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Morning, gang.
Just as we were finalizing this week’s newsletter, word came of the death of Rev. Nelson Johnson.
Johnson has a long and complex legacy, as we touched on in our October piece on the new book Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul.
As a reporter, I interviewed and wrote about Johnson many times over the last 20 years. We’ll bring you an in-depth story about him and his impact on the city in the coming week. For now, we just want to extend our condolences to his friends and family and encourage those who loved him or were inspired by his work to do something positive for their community in his memory.
As it happens, this week we’re bringing you a story in collaboration with our partners at Triad City Beat on the sort of community work Johnson would have loved.
The Hot Mess Express is a group of women helping other women overwhelmed by work, kids, family, and household responsibilities. It began in the Triad but the movement has gone national, fighting the shame and stigma some feel in asking for the help they need—even if it’s just help cleaning up.
These duties too often and too disproportionately fall to women. The shame the women in this story talk about is real and dangerous. The work of groups like the Hot Mess Express makes a real difference to all our communities.
Also, last weekend P.R. Lockhart was on hand for April Parker’s city council campaign launch event. Parker will have an uphill battle unseating incumbent Zack Matheny in District 3. He served four terms there from 2007 to 2015, when he left the council to become president and CEO of Downtown Greensboro Incorporated. At the time, Matheny said he wanted to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. By 2021 he had decided those potential conflicts weren’t a problem and was elected to his old seat.
In Parker and Matheny, voters will have strongly contrasting candidates and a clear choice.
Let’s get into it.
– Joe Killian
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‘Hot Mess Express’ Transforms Lives—One Swiffer at a Time
Work. Kids. Pets. It can all be overwhelming. What began as a small group of Triad women cleaning strangers’ homes for free has become a national movement.
Read the full story here.
Parker Seeks District 3 City Council Seat
Community organizer April Parker stood at a podium outside downtown Greensboro’s Melvin Municipal Office Building Saturday, making the case for her city council candidacy to a small crowd of supporters.
“Almost 15 years ago I came here and Greensboro politicized me,” Parker said to friends, fellow activists, and curious residents gathered for the rally and press conference.
Originally from New Jersey, Parker is an activist and self-described “architect of Black spaces” who has been involved in local politics for years.
One of the lead Black Lives Matter organizers in the city in 2014, she also created LGBTQ organizations to support and center the needs of people of color. As a local artist, she’s worked as managing director of the Elsewhere Museum and created exhibits challenging discrimination. Working with City Council Member Sharon Hightower, she promoted a resolution making Juneteenth a citywide holiday.
Now she’s setting her sights on elected office.
“I think unfortunately, in Greensboro, we moved away from being justice-oriented, from trying to understand why disparities and inequities exist,” Parker told The Thread. “But some folks are not thriving, and that impacts the overall goal of growth and wellness of the city as a whole.”
To win the District 3 seat Parker will have to best incumbent Council Member Zack Matheny.
Matheny expected challengers this year, he said in a Monday interview with The Thread. He pushed back on criticism from Parker’s supporters that he has not addressed the needs of marginalized communities in Greensboro.
“Anybody that watches city council would agree that I’m the most vocal council person relating to the unsheltered and housing,” he said. In his reelection campaign, Matheny said, he is focused on public safety, economic development, and housing accountability on issues like the Regency Inn.
The winner in District 3 will sit on a very different city council. As The Thread has reported Council Members Goldie Wells (District 2), Nancy Hoffman (District 4), and Mayor Nancy Vaughan are not running for reelection. At-Large Council Member Yvonne Johnson had also decided not to run again before her sudden death in December. Though council recently chose Jamilla Pinder to serve out Johnson’s unexpired term, the at-large race should be competitive. Mayor Pro Tem Marikay Abuzuaiter is also expected to abandon her current at-large seat for a mayoral run.
That looming shift provides a big opportunity to move things in a more progressive direction, Parker’s supporters said. Her campaign platform calls for a stronger focus on equity and economic development, a better working relationship between the city and the county school system, a focus on community engagement and safety, and housing policies that “support economically diverse, inclusive neighborhoods.”
Parker describes herself as a queer Black woman running at a time when women, Black, and LGBTQ people find their rights being challenged from the federal to the local level. Her supporters say she will stand as a powerful counter to what is happening nationally.
“I have concerns about women’s rights and about the federal government taking over everything,” said Jane Kelman before the rally. “We need to organize locally so we can fight back against them.”
“She will create change for all of us,” said Sky-Gwendolyn Althea Jewel Veneris, a trans teen supporting Parker’s campaign. “For women, for poor people, for families and community and equity, for diversity and inclusion, which is something that we need now more than ever.”
Parker is embracing that identity in the early days of her candidacy, from evoking the 2017 Women’s March with a bright pink jacket to playing Beyonce’s “Freedom” at her rally—an anthem for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
“I’m already door-knocking and one of the things that I saw and learned is that people are interested in reproductive justice,” Parker says.
That’s led her to focus more on issues like child care, she said.
But she’s still ironing out parts of her approach. Parker often apologized as she gathered her thoughts behind the podium on Saturday, asking for grace as a first-time political candidate. Her organizing roots were on display through a community speak-out portion of the rally where attendees could say whatever was on their minds.
Those roots are vital to her bid for office, she says.
“We must focus on local action,” Parker told the crowd. “Here in our community, we have the greatest impact. We must protect the advances we made.”
— P.R. Lockhart
Editor’s Note: The original version of this story misstated the year in which Parker was a lead organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement in Greensboro. It has been corrected.
Read this newsletter online or contact The Thread team with tips and feedback at greensboro@theassemblync.com.
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What We’re Reading
A Beloved Community Loss: The Rev. Nelson Johnson has died. He was a long-time community activist, founding pastor of Faith Community Church and founding co-executive director of the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro. A survivor of the Greensboro Massacre, he fought for decades to properly commemorate those who died in the tragic 1979 attack and to secure an apology from the City of Greensboro. He reached both goals before his death. The News & Record has the story.
A Message from Our Sponsor, Action Greensboro
The 2025 Community Vitals Report provides a comprehensive snapshot of Greensboro’s economic, workforce, and livability trends, highlighting key areas of growth and opportunity. It examines shifts in population, business development, talent retention, and infrastructure, offering data-driven insights into the city’s strengths and challenges. This year’s report reveals emerging trends shaping Greensboro’s future, helping leaders and residents make informed decisions for a more vibrant community.
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