible duo of Tim Miner and Matt Olin who’ve launched aspirational projects like the monthly breakfast series Creative Mornings; and The Roll Up CLT, an arts, economic strategies and economic growth residency in west Charlotte’s Camp Greene community that was founded by artist and entrepreneur Jessica Moss.

“We reached out to people like BLKMRKTCLT and the Roll Up CLT, people who have been a part of BOOM [in the past], because we thought we needed to make [the event] more of a grassroots collective,” Kesavan says.

In fact, two of BOOM’s partners have already heeded the call to make their mark in the city in light of the protests. BLKMRKTCLT and Charlotte is Creative were involved instrumental in planning — and in Dammit Wesley’s case, painting — the Black Lives Matter mural on South Tryon Street between East Third and East Fourth streets in Uptown Charlotte. You can read more about that on page 10.

“The mural project includes many of our collaborators,” Kesavan maintains.

So, what will the arts advocacy ensconced in A Call to Create look like?

“Art is a broad term, so it could be performances or artists sharing their work and talking about it,” Kesavan offers. “Or it could be their response to what’s going on in the streets right now.”

Most likely, A Call to Create will be an online showcase much like BOOM in the Living Room, Kesavan says. There will be a series of six-minute performances or presentations by the artists, which

MANOJ KESAVAN PHOTO BY MARK HAMES

will be live-streamed by BOOM and its partners as well as all the artists involved. There will also be a yetto-be-determined live host curating the event.

“We are still figuring out what exactly it will look like,” Kesavan continues. “It depends on how people respond to our call. [Each artist] will get six minutes.

Then we need to figure out how many six-minute

slots we have to make up the hour.”

During A Call to Create, BOOM organizers may also be asking for donations to fund future projects, including a revamped BOOM 2020 festival tentatively scheduled to take place this fall. BOOM and its partners will also be encouraging people to donate directly to the artists.

“We are providing a platform, and we’re offering help to the artists in a direct way,” Kesavan maintains. If A Call to Create is successful in engaging and empowering the community, he adds, BOOM and its partners might just launch another Call in a few weeks or a month.

In the spring, Kesavan had big plans for BOOM 2020. The festival had always been a forum and amplifier of voices and viewpoints that fell outside of the mainstream, but the fifth annual arts explosion was going to forge further out to the fringes of Charlotte’s arts scene while paradoxically sticking closer to home.

“We were going to work with artists in underserved neighborhoods,” Kesavan says.

Artists including award-winning playwright Stacey Rose, standup comedian Tyrone Burston and novelist and dramaturge Rae Mariah MacCarthy were on deck.

Organizers had laid out plans to surpass the previous year’s festival, which featured 120 performances, including fringe shows staged outdoors plus ticketed events at indoor venues.

But when community concerns turned to staying at home and flattening the curve, it looked like BOOM had gone bust due to COVID-19.

But instead, BOOM rebounded.

In April, Kesavan and his crew of collaborators invited the artists and performers that were originally selected to be a part of the canceled festival to share their work live online with BOOM in the Living Room.

BOOM sent inquiries to artists and groups they had already selected for BOOM 2020, asking them if they’d like to do something live from their homes,

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ARTS FEATURE

says. “That’s been the hardest hit sector [of the economy], so we lost pretty much all our sponsorship.”

With the specter of rising infection rates fueling speculation that Governor Roy Cooper might initiate a second shutdown, Kesavan’s economic assessment is sobering.

“We’re still looking for a new operating model,” he says.

What the festival will look like in a postpandemic landscape is anybody’s guess right now, but Kesavan says wheels are turning. One scenario is a hybrid BOOM, a festival that includes outdoor performances with sufficient social distancing coupled with live online presentations.

What’s certain is that BOOM will continue the practice that helped JESSICA MOSS OF ROLL UP CLT build their reputation as a PHOTO BY MITCHELL KEARNEY grassroots community Kesavan reports. The majority of them enthusiastically showcase in the first place. said yes, so Kesavan and his team created a three-hour They’re adapting to a changing performing arts time table and asked the artists and performers to landscape. sign up for slots.

“We’ve been forced to deal with it,” Kesavan says.

“We were directing [viewers] to their own “It looks like some of the outdoor gatherings websites or social media or ZOOM,” Kesavan offers. might be possible in the fall,” he continues. “It won’t “We just complied and hosted [the program]”. be the BOOM everyone knows, though it might For an eclectic program hosted by poet and spoken have some of the street performance aspect. We are word artist Boris “Bluz” Rogers, an online audience looking at a lot of options.” jumped from platform to platform — Facebook Live, That said, Kesavan has no doubt that BOOM has Instagram Live, YouTube, Twitch, ZOOM and the artists’ proven how vital a grassroots arts and performance own websites — to experience art. festival is for a growing and changing city.

As BOOM in the Living Room proved that the There’s a reason that BOOM took off, Kesavan festival — or at least some aspects of it — could asserts, growing exponentially from year to year. thrive in an online space, Kesavan and his crew of “It grew really fast because we are filling a void,” collaborators started making plans for a relaunched he says, noting that BOOM has been the leading edge BOOM. in an historically risk-averse city, where corporateOne speed bump hindering a retrofitted- sponsored art has tried (and failed) to be creative for-quarantine BOOM is that the business model without pushing the envelope. established by the festival for four years may no “There is a big need for this,” Kesavan says. longer be feasible.

“And with the Black Lives Matter protests that are “A lot of our big supporters [in the past] were happening, I feel that the need is greater than ever.” breweries, restaurants and local small stores,” Kesavan PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

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MUSIC FEATURE THE MANY MINDS OF MASON

Mason Parker is back for the first time with debut album and different outlook

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BY RYAN PITKIN

on records since back when they were both littleknown local rappers going by Quill and Big Baby Jesus, respectively. Rather than let that add to his sense of failure, Parker made a realization about his own goals.

“I had like an ‘Aha’ moment where I realized I don’t want that,” he said. “I don’t want to be a rapper anymore. I rap, but I’m an artist, I’m a creator, there’s so many different things that I want to do, nor do I want that level or that type of notoriety or fame. I like being able to sit here in Northlake and do this interview.”

He mentioned that earlier that day, his mailman recognized him from one of his videos, and that sort of recognition meant more to him because it was about more than fame or a name.

“It’s nice when it’s at that level because you

When I met up with Mason Parker at Northlake Mall on a recent Saturday afternoon, I immediately recognized a change in him. It had been three years since I had last seen Parker, before he played his “Farewell” show at Hattie’s Tap & Tavern and took off for Los Angeles to record his debut album.

Back in 2017, when I sat down with Parker for a Q&A about his decision to leave and then recorded an episode of the now defunct Local Vibes podcast in which he joined me and cohost Mark Kemp as a guest, there was always an air of bravado about Parker’s presence.

It wasn’t anything I would call overbearing, or even annoying for that matter, just playful comments that he would lace into the conversation here and there to make sure everyone knew that he was the best rapper around. Mark and I would cast grinning glances at each other and keep it moving, as Parker had MASON PARKER every right to be cocky.

Fast forward to 2020 at the Northlake Mall food know it’s real genuine and you’re not a commodity court, where Mason Parker ordered cheesesteaks so to speak, in the sense where you’re the hot guy to from Charleys for him and his fiance, Kimberly. listen to now,” Parker said. “So they really aren’t very The three of us sat and talked for half an hour, and invested in you as an artist, but just looking at who though Parker still had swagger, I kept waiting for you are. I like when people show love because they the braggadocio to rear its head. Instead, I found a appreciate what I do.”

And yet a creator must create. During his time more insightful, practical Parker.

Early on in our conversation, the 34-year- back in Charlotte, Parker has been recording songs old father of four addressed the fact that he had that he wrote as a way to confront those first feelings returned to Charlotte in August 2018, just 14 of failure and the epiphany he went through around months after having left, with no record and no staying true to his own artistic nature.

On April 20, Parker finally dropped his debut large following. It seems the experience humbled him, while reminding him what was important in album, Quantum Leap, featuring 10 tracks that show how he’s only honed his long-known ability to ride life.

“When I left, it was a thing,” he recalled. “There the line between swaggering verse-driven tracks was the interview and the podcast and all that, so and Afrocentric methodology.

“A quantum leap is defined as a sudden and for me to not come back riding on a chariot and stuff significant advancement or repositioning,” Parker like that, I felt like I had failed.”

Since returning to Charlotte, Parker has watched stated in a press release upon the album’s launch. “I the rise of Da Baby, with whom he had traded barbs felt like there was no better way to describe my last

Parker will aim to release the graphic novel in 2022, and will continue to make music in the meantime.

It’s all part of a plan to capitalize on his multifaceted talents, which once kept industry reps away but now, thanks to the rise of other Renaissance men like Donald Glover, more people are intrigued with any new revenue streams an artist might have to offer.

Parker said he’d like to get out of “full-time rapper mode” and focus more on production, acting, scoring, content creation, consulting and whatever else he can dip his feet into, only booking music gigs when he truly has the urge to perform. With live gigs on the backburner for everyone in 2020, it only makes sense moving forward.

“If anything this pandemic has shown every artist that you gotta think like that,” he said.

“And it’s funny because it’s amazing the evolution to me. I remember a time when I couldn’t find representation because of the exact reason why I have representation now — because I was a doit-all, people didn’t know how to market me, they didn’t know how to handle me, they didn’t know what to do with me … And so, skip, skip, skip ahead to Donald Glover and whoever else, now it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we can make money off of you.’”

In July, he’ll release a new video for“Stereotype,” one of the more racially conscious songs on Quantum Leap. He hadn’t planned on shooting the video until next year, but recent countrywide protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer convinced him the song needed to move up front.

Knowing that Parker was never one to sit on the sidelines during the local unrest of the Charlotte Uprising in 2016, I asked how it was for him to be PHOTO BY JOSHUA GALLOWAY home again and see protests of the same sort return In 2018, Parker wrote and released his first to Uptown streets. He said it felt different in a way that comic book, The Paperback Hero Saga, accompanied has sparked some cautionary optimism in him.

“I have never seen such a surge of white by a short film starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner of Cosby Show fame and scored by Bluz. However, after consciousness and that’s something I don’t think returning to Charlotte and finding a new distribution anybody’s seen. This is some new shit,” he said. “I deal for the book, Parker pulled the original from think that shows progress. The true test is going to be shelves and began reworking the story into what when it becomes uncomfortable, because it is going to become uncomfortable very fast. Because there’s will now become a 100-page graphic novel.

Working alongside Charlotte-based illustrator a power shift, and if you’ve been living in a system Wolly McNair, who also designed the Quantum Leap that is tilted to your favor, even if it’s unbeknownst cover, Parker is working to create an entire world of to you, and you’ve been comfortable in that system, it’s like being born again. You was in the womb characters with roots in his musical projects.

“Even the theme of the album itself, with and you was chilling and all the sudden the doctor Quantum Leap being cosmically themed, plays into smacks you on your ass and you’re like, ‘What the it,” Parker said. “There will be characters that come fuck, I don’t like this, I’m uncomfortable,’ and it’s out of each of these projects that people will be able going to be an issue adjusting to true equality.”

Those are words to take to heart, because if to follow back to their origins in one of the tracks of each project. So as each project comes out, one track there’s anything Mason Parker is familiar with, it’s from each project will be like the theme song for a leaving a comfort zone. character in the universe that I create.” few years away from the [music] scene. I left to focus on growing as a person and now that I am back, I’m more focused than ever. This album illustrates everything that I’ve gone through to bring me here.

This season of my life is indeed my quantum leap.”

Later, in speaking with me at Northlake Mall, Parker returned to that idea of “a new season” in his life, which isn’t surprising to those familiar with his work around Charlotte. He has traveled overseas as an actor with Quentin Talley’s OnQ Productions, starring in Miles & Coltrane; he’s built a name as a spoken-word poet alongside longtime friend Boris “Bluz” Rogers and others in the city; he won awards and critical acclaim as one of the city’s most versatile rappers; and now he’s moving into his new role: comic book author.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

We’re kind of opening, kind of not, so not all of these are virtual events as we’ve been highlighting since March, but plenty are. COVID is still going strong, so party at your own risk. meaning of Juneteenth and talking about how to CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY: ‘WHOSE What: On June 19, 1865, Union Army general move forward in our community.

STREETS?’ Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston More: Free; June 20, 2 p.m.; 2645 Toomey Ave.; What: Leaders with the Charlotte Film Society were that officially freed all the enslaved people in tinyurl.com/JuneteenthCLT horrified and heartbroken at the killings of George Texas. Nowadays we celebrate the anniversary Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Inspired of this proclamation with the holiday known as STAND AGAINST RACISM by the peaceful protests in their names, they have Juneteenth. BLKMRKTCLT, Durag Fest, It Ends What: Any mission devoted to eliminating racism decided to honor the Black Lives Matter movement Now, and Heal Charlotte host the Freedom March must start with calling attention to the problem. by partnering with Magnolia Pictures to offer — via festivities which feature a speaking engagement The YWCA’s annual Stand Against Racism event aims virtual screening rooms — three documentary films and a peaceful protest. Attendees are encouraged to to connect, celebrate and strengthen those working that speak powerfully to the scourge of systemic wear durags and/or clothing that represents Black in social and racial justice in the Charlotte area. For racism: Whose Streets? documents the uprising in American culture and African heritage. this year’s event, the YWCA will be hosting a virtual Ferguson, Mo., after the police killing of 18-yearMore: Free; June 19, 1 p.m.; First Ward Park; forum on Thursday, June 25, and will be having a old Michael Brown. I Am Not Your Negro explores the tinyurl.com/JuneteenthFreedomMarch sidewalk stand on Friday, June 26. See how you can history of racism in the United States through the

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JUNETEENTH FREEDOM MARCH

CNMF are given one week to compose short, brand new works based on a specific set of criteria. This year, the works must draw influence from the first Contrapunctus of Bach’s brilliant “Art of Fugue,” and Led Zeppelin’s iconic song “Kashmir.” Check out the other shows too: Popebama and Byrne: Kozar: Duo on June 17, Transient Canvas on June 18, SpacePants on June 19, Duo Zonda on June 22, RPE Duo on June 23, flautist Erinn Frechette and Loadbang on June 24, pianist William Fried on June 25, Hypercube on June 26, Beo String Quartet on June 26 and the Computer Music Concert on June 27, which features live interactive computer and electroacoustic performances from performers around the country!

More: Free; June 20 at 1 p.m.; reminiscences of legendary writer James Baldwin. tinyurl.com/CharlotteNewMusic Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am examines the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist. Every film you pay for, you own, and proceeds go to Race ‘SYMBOLS OF HATE?’ Matters for Juvenile Justice (RMJJ), which works What: Levine Museum’s Membership Appreciation to eradicate racism through education and reduce Events are well worth the membership fee alone, inequitable outcomes for children and families of which starts at $35. For this virtual discussion, two top Southern history scholars, Dr. Adam Domby and color.

More: $6.99 apiece or $15 for three film bundle; Dr. Karen L. Cox, lead a conversation surrounding the continued use of symbols of hate. Domby’s book, The charlottefilmsociety.com/

take a stand.

More: Free; June 25, 6:30 p.m., June 26, 11 a.m.; JUNETEENTH FOOD TRUCK RALLY What: The Coalition for the New South hosts a ywcacentralcarolinas.org/programs/ peaceful evening of music, food and conversation at Hornet’s Nest Park. That said, the gathering is also FAMILY FIRST: JUNETEENTH a call to action with four goals in mind: Banning CELEBRATION ART LESSON police chokeholds, remembering victims of police What: For this family-friendly art lesson from the brutality, creating laws necessary to hold officers Harvey B. Gantt Center, instructor Alicia McDaniel accountable, and building a powerful grassroots finds inspiration in Sonia Lynn Sadler’s vibrant and coalition. Social distancing will be followed and face colorful mixed media piece “Juneteenth at Oak masks are required.

Bluff.” You’ll create a scene of a jubilant Juneteenth More: Free; June 19, 5 p.m.; 6301 Beatties Ford celebration with your own twist. Use the Zoom THE LEGACY OF STONEWALL Road; tinyurl.com/JuneteenthFoodTruck webinar link and password below to participate in What: On June 28, 1969, an early morning raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village spurred the workshop. a series of spontaneous uprisings that ushered in More: Free; June 19, 3 p.m.; ‘SPINNING OUT’ the modern era of LGBTQA advocacy. Is Stonewall a What: Late Bloomer bassist Josh Robbins has tinyurl.com/FamilyFirstJuneteenth; harbinger or template for Black Lives Matter protests launched an Instagram series called “Spinning Out,” ganttcenter.zoom.us/j/91911962051; PW: 28202. today? Charlotte Pride hosts a live conversation where he talks to friends about their favorite albums with a variety of movement leaders in Charlotte “or generally whatever they wanna chat about,” CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY AL FRESCO and beyond to discuss the meaning and legacy of Robbins says. June 18 brings Devin McKnight, What: Charlotte Symphony al Fresco is a series Stonewall today. formerly of Speedy Ortiz and currently fronting conceived by the symphony’s Principal Cellist, Alan More: Free; June 24, 6 p.m.; his New York combo Maneka. Robbins’ guest the Black. Ever since June 10, Black has been inviting tinyurl.com/StonewallLegacy following week is Kiley Lotz of Petal. Tune in on the other musicians into his backyard to perform Late Bloomer Instagram. together in a socially distanced configuration. The More: Free; June 18 and 25, 6 p.m.; @latebloomernc resulting concerts are being released weekly for free CHARLOTTE NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL: on YouTube and Facebook Premieres. This is music CONCERT OF THE MINIATURES dedicated to hope and healing for the community What: The Charlotte New Music Festival (CNMF) JUNETEENTH CLT has gone virtual this year, which means that all the What: Charlotte is one of the few major cities that in the face of not one but two major crises effecting fest’s innovative and experimental concerts can be doesn’t celebrate this historic Juneteenth holiday. the nation. June 17 features flautist Victor Wang, streamed online. We’re picking a mix of Bach and This gathering is designed to remedy that situation violinist Monica Boboc, violist Kirsten Swanson and the British blues rock on June 23, but you can’t go with storytelling, performances, free food and cellists Sarah Markle and Black. wrong with any of the shows CNMF has lined up. For more. The event begins with a march to the park. More: Free; Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Concert of the Miniatures, composers in the 2020 Then you’re invited to spend the day learning the charlottesymphony.org/csoalfresco/

False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory, shows how these lies have long

obscured the past and been used to buttress white supremacy in ways that resonate to this day. Cox is the author of Dreaming of Dixie: How the South Was Created in American Popular Culture, and is currently working on a cultural history of Confederate monuments.

More: $35 and up; June 17 at 7 p.m; museumofthenewsouth.org

ROLL AGAINST RACISM

What: The skateboarders at Black Sheep and with the now-doomed Eastland DIY skate park want to show up for the cause, and they’ll be rolling down Central Avenue with signs to support Black Lives Matter. The rules read like this: Watch for cars, stick with your homies, do not instigate, fight the system (not the individual) and remember who we are here for. There will be a raffle with 100% of proceeds going to the NAACP. More: Free; June 19 at 4 p.m; Black Sheep Skate Shop, 830 Lamar Ave.

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE IN SOBRIETY, ISOLATION IS THE ENEMY

The restaurant shutdown threatens to trigger relapses in an industry prone to addiction

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BY KRISTEN WILE

Corduroy pants and a flannel shirt. The outfit hangs in Sam Diminich’s closet as a reminder of the time that these items were nearly all he had. His little sister took him to buy the outfit at Goodwill on the way to rehab, after Diminich had fallen so far into addiction that he had been homeless on the streets of Charlotte for a year. It was at least his dozenth attempt at sobriety, but this time felt different. He knew he had few chances left to change his life. This time, on November 16, 2014, he did it. Diminich, now the executive chef at Upstream in SouthPark, has been sober ever since — and he’s been helping others achieve sobriety, too.

Now, he and other mentors fear the path to maintaining sobriety has gotten much more difficult for those in the restaurant industry who have lost their jobs and are home alone.

Addiction is especially prevalent in this industry, says Rita Clyburn, a certified substance abuse counselor who works with recovering addicts as clinical director of student services at Charlotte Rescue Mission’s nonprofit restaurant Community Matters Café. For someone in early recovery in the restaurant industry, she estimates the success rate of sobriety is about 30%. These workers face a unique hurdle: They are constantly reminded of what it was like to drink.

“What the brain is doing is remembering those good times and seeing people in the restaurant that are eating food, having drinks and laughing, who tend to be looking like they’re having a good time — that’s what the brain taps into,” Clyburn says. “They’d have to literally force their brain to remember the end before they came into treatment or recovery, whatever their story looks like, in order for them not to relapse … but for the majority in early recovery, they do not take the action, so they start fantasizing and entertaining the good times.

And they drink again.”

Diminich, whose family has been ravaged

by alcoholism, recognizes another factor that complicates recovery in hospitality: the “work hard, play hard” mentality. Growing up in his family’s restaurant, he recalls drinking Coors Light during shifts and using alcohol as a coping mechanism.

“You know, back then, you think you’re invincible, you’re in control,” he says. “Little by little, there’s an invisible line that you cross. And I crossed it at a very early age.”

The most important resource in maintaining sobriety, Diminich says, is a support system. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing, however, many in recovery are left without easy access to their support groups. Ben’s Friends, a support group for those in the restaurant industry who battle addiction, has switched from weekly in-person meetings to daily meetings on Zoom. Restaurateur Steve Palmer is one of the founders of Ben’s Friends.

Palmer, who owns O-Ku, Oak Steakhouse, Sukoshi, and Indaco, has struggled with addiction himself, and he helped launch the nonprofit to provide a support group specific to the struggles faced by restaurant industry employees. With their industry being hit first, and likely hit hardest, by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Ben’s Friends members are relying heavily on the support group.

Ben’s Friends recently added 11 p.m. meetings several nights a week.

“It’s been especially hard, because one of the reasons you work in a restaurant is that you like being around people, you like serving people, and you like that sense of community and connection that only a restaurant can bring,” he says. “That’s completely gone.”

O-Ku hosts the Charlotte chapter’s weekly meetings. Without them, Palmer fears many people will face what he calls the enemy of addiction and recovery: isolation.

“I think most addicts and alcoholics, myself included, would tell you at the end of our addictions, we were alone,” Palmer says. “We were drinking alone. We were doing drugs alone. And so it’s a very scary time.”

Palmer believes that isolation, on top of the sudden departure from a highly social day-to-day routine, will cause relapse to become a prominent issue as the pandemic drags on. Even as the state begins to reopen dining rooms, many still have not come close to returning to working their normal hours.

Diminich, who is a co-leader of the Charlotte chapter of Ben’s Friends, echoes Palmer’s concern.

“My heart goes out in every way,” Diminich says.

“It’s almost emotional just to think about anybody in early sobriety right now who needs some sort of structure with family, friends, in the workplace and

everywhere in between. Now, we’re basically telling everybody, ‘Everything we taught you, everything that you know, all these tools that you have — whether they be meetings, fellowship, coffee, dinners together — you can’t do that anymore.”

Isolation, he explains, can cause addicts to begin believing the horrible things they believe about themselves. He recalls having those thoughts.

“You start believing your inadequacies, your hopelessness,” he says. “My alcoholism wanted me alone. It still wants me alone. I haven’t had an urge to drink, but there’s a reason why I keep going to meetings, and I go on Zoom. It’s basically the only disease that will ever tell you you don’t have a disease.”

Without the ability to talk about feelings with someone who understands that struggle, those in recovery can enter a downward spiral that leads them to drink again.

“When they get by themselves, all that thinking comes back and all that negative stuff they may or may not be defining themselves by,” Clyburn, the counselor, says. “And so to erase the fault, they drink.

Isolation is one of the worst things that a person in recovery — people in general, but definitely in early recovery — could get stuck in, because they will drink again.”

That concern drives Ben’s Friends, as well as

Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, to provide as much support online as they can.

Diminich says he’s been on the phone with sponsees frequently, and he encourages anyone struggling to stay sober to log on to their meetings. Attendees share how they’re feeling and offer support.

Diminich, who had been working to reinvent SouthPark restaurant Upstream before being laid off due to the temporary restaurant shutdown, says he finds relief in hearing that others feel similar emotions.

Even though meetings have moved online, Diminich says attendees are more active than ever — a sign that meetings are needed more than ever. Palmer, Diminich and others in the sober community have been more active than ever, too, trying to ensure others can maintain that path.

“Our common denominator is that we’re in the hospitality industry, and the hospitality industry is dead set on taking care of people,” Diminich says.

“This has been an ideal opportunity for us to spend an hour together to help take care of each other.”

This story originally ran at the local online food media outlet Unpretentious Palate. Visit unpretentiouspalate.com for food news, reviews and more.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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FOOD & DRINK CONTINUED ARE GHOST KITCHENS THE NEXT BIG THING? Coronavirus closures give restaurateurs practice in delivery

BY KRISTEN WILE

With the introduction of food delivery services such as DoorDash and Grubhub, consumers have changed their expectations of delivery. No longer is it only pizza or Chinese food arriving to your front door; you can order dishes from restaurants across town — with or without the restaurant’s consent to have their food delivered. As diners remain eating mostly at home, however, restaurants have shifted focus to takeout and delivery. In many cases, restaurants are delivering food themselves, cutting out the costs of a third-party delivery service.

A ghost kitchen is a kitchen with no frontof-house staff or dining room. The restaurant’s presence is mainly virtual, either providing delivery itself or using the visibility of food delivery apps to sell their product. Few restaurants in Charlotte are set up to serve food that travels well. That’s changing now, as owners look to maintain some revenue by selling food to go.

The team behind The Goodyear House, including executive chef Chris Coleman, launched a ghost concept called Scratch House Chicken out of The Goodyear House in NoDa. By creating new concepts with different menus and branding offered online, they can cover diners looking for different cuisines as they scroll through delivery sites.

Scratch House serves fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, salads topped with chicken, and sides.

“Fried chicken has become everyday food; it used to be celebratory food,” Coleman says. “And it’s just extremely, it’s just delicious. Anything that’s battered and fried or coated in breading and fried is really, really good, but I think that for our particular time as well, people are just kind of craving comfort food.”

NOW OPEN FOR TAKE-OUT & DELIVERY! DELIVERY AVAILABLE THRU DOORDASH & GRUBHUB

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HOURS OF OPERATION Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday: 3pm - 8pm Friday: 12 pm - 8 pm ( 7 0 4 ) 9 6 9 - 2 5 5 0 | L A B E L L E H E L E N E R E S TA U R A N T. C O M

300 S TRYON ST, CHARLOTTE, NC

The fried chicken sold out the first weekend in development.

“It’s really hard to get the kind of R&D done that business, and the restaurant has had to adjust hours to keep up with the delivery demand and manage we want to get done during service and while we’re working,” Tonidandel says. “It would be a little more regular operations of The Goodyear House. focused if we could have a place to do that, but it’s really expensive to do that and not worth the investment.”

If the space could become a ghost kitchen in the evenings, however, that would offset that investment. The ideal space, Tonidandel says, would be a chain restaurant right near the highway in a neighborhood with low rent. That way, you can still serve affluent diners without paying to be in a high-rent area.

Coming out of the coronavirus outbreak, Tonidandel believes spaces like this will be easy to come by — and his restaurant team will be well CHRIS COLEMAN HAS TWO NEW HOUSES. versed in food to go.

PHOTO BY PETER TAYLOR “We’re definitely getting a lot more practice Jeff Tonidandel, who owns Haberdish, Growler’s at these types of things, we’re getting more Pourhouse, and Crepe Cellar with his wife Jamie comfortable with it,” he says. “So, yeah, it’s definitely Brown, believes once we’re on the other side of a thought.” the pandemic, there will be a lot of opportunity for This story originally ran at the local online those looking to open a ghost kitchen.

With another restaurant on the way, he’s been food media outlet Unpretentious Palate. Visit considering the idea of a commissary kitchen that unpretentiouspalate.com for food news, reviews and makes some regular products for the kitchens, more. as well as acts as a place to do research and INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. U.S. STATES: Bay Staters hail from which U.S. state?

2. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of Lebanon?

3. HISTORY: Which major World War II battle was known by the code name “Operation Detachment”?

4. MUSIC: Which rock group had a 1960s hit with the song “Incense and Peppermints”?

5. MEASUREMENTS: What does a chronometer measure?

6. ADVERTISING SLOGANS: Which automotive company had the slogan, “Quality is Job 1”?

7. MOVIES: Which movie won the 1991 Oscar for Best Picture?

8. SCIENCE: What kind of adaptation allows an organism to blend into its environment?

9. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase “amor vincit omnia” mean?

10. TELEVISION: What is the capital of the Seven Kingdoms in “Game of Thrones”?

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Painter of limp watches 5 By the day, as payment 12 “It doesn’t matter” 20 Moran of “Happy Days” 21 The tiniest bit 22 Hot pepper 23 Group of wolves decide which hockey disk to use?

25 Brought upon oneself 26 USNA frosh 27 “- Miz” 28 Bring in 30 Moniker, in Marseilles 31 Mervyn of film 33 Misplaced the most recent catalog?

38 Sun circlers 41 Braga of film 42 Nervous 43 Notice folks quarreling about a skewer?

45 Kind of latte 47 Sportswriter Pasquarelli 48 Name of 12 popes 49 Folksy denial 50 Parisian “to be” 51 Actor Robert De 52 Six-legged scurrier 53 Gift add-ons 55 Farm structure is built in Switzerland’s capital?

59 Liam of “Nell” 61 Raises up 63 Yemen’s largest city 64 - time (never) 66 Give a big speech 67 Baseball Hall of Famer Waite 69 Preside

71 Students 74 To no avail 78 Put a clump of tree-trunk greenery in disarray?

80 Bath powder 82 Philosopher Lao- 83 Optic layer 84 Throw easily 85 Paddle’s kin 86 Stuff in ale 87 Rev.’s talk 88 City on I-80 89 Group working on a jackdaw’s gullet?

94 Slate clearer 96 Miller rival 97 Optometrist 98 Knock out a pier-dwelling mallard?

101 “- good you let him know”: Hamlet 102 “My country, - ...”

103 Lock fastener 104 Plant seeds 105 Shuts noisily 109 Preserve 112 Exited the elevator to the high-ceilinged SoHo flat?

116 How keyless music is written 117 Quito locale 118 Like - of sunshine 119 Little jaunt on a little horse 120 Cyclone 121 Where Coca-Cola is “KO” DOWN 1 Johnny of “Ed Wood” 2 Central Asia’s - Sea 3 Pooch pests 4 Rorschach test features

5 Luau chow 6 Hemming in 7 Type in anew 8 See 95-Down 9 Bettor’s note 10 Series-ending abbr.

11 Succeeds 12 Spin around 13 - -Barbera 14 “The Middle” network 15 Poked fun at 16 Register 17 Indiana county whose name is a red color 18 Afore 19 Gun, in slang 24 Parts of hammers 29 - good clip 32 Ice-T’s style 33 Hack 34 - roll (lucky) 35 Deriding look 36 - Nevada 37 Partner of a mortise 38 Hearing airer 39 Share a view 40 Artery 41 Minneapolis-to-Dallas dir.

44 Hit with a zapping gun 45 The Beatles’“Let -” 46 Collision 50 Register for 51 Hoops cable channel 53 Pole carving 54 Advice giver Landers 55 Yankee Yogi 56 Bob - restaurants 57 Per-unit costs 58 “Bye Bye Bye” boy band

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PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS

VOWEL LANGUAGE ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

60 Rumba’s kin 62 Garden soils 65 Johnny who cried “Come on down!”

68 OPEC fuel 69 Idolize 70 Keystroke or mouse click 72 Canadian gas brand 73 Detached, in mus.

75 Old game console 76 Lanai and Skye, say 77 Product label wds.

78 Ruminated 79 County in New Mexico 81 Tree once associated with bow wielders 85 Pained cries 86 “Dirty Sexy Money” actress Zoe 88 Symbol atop the Kremlin 89 Pair of poetic lines 90 Mythical bird 91 Mork’s planet 92 Pitching whiz 93 Sausage, in Stuttgart 95 With 8-Down, swims without a suit 96 They made LPs passŽ 99 Kid 100 West with 21 Grammys 101 - lie (fibbed) 104 Funny Laurel 106 Gossamer 107 Degs. for playwrights 108 Eye malady 109 GPS drawing 110 From - B 111 Ring legend 113 Prefix with law or tourist 114 Cat coat 115 Swing to and -

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER

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A ‘METTA’ MEDITATION

to remind myself just how privileged I am: to be white as a racial crisis unfolds, to not need to claim unemployment as a result of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

A Loving Kindness meditation is meant to invoke a Coming face to face with my sense of benevolence and goodwill — something we need in our current state of unrest. Perhaps, I decided, this is how own privilege I can help move, influence or even manipulate some of the negative energy around us. Perhaps by speaking to the

BY KATIE GRANT inhumanity our Black American friends, family members Amidst a global pandemic and national civil unrest, and colleagues have endured during past and present I recently taught my first virtual yoga class in a studio times, others in our environs will be positively influenced setting. It’s been weeks, months even, since I’ve stepped and pay it forward. A chain reaction of loving kindness, if you will. foot into Okra, which I often refer to as my “home away from home.” But what is a yoga studio without yogis? The room felt barren — a jewelry box devoid of any element of surprise. The sparkle withdrawn.

Feeling dejected, I’ve been unsure of what to say or do lately. Nothing feels good enough. I feel small, insignificant. But this isn’t about me, I remind myself.

I put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard, and resolved to weave a “Metta”, or Loving Kindness meditation, into the practice. This is something I can do as a yoga KATIE GRANT teacher — step into my power, PHOTO BY LAUREN MAZZELLA leverage my voice and hopefully inspire just one person.

I don’t use the term “love” in a romantic sense, but Whilst in teacher training, it is made very clear to graduates that we are stepping into a role as a community more of an agreement of unconditional understanding and leader. But leadership has little to do with position, or even acceptance — an agreement that we will treat each other skill sets. It is more a way of thinking and being. This is not with equal reciprocity in honor of our many differences. something I was taught, but something I have learned And despite these differences, according to the National along the way as a consequence of piss-poor management. Human Genome Research Institute, all human beings are Leadership should embody three essential qualities: 99.9% identical in their genetic makeup. So fuck you, white integrity (sound moral character and how we behave when supremacists.

During the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. was committed no one is looking), authenticity (a unique and genuine quality) and confidence (something I am still working on). to nonviolent social change, which directly aligns with To serve my community while honoring my work as a yoga’s ethical principle of “ahimsa,” or nonviolence. King yoga teacher, composing a Loving Kindness meditation is urged civil rights activists, law enforcement and all of attainable. And if Zoom is my only outlet for the time being, America to practice nonviolence — a fundamental concept I am grateful for that chance to be heard. I sometimes need we can exercise today while hopefully influencing law

enforcement to follow suit.

I understand my voice is just one amongst a throng of like-minded individuals, but imagine notes of loving kindness sung on high at the exact same moment across the country: We are listening, we care, we are here to make a difference. We will unify as a chorus of peace and progress.

In the wise words of Brazilian lyricist and novelist Paulo Coehlo, “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”

Being an anti-racist is an action item, a verb, something we can stand up and physically do together. Anti-racism is also not a curriculum we politely gloss over and turn to the next chapter. Breakdowns lead to breakthroughs.

It’s become abundantly clear anti-racism is something we need to collectively embrace and weave into the fabric of our community, creating a stronger and more equitable society. We just have to make sure that we don’t slow down in our progress or become complacent.

Complacency is partly what got us here in the first place.

Look at our currency, for example.

Three presidents featured on American bills each owned over 200 slaves. Invoke a sense of empathy here and imagine what kind of messaging this sends to non-white citizens of this country.

For the 2020 fiscal year, the Fed’s Board of Governors ordered 5.2 billion Federal Reserve notes (bills) valued at $146.4 billion.

That’s 5.2 billion chances to feature literally any other key figures in American history that perhaps support “a more perfect union”, as our Preamble proposes.

It’s most important for privileged white folks like myself, who could conceivably come out of both the ongoing crises our country faces squeaky clean, to remember that going back to normal is no longer an option.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we heard a lot about “the new normal,” in reference to how things would be after the quarantine. But we need to recognize that it will take a new normal to bring us to the other side of what we’re experiencing in response to police brutality. This new normal starts with us, immediately. As Gandhi stated, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Until we see that, settling for a return to the way things were should be out of the question. Act as if racism is a public health crisis that puts all at risk, because that’s exactly what it is.

By Lucie Winborne • Following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of hairstylists and alpaca farmers donated over 19 warehouses worth of cut hair to help absorb the spilled oil.

• Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula,” or “Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciuncula.” Now you know why people usually just call it “L.A.” • Sex expert Dr. Ruth was trained as a sniper by the Israeli military.

• Looking for the perfect gift for the object of your affection? How about a toilet seat? Don’t laugh — that’s what Ben Affleck gave Jennifer Lopez when the two were a hot item. Of course, this particular “throne” cost $105,000 and was covered in diamonds, rubies and sapphires!

• Astronaut Neil Armstrong threatened legal action against his barber for selling his hair to a collector for $3,000.

• The Benguet of northwestern Philippines blindfold their dead and place them next to the main entrance of the house.

• Mr. and Mrs. Curry, of New York City, got married inside a 120,000-gallon shark tank. The bride wore a white wetsuit and the groom wore black, saying their “I do’s” while circled by different types of sharks and eels. Both were experienced divers but had to broadcast their vows to the wedding officiant, family and friends, since (unsurprisingly) none of them possessed equal nerve to enter the tank.

• Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim Anne Frank was posthumously baptized “by proxy” into Mormonism at least nine times.

• Boxer Mike Tyson once bribed a zoo worker to open the attraction for just him and his wife. During the visit, he also tried to bribe an attendant to let him fight a gorilla. The employee said no.

(One wonders who would have won.) *** Thought for the Day: “So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend.” — Robert Louis Stevenson © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE JUNE 17 - JUNE 23

JUNE 24 - JUNE 30

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Choosing to work LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A business ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A plan you’ve kept on LIBRA

(September 23 to October 22) A with someone you once thought might have been decision seems easy enough to make based on hold for a long time finally could be greenlighted. disappointing outcome of a well-intentioned effort disloyal is a courageous move. The logical next what you know. But this week could bring new But in typical Aries form, you’ll need to be sure should be seen as a lesson in how to do it right the step is to talk things out so there’ll be no reason for facts to light, and you might have to do some heavy that everything is in place before you hit the “start” next time. Note all your changes and have your new raising suspicions again. rethinking. button. plan set up by week’s end.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Take your time making a decision about a personal or work-related relationship. New facts are still coming in, and you’ll want to know the full story before you take a definitive step.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Feeling TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Others might urge SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Creative

sure about the steps you expect to take is great.

But you may need to share a few dollops of that confidence with those who have some doubts about your plans.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Expect to learn SAGITTARIUS something new about an old problem. This could provide some insight into how the problem began, and why it still defies efforts to find a resolution.

Good luck.

(November 22 to December 21) A sense of well-being dominates much of the week. A slightly depressed mood could set in on the weekend. But seeing family and friends helps shoo it away.

you to act more quickly on your ideas. But you’d be wise to follow your Bovine instincts and get more facts to bolster your position when you finally present it.

projects might have to go on standby as you tackle other matters making demands on your time and energy. Things should ease by the middle of next week.

GEMINI

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Your honest approach to an unsettling experience draws admiration from others. Use their positive feedback to build support for your program to introduce needed changes.

(May 21 to June 20) You might be tempted to accept the well-meaning offer of a friend to act as an intermediary in a dispute. But you know best what it’s about, and you can handle the challenge. Good luck.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) An uneasy work- CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) You CANCER

(June 21 to July 22) Entertainment related relationship can be eased with compromises appear to be walking your life’s path like the sure- can play an important role this week. Enjoy some by both sides. The parties might consider putting footed Goat you are. But someone might feel you well-earned diversion with people you care about. the agreed-upon changes in writing in case of a could do better. Listen to the advice, but make up Something especially wonderful might come from future misunderstanding. your own mind. this well-spent time.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Oh, you lucky Felines: AQUARIUS Your romantic aspects are in absolutely purrrfect form. Don’t be surprised at how especially attentive the ladies and gentlemen in your life are going to be this week.

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VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Looking to

prove yourself in a difficult situation is laudable.

But try paying more attention to advice from experienced contacts. It could help you avoid timewasting missteps.

(January 20 to February 18) With positive signs growing stronger, Aquarians could find themselves facing choices that are each too good to turn down. Best advice: Go for the one you feel most comfortable with.

CAPRICORN

(December 22 to January 19) A workplace goal that suddenly seems out of reach is no problem for the sure-footed Goat, who moves steadily forward despite any obstacles placed in his or her way.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Catnaps and playtime AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A job-

are in order for Leos and Leonas who need to take related situation could provide an opportunity you some time off from their hectic schedules to restore hadn’t considered before. Look it over carefully and their energies and rebuild their mental muscles. see where and how you can tailor it to fit your needs.

Have fun.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Showing PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Someone you VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Virgos will strength as well as sympathy helps you deal with know might need your comfort and wisdom during a need to keep an open mind this week about choices a difficult personal matter. It also helps you set particularly difficult period. Your encouraging words that seem improbable. A closer study might well an example for others when it’s their turn to get help restore self-confidence and rebuild strength. reveal possibilities that might have been overlooked. involved in the situation.

Stay with it.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your kindness to all who need you is always appreciated and sets a fine example for others to follow.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a way of making people feel comfortable without losing one whit of your own dignity in the process.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE ORAL REPORTS Use the mouth you’ve got

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a 32-year-old straight guy. My wife and I have been married for four years and together for nine. We have a great marriage and all is well.

We have been quarantining at home since March.

During this time, we have been exploring things sexually, which has been really fun. We have also been talking more about our kinks and fantasies.

One thing my wife really wants to try is an MMF threesome. I’ve agreed and she’s been talking about how hot it will be to make this happen once quarantine is over. She is particularly turned on by the fact that this would be my first sexual experience with another guy. The only issue is, in reality, it won’t be. The truth is that when I was in high school, a guy friend and I fooled around a few times. I have no regrets but those experiences only served to reaffirm that I preferred women. I never did anything with another guy and I never felt the need to mention these early experiences to my wife. She just assumed I had never had a same-sex encounter. Now I feel like I’ve misled her or lied to her somehow. Should I tell her the truth or just let her believe our MMF threesome would be my first time with a guy?

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NERVOUSLY OMITTED HOMOSEXUAL OCCURRENCES, MOSTLY ORAL

If your wife reads my column, NOHOMO, then you’ve just told her the truth and the advice that follows is moot. So here’s hoping she doesn’t read my column: You don’t have to tell your wife about the handful/mouthful of times you messed around with another guy in high school. If you’re like most straight guys with one or two cocks in your past, NOHOMO, I’m guessing you didn’t tell the wife because you didn’t want her to feel insecure or spend all her free time corresponding with advice columnists about whether her husband is secretly gay.

In fairness to the wife, NOHOMO, not every woman whose straight-identified male partner admits to a little same-sex messing around worries her boyfriend or husband is going to leave her for a dude or all the dudes.

But this worry is common enough to be something of cliché. A straight guy doesn’t even have to admit to having sucked one dick one time for his wife or girlfriend to worry he’s secretly gay; I get at least one letter every day from a woman who’s worried her husbands is gay

because he like to have his nipples played with or his butt touched or because he has feelings. So while it’s not ideal that straight-or-mostly-straight guys don’t feel they can be honest with their wives about their long ago and far away same-sex experimentation, NOHOMO, it’s understandable that many straight guys err on the side of keeping that shit to themselves.

But your question isn’t, “Why didn’t I tell her then?”, but rather, “Should I tell her now?” And I don’t think you have to. She wasn’t harmed by this omission — you didn’t deprive her of information she was entitled to — and disclosing now would only serve to deprive her of something, i.e. the excitement she feels about being there to witness what she thinks is your first same-sex encounter.

My wife questions my use of the word gay as being potentially offensive and I’d like to get your take. I’m male and my male friends like to flirt and joke about performing sex acts on each other.

We’ve never actually carried through with it but I consider myself on the “spectrum” and might be open to gay sex. My male friends and I say we’re being or acting gay (though we’re all practicing heterosexuals) and this is where my wife takes issue. For example, I might say, “We’re so gay!”, in our conversations but the word is used in a positive way. My wife makes the point that the word has a history of being used negatively, so may be considered offensive, and should only be used casually by people who are more legit gay. Should I stop using the word gay this way?

GAY POSER

TRIVIA ANSWERS: 1. Massachusetts 2. Beirut 3. Invasion of Iwo Jima

4. Strawberry Alarm Clock 5. Time 6. Ford Motor Co. 7. “Dances With Wolves”

I usually don’t allow elaborate sign-offs, OUROBOROS, but I’m making an exception for yours because it’s brilliant. (To save my other readers the trouble of googling: “oneiromancy” is the interpretation of dreams to predict the future and an “ouroboros” is an image of snake swallowing its own tail, often used as an infinity symbol.) That said, I’m not sure there’s really any call to heed here — other than a call to start doing the kind of stretching that would allow you to suck your own cock if you were 1. to get limber enough and 2. your cock is long enough. But a desire to suck one’s own cock — or even an attempt, successful or not — doesn’t mean a man is latently bisexual or gay. I assume you’ve been masturbating for more than two decades, OUROBOROS, and just as there’s nothing gay about all those handjobs you’ve given yourself, there’s nothing gay about the blowjobs you can only dream about giving yourself.

8. Camouflage 9. Love conquers all 10. King’s Landing

I read your letter three times and I still can’t tell whether you’re appalled or you’re jealous. Do you disapprove of your husband treating someone that way or are you disappointed that your husband has never treated you that way? If it’s the former, well, don’t watch any more videos of your husband throat fucking his subby cocksuckers. If it’s the latter (and I suspect it is), GAGGED, then you’re going to need to figure out how to articulate that clearly — something you failed to do in your letter — so you can tell your husband you’d like it like that too.

Not being used for oral like that, of course, since you don’t like performing oral sex. But maybe you’d like anal like that?

Dear Readers: This is gonna feel a little weird stuck onto the end of this week’s column, I realize, but I wanted to say something about protests all over the country and the world. While I haven’t been able to personally attend a Black Lives Matters protest over the last two weeks — I have deeply shitty lungs and I’m concerned about contracting coronavirus — I fully support everyone who has taken to the streets to protest the violence of systemic racism and the specific violence inflicted on the black people by racist cops. And while I can’t be at the protests, my husband and I made a donation to bail funds across the country to help out people who were arrested at them. (You can donate at actblue.com/donate/bailfunds.) Please keep marching, please wear your masks (they work!), and please — please — make sure you and everyone you know is registered to vote.

I’m that rare gay man who doesn’t like sucking Jesus, just suck off one of your male friends already dick.

It wasn’t hard for my VGL husband to find — just get it over with — and then you have my guys who wanted to blow him before quarantine permission to keep using “gay” as compliment, GP. and for years I didn’t ask about it because I didn’t I’m a 35-year-old seemingly straight man, but want to know the details. But I knew he had video in the past year — roughly corresponding with the on his phone of some guys blowing him that he longest sex drought in the history of my adulthood sometimes watched and I recently asked to watch — I have had recurring wet dreams where I suck one and I was completely shocked. It wasn’t just myself off. Probably a dozen or so of these dreams, a blowjob. He spat in the guy’s face, called him all up, and I very much enjoy both sides of the homophobic names, and was just generally brutal. transaction. What do you think it means? Am I The intensity and violence wasn’t something witnessing the stirrings of some latent bisexuality I’ve ever detected in my husband or been on the receiving end from my husband. When I pressed or am I just desperate? Should I heed the call? my husband he shrugged and said, “That’s how a mail@savagelove.net; Follow Dan on Twitter @ ORIGINALLY UNILATERAL REGARDING ORAL BUT lot of guys like it.”

I’m not sure what to do.

FakeDanSavage; www.savagelovecast.com ONEIROMANCY REVEALS OPENING SEXUALITY GAY AND GLOOMY GUY EXTREMELY DISTURBED

THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.

 -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

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-Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.

-Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

-Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Â? Â?

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ONLINE THERAPY OPTIONS

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OPEN PATH COLLECTIVE

A nonprofit that connects people with private practice therapists that choose to participate.

Digital therapy is available for a $59 membership tinyurl.com/opcollective Pg. 23 JUN 17 - JUN 30, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

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An interactive website where users can enter their zip code to find a counseling professional near them online with phone and video options available. tinyurl.com/psychtodayonline €€

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Photo by Amanda Delgadillo