Throughout the summer of 2025, Camel City United Indivisible (CCUI) volunteers knocked on 1,410 doors. The impetus was learning only 61% of registered voters in the 27105 zip code, east of US Hwy. 52, cast a ballot in the 2024 General Election.

They learned some residents do not think their votes will make a difference. They feel abandoned by, and distrust, their elected officials. That distrust dates back generations.

East Winston became a segregated community in 1912 when the all white Winston Board of Alderman passed an ordinance prohibiting people of different races from living in the same neighborhood. As Winston-Salem’s strong ties to tobacco began to unravel in the 1980s, workers who lived near the factories were hit the hardest. People who did not have transportation and lacked necessary education had a difficult time getting jobs. No one was there to help.

That history shapes what canvassers heard in 2025. Many residents said they want to vote, but work and family responsibilities demand all of their time and energy. One person said, “It’s hard to think of anything else when you are fighting to keep a roof over your head, food on the table, and your family safe.”

Residents consistently identified three main areas of concern: youth (no after-school programs, mentoring, tutoring, or sports); housing (fear of displacement, boarded up homes, absentee landlords, repairs at rental homes ignored); and quality of life (public safety and infrastructure).

According to Rudy Click, CCUI’s founder, after the canvass, Camel City volunteers coordinated several small projects to help families in the area with immediate needs over the winter months. In 2026, CCUI is supporting neighborhood leaders who are building a more self-reliant community.

Fighting for Our Youth

Third-generation East Winston resident Sharon Hoggard is the founder of Castle Heights Youth Jobs and Education Workforce, a nonprofit that provides a variety of opportunities to young people. According to Hoggard, understanding and love grows as the youth interact with the other members in their community.

Another third-generation resident, Chenita Barber Johnson is concerned about the lack of activities for young people. Johnson said, “The school (Hanes-Lowrance) was closed so there are no after-school programs in the immediate area.”

Transportation is a problem for some, making it hard for residents to reach activities offered farther from the neighborhood. Johnson said a plan to turn the school into a community center fell through but the property is still owned by the Board of Education.

According to WS/FC Board of Education member (District 1) Trevonia Brown-Gaither, the community would have to raise the money to purchase the former school site. Money is a huge part of the problem in the East Winston area.

The Board of Education cannot afford to invest any more money in the area as long as school enrollment continues to decrease. School enrollment will continue to decrease as long as parents choose to place their children in other schools in hopes of a better education.

Brown-Gaither said, “We, as a school board, are not doing enough to promote our schools.” She said that if parents could see a side-by-side comparison of a public school and a charter school, they would not see any reason to relocate the students. Funding cuts for public education disproportionately hurt low-income families.

“Kids don’t get to dream anymore,” said Larry Ford. “Many of them have to go to school to eat.” Ford and James Galloway grew up in the area around Blum/Blanding Park. Ford and Galloway have seen the once vibrant park become a depressing part of the community. Galloway said he would like to see more ways for young people to enjoy the park. “Just let kids be kids for a while,” he added.

The Housing Squeeze

The City of Winston-Salem is focusing on “rebuilding” East Winston neighborhoods to attract new homeowners. Boarded up and abandoned homes are an eyesore in some areas of East Winston.

However some renters, and home owners, feel they are being pushed out of their neighborhoods by the “gentrification” outside investors are creating. With new construction homes starting at $200,000, many long-time residents are being priced out of owning their own home. The new construction also raises insurance rates and property taxes that few can afford.

According to residents, the rental properties, owned by out-of-state investment groups are being neglected. Some property owners need to repair homes they have inherited. “I can’t live in the house because it is uninhabitable without the repairs, but I can’t get a loan if I don’t live in it,” one owner said.

Another issue is property owners who have died and did not leave a legal means to dispose of their estate. According to Forsyth Commissioner Dan Besse, settling those estates is a lengthy process. Besse said he sees a path for more affordable housing, but admits in today’s political climate and with Forsyth County’s current financial concerns, it will take longer to implement.

Besse is the At-Large County Commissioner for all of Forsyth County. The two county commissioners who represent the East Winston area (District A) did not respond to requests for an interview.

Loss of Community, Loss of Quality of Life

East Winston residents are asking local officials to help provide a better quality of life, specifically better public safety. Besse supports funding community outreach programs to mentor youth and reduce gun violence.

When asked if the April shooting involving several teenagers at Leinbach Park in Winston-Salem changed the political conversation around violence, Besse said, “It proved we don’t have a school violence problem. We have a community violence problem.”

Many local groups trying to stop community violence like Rally Up Winston-Salem and Forsyth Wins need more funding and more volunteers.

Getting Involved in the Political Process

Terrick Mangle and Brandon Campbell, neighborhood activists, are frustrated with the disconnect between their neighbors’ daily struggles and the political system. Mangle said he attempted to have a conversation with his Winston-Salem City Council Member, Barbara Hanes Burke, but she was not willing to talk to him.

Burke did not respond to an interview request for this story.

Local organizations like CCUI have to work hard over the next several months to ensure people are registered to vote and get them to the polling sites. Ron Jones, a CCUI member who participated in 2025 canvassing, believes we need to do a better job educating citizens about the current political system and why they should be involved.

If we do not have a democracy, we cannot have social equity. “That’s why every vote matters. The billionaire class that now has more influence in our government than ever, never talks about those on the margins,” Jones said.

The billionaire class doesn’t face the everyday struggles of average citizens. They are not concerned about keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. There is a wide financial gap between the billionaire class and the average citizen, but there is also a voting gap.

Average citizens outnumber the billionaires, and their votes can override that agenda. Community leaders believe that by working together and showing up at the polls East Winston can improve life for everyone and let kids dream again.

Please watch this video. This is a great example of where North Carolina politics is right now.

One of our state’s most popular governors is attempting to fight the corrupt GOP mega-donors without lowering his standards. As hard as it is for Roy Cooper, it is even harder for all the women who are running for office across the state.

Fortunately, we have good role models. NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs won her seat in 2024, but her Republican challenger cried foul and fought the outcome for six months. A federal judge, appointed by President Trump, ordered Riggs to be certified the winner.

We can expect more of the same from the NC Republican Party in November. The other Democratic Supreme Court justice, Anita Earls, is on the ballot. Justice Earls has a long history of supporting marginalized communities and founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, NC. Earls has had a remarkable career and is a mentor to Justice Riggs.

One of the five Republican justices on the NC Supreme Court is the son of NC Senator Phil Berger. Berger, who had Trump’s support, lost his primary election and attempted to fight the outcome. However, the man Berger hand-picked to run the NC Board of Elections didn’t cooperate.

Berger led the redistricting that will make it extremely hard for Democrats to win in most areas of the state. He also helped defund our schools and healthcare. Berger helped enact a state law that could erase thousands of legally registered voters.

Democratic women candidates are on the ballot across the state in Congressional districts, NC General Assembly races, for county commissioner, and local Boards of Education. A qualified female District Attorney candidate is facing a Republican incumbent with $1.2 million in his campaign war chest.

Why does a District Attorney have that kind of money? He ran several times for state-wide offices.

We cannot get the money out of politics until we get the politicians who have been bought out of office. Hopefully, voters will understand the importance of voting in November and the importance of voting for judges.

North Carolina didn’t get into this mess overnight and it will not be corrected overnight. The NC Democratic Party, led by the youngest Democratic chair in the country (and an intelligent woman) has a long-term plan.

I will do my part to help Roy Cooper, Anita Earls, and all the local candidates, but we cannot fight the GOP dollar-for-dollar. We can knock on doors, make sure people are registered to vote, and get them to the polling sites.

Overcoming $71 million worth of misinformation will be hard, but we have pulled together before. This November will be a turning point for our state and our country.

We are not meant to be separated from other people, or from animals, or from nature. Humans are social beings, and when we interact face-to-face with people we care about, or strangers with similar interests, we remind ourselves we are not alone. Loneliness is the inability to talk to another person about the things most important to you. We need communication with each other. We need to be connected.

Growing up in a rural county, I was connected to the earth that gave us food, the animals that shared time with me when no human would, and the forest that provided beauty, shelter, and mystery. I took those things for granted until I moved to the big city. In a place covered with asphalt and concrete, my feet never felt the earth I knew as a child. Cities need green spaces to remind us of a natural life.

Humans often think they can improve on nature and control it. The ego, knowing the power of words, tries to label everything and everyone. People are labeled “other” based on anything we don’t understand. When I was younger, some people thought I was not smart enough, not pretty enough, or not sophisticated enough to be in their inner circle. People I grew up with were labeled based on the color of their skin and the amount of money they had. That kind of separation has led us to where we are today.

The gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is not only widening, but the wealthy, though smaller in number, have gained too much control over our everyday lives. Recently, I read about a group of millionaires who say they want to live in a better world and are willing to give up some of their wealth to bring about necessary changes. Maybe the tide is turning.

One thing has become clear to me: without a Democracy, we cannot have social justice; without Social Justice, we cannot have environmental sustainability; without Environmental Sustainability, earth as we know it will not exist.

The earth will heal itself if we get out of its way. Social justice issues can be addressed if we stop labeling people and treat everyone equally. Democracy can survive if we fight for it. Everything is connected, but it’s up to us to strengthen that connection.