Poverty In Winston-Salem/Forsyth County

New Census Data Puts Winston In The Top 20 Worst Cities For Child Poverty

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Updated 1/21/19, 373 Words

The Triad Business Journal reported earlier this week that new census data identifies Winston-Salem as the 20th worst city, among major cities in the nation when it comes to child poverty. According to the Triad Business Journal, “more than one-third of the city’s children live in poverty.”  Spectrum News posted a solid follow-up to TBJ’s reporting, giving some context to these latest census numbers.

… Read the rest
East Winston

East Greensboro Has Much To Teach East Winston Regarding Community Development

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Last week, Renaissance Community Co-op announced that it would be closing its doors later this month. The announcement came as a shock to the residents of East Greensboro who assembled Monday night at Phillips Avenue for a community meeting. It took years of work for activists to make the Renaissance Community Co-op a reality.

While the closing of Renaissance is a setback for East Greensboro, community members are hopeful that a new grocery store, possibly a new co-op will … Read the rest

50 West Fourth

Protesters Greatly Outnumber Confederate Supporters On Fourth Street

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On a cold, wet winter’s day opponents and proponents of the Confederate statue at 50 West Fourth Street gathered on opposite sides of Fourth Street in dueling protests. At the base of the Confederate statue, a modest, all-white group of approximately 20 gathered. They came to Winston to oppose Winston-Salem Alliance President and W-S Mayor, Allen Joines’ plan to move Winston’s Confederate statue to Salem Cemetery.

Across the street, at One West Fourth Street, a much more substantial and diverse … Read the rest

Housing

Neighborhood Park On Second Street Was Originally Planned Site For Innovative Affordable Housing

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“The unfortunate reality is that most affordable housing looks exactly like what it is and adds to boundaries that quietly separate race, culture, and class.” 

 -David J. Brown, The Home House Project

 

In 2003, the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts (SECCA) launched an ambitious undertaking, with the goal of nothing less than re-imagining affordable housing. SECCA invited architects from around the world to submit housing designs that were inexpensive and easy to build, but also artistically compelling and environmentally … Read the rest

Confederate Statue

The Confederate Statue Controversy Must Lead To A Wider Conversation About Racism In Winston-Salem

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Updated 10:35, 1/05/2019, 433 words

 

Troublemakers force politicians to act. When a brave, anonymous activist added some commentary to Downtown Winston’s Confederate monument on Christmas Eve, it was an early Christmas gift for anti-racist activists in Winston and throughout the state. What was a one or two-day story, became the story in Winston-Salem that everyone is talking about when Mayor Allen Joines announced on January 1, a new plan to relocate Winston’s Confederate statue.

Chapel Hill is still the … Read the rest

Allen Joines

Mayor Joines Unveils A New Plan To Remove Johnny Rebel From Downtown Winston

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I made my way to Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on New Year’s Day for service honoring former City Alderman and State Representative, Larry Womble.

I was unaware that Winston-Salem Alliance President and Mayor, Allen Joines would be speaking at the event. Not only did he speak, but Winston’s longest-serving mayor revealed a new plan to rid Downtown Winston of a Confederate statue that has long outlasted its welcome.

Here are the words of Allen Joines, transcribed from audio to … Read the rest

Manufacturing

The Manufacturer’s Apologist: Looking Back At Gary Green’s Time At Forsyth Tech

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It’s that time of year: time to look back on 2018 and reflect on the events and the people who shaped our community for better or worse. Dr. Gary Green has led Forsyth Technical since July 2001. He will officially leave FTCC on December 31. 

Dr. Green is the longest-serving president of Forsyth Tech. Many have praised Dr. Green‘s leadership, his shepherding of our local community college during a time of sustained enrollment growth, expanded programs, and new … Read the rest

Activism

Merry Prankster Defaces Downtown Statue That Should Have Been Removed Long Ago

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Christmas came a day early for everyone in Winston that resents the presence of a Confederate statue in front of the old courthouse. Yesterday, some merry prankster with a purpose wrote the words “COWARDS & TRAITORS” on the Confederate statue that has stood tall at Liberty and Fourth for many years, projecting hate.

Earlier in the week I was bemoaning Winston’s inaction, our nonchalance toward Johnny Rebel* when activists in Durham and Chapel Hill (two other college towns) took down … Read the rest

Darryl Hunt

“Darryl Hunt Is Free!” Darryl Hunt Was Released From Jail 15 Years Ago Today, Christmas Eve 2003

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Fifteen years ago today a miracle occurred. Darryl Hunt, an innocent man who spent nearly 20 years behind bars for the 1984 rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, was finally released from the Forsyth County jail as a crowd of Hunt’s supporters chanted, “Darryl Hunt is free! Darryl Hunt is free!

It was a joyous occasion. Hunt’s nearly 20 years of persecution, and wrongful incarceration at the hands of the WSPD and Forsyth County DA’s office was finally over.

Hunt’s … Read the rest

Bowman Gray

Race At Bowman Gray

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Has anyone watched the Discovery Channel’s Race Night at Bowman Gray? You will be forgiven if you haven’t seen it. The Discovery Channel has pulled the show that retells the story of last summer’s modified championship at Bowman Gray Stadium from its lineup. The series is available on the Discovery Channel’s website and app, as well as Amazon.com. According to the Journal, the final episode of Racing at Bowman Gray will air next week.

Race Night at Bowman Gray … Read the rest

2018 Power Players

Local Power: Who Has It

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Reading through the Triad Business Journal today, I couldn’t help but reflect on the nature of local political power. The Triad Business Journal just released its list of 2018 Power Players. The list is a who’s who of the Triad; CEOs, education leaders, bankers, non-profit leaders, and developers. These upper-class men and women have a disproportionate amount of power over how our local society is shaped.

Government is supposed to be of the people, for the people and by … Read the rest

East Winston

Nissen Wagon Works Building Redevelopment Never Got Of The Ground

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The recent collapse of the Nissen Wagon Works building’s roof is anything but an act of nature. That building was left to rot and decay. Ironically, the Linville Team Partners for sale sign is visible in the rubble. Historic buildings are in short supply, it’s sad that what’s left of a once vast network of Nissen factory buildings wasn’t preserved. The loss of another historic structure in a majority-minority neighborhood rekindles memories of the suspicious Brown Elementary School fire that … Read the rest

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