Pedestrian Death in Waughtown

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. 

Crowmunity

Check out my work blog for all the latest https://www.crowmunity.com/crowmunityblog. It is the coolest. 

Jesus Needed Refuge

 

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. 

5 years ago!

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. 

Mathematics and Social Justice

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.  

Bikes!

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

 

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. 

Melissa's Stories

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.  

The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity

has a new Health Equity Certificate Program.  I get to teach a section on public transportation and health. 

Check out my Prezi.

Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action

"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. 

What a year

One year ago was my last day behind the wheel of a city bus.  It was an emotional day made sweet by singing Christmas carols.  

A lot has happened since and I am grateful for the experience I gained during 2020. 

• Worked with City with Dwellings at the overflow homeless shelter
• Wrote an ebook for Stakeholder Health on public transportation
• Wrote a transit corridor report for CSEM
• Won a bus shelter public art contest
• Case investigation for COVID-19 for the Health Department
• Helped take the US Census as a NRFU
• Arrested at a Black Lives Matter Protest for John Neville
• Returned to WFSM to do project management

Dean Franco can write

His article on our new pedestrian bridges illuminates our city's transportation blind spots.  He eloquently concludes one paragraph with "Now, a multi-million dollar transportation project is completed largely to flatter the city’s vision of itself while continuing to leave the town physically divided by class sequestration and racial segregation."

Read his op-ed at https://triad-city-beat.com/fresh-eyes-creative-corridors-not-creative-not-really-corridors/ 

I shouldn't be surprised that his words are cogent because he is an author and literature professor at Wake Forest University. I am thrilled to know him as a fellow bike rider and hope to see his Humanities Institute flourish.  

Spectrum News

Yesterday I was interviewed by Spectrum News https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triad/news/2020/08/28/winston-salem-uses-art-to-highlight-public-transportation about Marching for Mobility.

  

WSTA Prominent Transit Corridors Report

Winston-Salem was once a leader in public transportation.  I believe it could be again.

Please read my WSTA Prominent Transit Corridors Report that suggests expanding bus service in historic transit corridors.

The report's data tables are online for accessibility and transparency.

Below is Map 1, which illustrates the most prominent corridors that warrant expanded service.

My E-Book is online!

I am so excited to announce that my E-Book is now available from Stakeholder Health online at https://stakeholderhealth.org/bus-community-health. 

Gary Gunderson wrote an intro for the piece and it links to our 3 podcasts. I am so grateful for how the stories are woven together.  

I hope you will enjoy reading it but more importantly I hope it will promote positive change for transit riders!     

Miasma

Fear has a contagious power like Miasma. 

I first read about Miasma in the book The Ghost Map; The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and how it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.  We are easily made afraid of things we don't understand. John Snow was courageous in following his conviction of how to halt the cholera outbreak. He was bound to find a way to prove his theory and by taking off the water-pump handle he made history. 

As a person who believes in the supernatural power of Jesus Christ, I am aware of how science while rational, is also taken on faith.  Miasma was a working scientific theory until it was discredited. 

COVID-19 is a modern-day example of something that is terrifying because we are figuring it out together.  We will need courageous leaders who work hard to fight prejudices towards neighbors just as Dr. Snow had to convince folks that slums were not the cause of the disease.  Today we know that slums are a symptom of our own greed and fear of neighbors.  Slums are the built environmental manifestation of social distancing. 

As a person of hope, I have to work hard to keep my heart open towards my neighbors when society is practicing social distancing. We have seen that social distancing is a privilege that many can't afford. I am aware of my own impulse to be selective in allowing who my family comes in contact with.  I have to choose courage over fear.

As we move into a new phase of Corona pandemic let's remember that love finds a way forward. I am struck by the prophetic meaning of the name Isaiah.  His name means "God to the Rescue." 

Isaiah wrote 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Maybe we are being called to be part of the rescue operation by loving our neighbors even when it feels scary. 

Dreaming of 2045

Please visit http://www.wsmtpupdate.com and fill out the survey to provide input for transportation planning in our region.  I was thrilled to rank public transit as a priority issue.  I hope you will too.

Also, check out the environmental justice map in the Existing Conditions Report.  Expanding public transportation is a justice issue. 

Please join me in speaking up for transit! 

WS Pedestrian Plan Public Input

Visit the Walkable Winston-Salem project website and online input map to share your ideas on how to improve the safety, accessibility, and comfort of walking routes throughout the City: winston-salemwalks.com.

Every trip on the bus is also a pedestrian trip. Bus riders walk to and from bus stops and they often need to cross busy streets.  I have written about the need to improve the pedestrian safety infrastructure through popular transit corridors.   

Please take a minute to review the input map at https://www.winston-salemwalks.com/ and be sure to add to or like comments, you agree with.  Below is one of my comments related to my neighborhood of Waughtown.

Greenways are Open

I am seeing a lot of greenway usage as a refuge during this trying time of COVID-19.  It is an opportunity to see the critical role of recreation in public health as people try to practice social distancing while maintaining their health.

It is encouraging that bike shops are considered critical and allowed to remain open as a transportation option.   I've been busy with Salem Bicycle Works.

I am posting my physical activity to https://www.strava.com/athletes/faithful_feet.

Lessons in Homelessness

Working as a night monitor with City With Dwellings taught me a lot about working with homeless people. The organization's tag line, "A Community First Initiative" drew me in and working at two different churches gave me a chance to meet many members of our community.

As the monitor, my job was to establish relationships with the guests.   I knew them by name and got to know their personalities.  I was surprised how quickly we built rapport and was also continually shocked by how quickly it could evaporate. I learned about giving and receiving forgiveness.

Below are graphics that depict the average (18.4) number of guests that stayed with me for the 25 nights I worked.  I worked from 6:30 PM to 6:30 AM on Thursdays and Sundays.   During those 12 hours I got to interact with homeless men during check-in, dinner, a smoke break, going to sleep, waking up, and departing for the day.

Any night when there were 20 guests or more was particularly challenging for managing group dynamics.  By the end of the season, working with fewer at a time seemed much more manageable, but there was still plenty of room for unexpected events.  I worked hard to maintain quiet in an effort to help the guests sleep, but an overflow homeless shelter is a menagerie of activity.

Only one guest stayed with me every night that I worked.  That means he was with me the nights in December at Redeemer Presbyterian and the 3 months at First Presbyterian.  I worked 25 nights and the average guest was with me for 4 nights.  Of the 84 guests who stayed with me almost half stayed 2 nights or less.

These numbers demonstrate the churn and turnover in guests within the overflow shelter. These numbers are a subset in two ways.    They show only 1 of 4 sites coordinated by City With Dwellings and only the nights I worked.  

The depth of relationship that the longstanding staff members have with guests is impressive.  Through the many seasons of running the overflow shelter, they have gotten to know guests who come and go.   Working with an organization that ensures no one will sleep outside in the winter was an honor and a privilege to see the depth of love demonstrated through caring relationships.   I witnessed love in action and in truth.