Winston-Salem History

Collapse Of Nissen Wagon Works: A Lost Opportunity

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Monday afternoon the historic Nissen Wagon Works building on Waughtown Street collapsed. The Winston-Salem Journal reported that the weight of this weekend’s snowfall was too much for the old building’s roof to support. We can only assume that the structure that has sat idle for many years will be condemned and bulldozed.

Soon, only the historical marker outside of the Nissen Wagon Works will be left to tell the historical sites’ story. For decades Nissen produced many of the wagons that … Read the rest

Downtown Developments

Miss America, Nia Franklin’s Homecoming Parade

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November isn’t an ideal time to throw a parade. I wonder if the City of Winston-Salem or Miss America Inc. is to blame for Saturday’s spur-of-the-moment parade? A grand parade in the spring planned out over many months that would have been nice.

If Miss America, Nia Franklin came to town a few weeks ago, she could have been part of Pride Winston-Salem’s parade. That would have been amazing!

Saturday afternoon’s parade, though modest, was noteworthy. Winston’s own, Nia Franklin … Read the rest

Featured in Category

Solidarity With Winston-Salem’s Jewish Community

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Saturday’s massacre at a Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh was genuinely terrible. I hate to see another mass shooting occur. But they keep happening with increasing frequency, each time, bring up the same feelings of despair and hopelessness among us.

Of course, America has always been a violent nation. It was forged with the twin evils of genocidal land appropriation from Native Americans and the labor of enslaved African Americans. We have some things to be proud of in our nation’s past, such as … Read the rest

Local Media

The Winston-Salem Chronicle Is A Black Newspaper

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Forgive me for stating the obvious. Everyone in Winston knows that The Chronicle is a Black newspaper, and that’s a good thing-something that The Chronicle should be proud of. That’s something that they should embrace. So why doesn’t The Chronicle mention that basic fact in their newspaper or website masthead?

The Chronicle’s print edition front page has a nice, bold look. But a succinct description reminding readers that The Chronicle is Winston’s African American newspaper would be of more value … Read the rest

Featured in Category

Reynolda Polo Fields Marker Illustrates The Uselessness Of The Ultra-Rich

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Winston is a city full of historical markers. Since 2001, the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission has placed “history on a stick” markers throughout Winston-Salem, making our city’s history plain for all to see.

Winston’s historical markers signify it’s prominent neighborhoods past and present, they tell of the growth and progression of our city, of labor and civil rights struggles. Sadly, historical markers are all that remain of once thriving Black neighborhoods in the city.

But not all … Read the rest

Activism

Pride Winston-Salem 2018

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The weather couldn’t have been better Saturday. It was a gorgeous afternoon to be in Downtown Winston for Pride Winston-Salem 2018. Pride Winston-Salem is an affirmation of individuality. It’s a time when the LGBTQ community takes to the streets of Downtown Winston, joined by straight allies.

I’m a big fan of Pride Winston-Salem, but I hate to see the festival get more commercial and corporate each year. The message seems to be, “come out and spend money,” as if being … Read the rest

Winston-Salem City Council

Zesto: Building Community Or Developing A Fast Food Franchise?

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“I’m always glad when we can have public-private partnerships.”                  -D.D. Adams, 8/14/2017

 

Back in May, a new Zesto restaurant opened at 2600 New Walkertown Road. The community excitement that I witnessed over Zesto’s opening made this blogger feel a little sheepish for harshly criticizing the project. So I shelved this article for a few months.

Now, after Zesto has been open for a while, and the excitement has faded, it’s time to take a critical look at Zesto.… Read the rest

East Winston

The Liberty Street Market Is An Unqualified Failure

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Four years ago today, October 11, 2014, the Liberty Street Market opened with the typical fanfare. Mayor Joines, Mayor Pro Tempore Burke, Derwin Montgomery, and other officials spoke at the ribbon cutting.

The plan was to build a vendor’s market in the middle of a food desert. First and foremost, the Liberty Street Market was supposed to bring fresh produce to an underserved community, to provide healthy options that the convenience stores across from the Liberty Street Market don’t offer.… Read the rest

Activism

Seeking Advantage In A Time Of Inequity

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Tuesday night’s WS/FCS Board meeting was another spirited affair. Supporters of R.J. Reynolds’ Home Field Advantage probably got more pushback from Save Hanes Park activists than they expected. But in the end, the school board voted unanimously to approve HFA’s plans for a new football stadium at Wiley Middle School.

Save Hanes Park supporters are definitely on the right side of history. Reynolds’ proposed new football stadium* is the wrong project, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The … Read the rest

Cleveland Avenue Homes

Avoiding Eviction Shouldn’t Be A Game Of Chance

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“I’m one step away from being the person on the street.”  -Cleveland Avenue Resident

Lots of folks enjoy games of chance, even though they know that the odds are stacked against them. Such games are a mainstay of the Dixie Classic Fair. Beating the odds, taking home a silly prize, that’s the game. And that’s great if you’re fifteen and want to impress your girlfriend to such an extent, that you’re willing to leave the fair with empty pockets.

But, … Read the rest

Winston-Salem City Council

Winston Native Crowned Miss America, But Poverty In Winston Keeps Many From Achieving Their Dreams

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Monday, the Winston-Salem City Council honored Nia Franklin, the recently crowned Miss America. Though Franklin’s pageant sash read New York, the 2018 Miss New York was born and raised in Winston, though she attended high school at North Davidson (a stain upon her hometown girl narrative that can be overlooked).

Recently, I asked a classmate of hers at North Davidson what she remembered of Franklin? My African American friend told me, that “being Black at North Davidson” they were … Read the rest

Peters Creek Initiative

City Council Is Poised To Fund The Peters Creek Initiative

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The Winston-Salem City Council has a full agenda tonight, replete with the usual giveaways, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for a development one mile south of BB&T Ballpark. And nearly an equal amount for a parking deck in the Wake Forest University Innovation Quarter.

Those two locations; BB&T Ballpark and the WF Innovation Quarter are already the site of the City of Winston-Salem’s most notorious money pits.

The city shouldn’t continue to subsidize the WFIQ. Let Wake Forest pay … Read the rest

Activism

The People’s Business

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Monday, 9/17/2018:

Noon – The Public Assembly Facilities Commission will meet at the Benton Convention Center.

3:00 p.m. – The Outstanding Women Leaders Program Committee will hold its monthly meeting in the City Manager’s Conference Room at City Hall.

7:00 p.m. –City Council Meeting, in the Council Chamber, City Hall, Room 230.

Tuesday, 9/18/2018:

4:00 p.m. – The Minority and Women Business Enterprise Citizen Advisory Committee will hold its monthly meeting in the Public Works Conference Room, City

… Read the rest
Downtown Developments

First On Fifth Begins Demolishing Its Unwanted Buildings

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I hate to see historic buildings bulldozed. Many excellent buildings have been lost over the years in Winston to make room for roadways and parking lots.

Historically, it’s been East Winston where homes and churches have been destroyed in the name of progress. But a curious thing is occurring in the heart of Downtown Winston. First Baptist Church on Fifth Street just started demolishing two of its three buildings on its own accord.

Last June, one’s of Winston’s most prominent … Read the rest