The Highway That Divides Winston

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Updated 3/6/2019

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a 2011 master’s thesis online that is must reading for anyone in Winston that cares about fighting racism. Reynoldstown: Race, Blight, Disease, Highway Construction and the Transformation of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by Shane Cruise is a revelation.

Through exhaustive research into the city council’s records, the Winston-Salem Journal’s pages, as well as mining Robert Korstad’s work on Local 22, and conducting interviews, Shane Cruise has done a service to … Read the rest

Winston-Salem City Council Merry-Go-Round: February 18, 2019, Robert Clark Is Right!

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Monday night’s meeting of the Winston-Salem City Council started out as expected. A moment of silence was observed, then the pledge of allegiance was recited, members of the community were honored before the council addressed the business of the city.

A recently announced, city wide hiring freeze due to a projected budget shortfall was not mentioned, neither was the loss of another corporate headquarters, as BB&T’s bigwigs make their way to Charlotte.

But City Hall certainly heated up 11 … Read the rest

Winston-Salem’s Rebel Statue Wranglings; Time To Move The Statue Or Put A Plaque Up Denouncing Jim Crow

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The Winston-Salem Journal has reported that an attorney for the United Daughters of the Confederacy has asked the City of Winston-Salem to delay its plans to move the Confederate statue that stands at Fourth and Liberty:

The United Daughters of the Confederacy is asking Winston-Salem for a 60-day delay in filing any legal action to force removal of the Confederate statue at the corner of Fourth and Liberty streets on the grounds of the former Forsyth County Courthouse.

James Davis,

… Read the rest

Local Residents Continue To Condemn Winston’s Confederate Statue And Call For A More Just City

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There wasn’t a lot on Tuesday night’s City Council agenda. It was mostly the boring business of the City. The bond package passed last fall took one step closer to reality, Phase 2 of the Quarry Park’s development was approved.

Local activists speaking truth to power during the public comment period energized a dull meeting. They implored the City Council to make justice their business.

Read the Journal’s Wesley Young’s article in today’s paper for a good summary of Winston’ … Read the rest

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

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

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

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

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.

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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. … Read the rest