While biking home on January 13, 2026, I captured this tender moment of remembrance. It is a simple memorial to a pedestrian woman killed while crossing the street. The intersection of Thomasville and Sprague is dangerous. It is full of traffic of all kinds. She was killed the day before, and this is her brother paying tribute.
Check out my work blog for all the latest https://www.crowmunity.com/crowmunityblog. It is the coolest.
The murder of the innocents is one example of political violence in the Bible. Mathews Gospel records the Holy Families' flight to Egypt to escape terror. Jesus' family wasn't safe so they took refuge in a foreign land. This part of the story doesn't fit into the marketable version of Christmas.
"Jesús también huyó" is Spanish for "Jesus also fled."I learned from my world-traveling-aunt that many scholars think that while Jesus was in Egypt he was educated at the great library of Alexandria hence his astounding knowledge of scripture referenced later in Luke. That is another cool part of the story and it shows how God uses all of our experiences to make us who we are. Jesus sees us and can relate. He came to proclaim goodwill to man.
Jesus' message of Love your neighbor is a radical world changing teaching. Lucy Calhoun and I created this art to illustrate the deep redeeming love of Christmas. Jesus sees the mess we are in with xenophobia and he is calling us to remember he too was an immigrant. The message is that our foreign neighbors many of whom are fleeing violence are welcome here in the Shell Neighborhood of Waughtown.
I met Nathan 5 years ago as we were learning to drive. He and two women are the only 3 bus drivers remaining from our 2019 class of 11 cadets. Check out our class photo https://www.blindspot.city/2019/02/public-servants.html
The memories of driving came flooding back yesterday while Nathan and I talked about how fast the last 5 years have flown by. He is enjoying driving and has found a rhythm that is tenable. He credited WSTA's policy change to max 10 hours of driving per day for helping reduce driver strain. He said before that there were too many accidents and too many drivers getting burn out chasing over time pay.
It was a joy to catch up with him and remember how important public transit is to our community. I am grateful riding the bus is an option for me.
It get to speak to Dr. Abbey Bourdon's Wake Forest University class Mathematics and Social Justice. I will talk about the mathematics used in the local struggle for social justice in public transportation. I look forward to interacting with her students.
In advance of the class they are to watch Bus Stop Jobs. There are plenty of updates since we made it in 2018. Britany is now married and driving. Mika is training new bus drivers. Our family has deeper connections with Mika since I got to drive with her at WSTA. This picture was taken yesterday and you can see the love!
For class I hope to cover the math in Route Ride Per Hour Ratio and the WSTA Prominent Transit Corridors Report.
If time permits I hope to discuss A Step Up and Who is Driving?.
I will make them aware of public data available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd incase they get inspired to analyze a transit system.
I have been spending a lot of time, energy and love on bikes. I first felt the Lord's love and transcending Grace on a bike. They are indeed the noblest invention...I recently got an eBike which makes me even more excited about their potential as vehicles.
Teaching people to ride and helping them access bicycles is a worthy cause. I think this news article captures that. Certainly it reflects Scott Sexton's love of bikes https://journalnow.com/news/local/two-things-a-huge-milestone-on-two-wheels-acc-money-makers-and-congratulations-rams/article_7f515c34-b699-11ed-9ec6-d796deb5f3bd.html
Hope without Borders
Photography with Graphic Art
Jameson Filston 2021
Waughtown as a neighborhood is affectionately known as little Mexico because of the vibrant Hispanic community that animates its businesses and warms its homes. For over 20 years, it has been the hub of Hispanic culture in Winston-Salem. The bus shelter at Broadbay and Waughtown is near iconic businesses like the Disco Rodeo and Tiendas and affordable housing occupied by recent immigrants looking for a brighter future.
The bus shelter art project entitled “Hope without Borders” illustrates the communities desire for a brighter future as it depicts their jubilant children with butterflies, the internationally recognized symbol of migration. The immigrants in Waughtown work hard for the hope of a brighter future for their children.
The children pictured in Hope without Borders live in Waughtown in the tension of being American by birth and Mexican through the pride of upbringing. They long to see the homeland of their parents and be connected to the prosperity that drew their parents to the United States.
Creating places through art such as Hope without Borders illuminates the desire we all share to see jubilant children free of worry. Hope without Borders is a collective art project between adult artists and the children photographed. The project captures the kinetic energy of freedom and the desire to connect with the community. Public transportation shares this value of free movement.
The group meets Wednesday evening on Peachtree street to play and get to know each other. Jamo Filston is the primary artist and photographer. He is a Winston-Salem Fellow. Phillip Summers hosts the Wednesday gathering and has done extensive research on migration and his neighbors from Guerrero Mexico. Ashlyn Hodges is a Winston-Salem fellow who is interested in social justice and Hispanic populations.
I hope to hear more and relay what I can from Melissa's experience as a bus rider. There are some sweet stories sprinkled in with the hard times of her being unable to drive. The other day a fellow passenger waiting at the transit center let her know that he and his buddy thought she was beautiful. He said "he just had to tell her."
Her stories of riding the bus brighten my day.
has a new Health Equity Certificate Program. I get to teach a section on public transportation and health.
Check out my Prezi.
"Influencing Public Transportation Policy Through Community Engagement and Coalition Building: Process and Preliminary Outcomes" is now available online.
Please contact me if you would like to access the article but are unable.
Summers, P., Chao, E., McCoy, P., Perry, J., & Rhodes, S.D. (2020). Influencing Public Transportation Policy Through Community Engagement and Coalition Building: Process and Preliminary Outcomes. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 14(4), 489-498. doi:10.1353/cpr.2020.0054.
