(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just ahead on Carolina Impact.

It's a night celebrating cultures.

We highlight how the Catawba Nation keeps their traditions thriving.

Plus, in honor of Black History Month, we explore how a Rock Hill man teaches others about the influence African Americans have on food.

And she's taking cakes to the next level by combining art, flowers and great flavors.

Carolina Impact starts right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Imagine your favorite family tradition.

We all hold those close to our heart.

But how much do you know about the Catawba Nations traditions?

The latest US census shows less than 3% of the total population identifies at least partially as American Indian or Alaska Native.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and producer Marcellus Jones help us learn more.

(loud drums) - [Dara] Each person moves in their own way to the beating of the drums and soulful chanting.

(loud drums) Some lift their knees and energetically twirl in a circle.

Some jump just enough to shake the bells.

Others march slow and steady, one foot at a time.

Although they're all moving at different paces, they're forming one circle as one people, the Catawba Nation.

- It means family, it means union, it means pride.

- [Dara] Those are words straight from his heart.

Brian Harris may be chief now, but he was once a young man on the Catawba reservation in Rock Hill, South Carolina, learning the significance of his culture.

- We were warriors and we can trace our heritage, our lineage back King Hagler.

My seventh great-grandpa removed to patriots saint of Camden, South Carolina.

- [Dara] King Hagler was chief from 1750 to 1763.

He was a fierce warrior and kept peace between his nation and colonists.

Under his rule, during the French and Indian War, a group of soldiers were sent to fight with Colonel George Washington from 1756 to 1757.

- [Brian] Being a part of an ancient people, an ancient civilization is not much that most people can say that really puts the hairs up on the back of my neck.

- [Dara] According to South Carolina history in 1840, the Catawbas were urged to move over the border to the Tar Heel state, and they were offered a lump sum of $2,500 and told they get $1,500 a year.

But when they got there, North Carolina didn't recognize this deal, which sent many Catawbas back to South Carolina, receiving no compensation.

- History shows us if you don't continue to learn things and pass things on, they will be forgotten.

- [Dara] Historic records show they've lived on their land along the Catawba River dating back 6,000 years.

It's believed that before Europeans arrived, the Catawbas lived in most of the Piedmont area of the Carolinas and sections of Virginia.

- And as Catawba, I really like to think of preserving our culture and history for the next seven generations.

We don't think of just the generation behind us, but we think of all the generations behind them.

- [Dara] Which is what Dewey Adams does every year at the Yap Ye Iswa festival teaching the youth how to keep the tradition of roasting corn over an open flame.

- Growing up, you would see it done when you had family get togethers and stuff, people would do corn three or four different ways, and this was one of the most favorite, especially for the children.

- I really like the corn here.

Like it's so good.

Like every time I come here, I always get it.

- [Dara] The festival, which means "Day of the Catawba" started in 1989 and draws thousands every year to the Rock Hill Reservation.

- I want her and myself too, just to have an awareness of all the different people who exist around us.

- [Dara] People can buy handmade items from vendors like wooden walking sticks.

- Festivals like this bring the knowledge to others.

- [Dara] Hear musicians play native songs.

- [Patron] It brings back pleasant memories and it's great to see everybody that I still know.

- [Dara] And go on guided trail walks.

- We all wanna be teachers, we wanna teach children.

So it's important to us because since everybody comes from all around the world, the US is getting even more diverse.

We wanna be able to teach all the kids no matter where they come from, no matter what their culture is.

- [Dara] For one of the festival founders, Dr. Wenonah Haire it brings her joy knowing so many people outside the Catawba Nation get to learn about them.

- If you take culture and you hide it up under a rock and you don't share it with people, nobody can appreciate it.

It doesn't grow.

- [Dara] And she's making sure those in her bloodline can appreciate their culture too, which is why she began teaching her granddaughter years ago how to make their sacred pottery.

- 6,000-plus-year-old tradition never cease being made the same way it was made since before Europeans ever came to this place.

Well, our ancestors have told us, our elders have told us that that is something we can demonstrate to the public all the time, but we aren't going to freely give away the pottery tradition.

And so I honor them.

- [Dara] After losing federal recognition from the government in 1959, pottery making was one of the skills that Catawba used to prove they were a valid tribe.

In 1993, they regained recognition.

- Without the younger generation learning, the culture will die.

So I think it's really important that it continues to be taught and that people continue to want to learn.

- [Dara] With young tribal members immersing themselves in their rich heritage, it gives the elders confidence that the spirit of the river people will remain strong.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Thank you, Dara.

Chief Harris says in the future, they plan to create a private school on the reservation so that they can teach Catawba children more about their history.

Well, each February we celebrate Black History Month.

Did you know it began in the US in 1976, when President Gerald Ford extended the week-long event into a month?

Well, tonight Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis and producer John Branscum introduced us to a Rock Hill historical interpreter who shares the influence African Americans have had on food.

(gentle music) - [Jason] When the first enslaved Africans stepped on the shores at Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, the first words in a dark chapter of American history were inked.

For centuries, their contributions to the development of the nation were overlooked and marginalized.

But more than 400 years since Jamestown, interpreters like Dontavius Williams now work hard highlighting and celebrating those early contributions.

On a Saturday morning in Pineville, Williams preps a fire and all the ingredients for a cooking demonstration in a log cabin at the James K. Polk state historic site.

- [Dontavius] We are making a peanut sauce.

- [Jason] Wearing period correct attire and using cooking methods of the era.

- [Dontavius] The hearth cooking is the way to go.

- [Jason] It might look like your typical 18th-century cooking demo, but this is something different.

This is the chronicles of Adam and William's interpretation of an enslaved cook.

Williams says, working in the kitchen was one of the most stressful jobs on a plantation.

Those with wealth and power often entertained as a symbol of status.

- One would believe that it was a fortunate job to be in the kitchen.

I would disagree, because in the kitchen you're under constant scrutiny by the mistress of the house.

If you are living as a higher class individual, say for instance like George Washington or the Lee family or anybody in Colonial Virginia, you have a point to prove, right.

And you don't want to serve people just anything.

So the cook's job is always, always under constant scrutiny.

Those who were enslaved in the low country, a lot of the times-- - [Jason] During his program, Williams gives insight into the diets of the enslaved.

- The enslaved were given rations of cornmeal and salt pork, or depending on where they are, maybe dried fish.

And sometimes they were given the opportunity to be able to grow small garden spaces.

- [Jason] But from these basic ingredients, the seeds were planted for new culinary traditions.

- Things like cow peas, black eyed peas, peanuts were all considered not fit for human consumption, but those colonists fed these things to enslaved Africans.

But one day, I believe somebody went over into the slave quarters and they smelled some beautiful aroma, and they tasted what was in the pot and realized that, you know this food, I didn't die from it, right.

And because I didn't die from it, it also is really tasty.

(food frying) Cultural diffusion happens in so many different ways, in ways that we don't even realize that we are picking up other cultures.

To have the magic answer of how the African cuisine made it into the making of America.

I really can't tell you other than my theory that somebody tasted the pot.

The rest is history, if you will.

- [Jason] Speaking of cultural diffusion, according to Williams, one classic and very popular Creole dish is a trifecta of African, Native American and European cuisines.

- Gumbo ain't gumbo unless you got gumbo in it.

If it doesn't have gumbo in it, it's just soup.

Gumbo is an okra soup.

The okra serves as a thickener.

It all goes back to a lot of the ways of Africa.

- [Jason] Now, if you're wondering what he's cooking here, you have to start with a star ingredient, the peanut.

- The conversation today is about the peanut and about those vegetables and things that were indigenous to the African diaspora.

- [Jason] And with the peanut, he's making a sauce that's similar to a peanut soup.

- Always tease with Virginians that they think they invented peanut soup, because peanut soup is one of those big things in Virginia.

But I have to let them know that ground nut stew or ground nut soup is something that is just as much African, if not more as it is Virginian.

(gentle music) - [Jason] By immersing himself in 18th-century conditions, Williams connects with his ancestors, but with his food, he's creating a space for conversation in the 21st century.

- I don't just cook, but I cook and I discuss a very difficult topic.

And that topic is that of slavery and the making of America.

Food is that magic secret that brings people in from all over the place to be able to have those difficult conversations.

And they later find out that it's really not that difficult of a conversation, because we're simply talking about people and who they were and where they were in life at a particular time.

Food is the thing that brings us together, but at the same time, it could divide us greatly.

If we use it right, we can be able to solve a lot of the world's problems over a simple pot of soup.

(gentle music) Ain't no food like America food, you know what I'm saying?

Everything kind of just comes together so neatly.

But you can actually look at table and see the world.

There's so many things that could divide us, but when you look at our tables every single day or look at the cuisine that we have every single day, the food brings us together.

- [Jason] So perhaps take a moment and consider the origin and culture behind the nourishing food you consume on a daily basis.

You may never look at food the same way again.

For Caroline Impact, I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thank you, Jason.

You'll find Dontavius sharing his culture at various historic sites.

Well, we rarely think art and survival are intertwined, but it does for local artists, Diego Alba.

Carolina Impact's Chris Clark shows us how with each brush stroke he paints not only his past, but the resilience and reinvention that's emerged over his lifetime.

(gentle music) - [Chris] There is no art without inspiration.

And for Diego Alba, the influences came in waves, sometimes gentle, sometimes harsh, but always shaping the artist he would become.

- I think his experiences growing up as a child have had more of an impact on him.

And I think some of the work that we're starting to see in his, in the more recent years is the journey that he's went through.

- [Chris] His first foray into art was at the tender age of six, when the flick of a pen and the soft smear of crayons opened the door to a world of color and possibility.

- The first time I showed interest in art was when I saw my uncle's paintings.

So I tried to replicate a few things, but I think I've always liked art and painting and creating.

(lively music) - [Chris] Raised amidst the lush landscapes of Bogota, Columbia, Diego was deeply moved by the untamed beauty of nature, a muse that would forever fuel his creativity.

- It's a very colorful country.

You see an amazing variety of flowers and plants and animals.

Even though Columbia's in the equatorial zone, it experiences all sorts of climates because of the altitude.

- [Chris] While the country's landscapes are nothing short of breathtaking, its people can be equally unforgiving, particularly when it comes to embracing those who dare to be different.

- Growing up gay in Columbia, it was not easy.

From daily bullying to physical violence and threats.

- [Chris] It's easy to see why his art took a backseat to survival.

Diego had always planned to move to the United States, but in 1999, fate intervened and pushed him to make the journey sooner than expected.

- I was kidnapped for a full day, broke up glass bottle and put it to my face, and threatened to disfigure me.

They finally let me go.

I got home.

It was just very clear that I had to leave.

- [Chris] Staying with a friend in New Jersey, he started over, but the weight of the US immigration system loom large.

A maze of red tape seemed determined to complicate every step of his fresh start.

- It's not easy and I understand why it's not.

I think that's one of the reasons why I feel so much empathy towards people who really need to leave their countries to come here or go elsewhere to escape their situation because people wouldn't do it if they didn't have to.

- [Chris] Five long years passed, but the moment he finally took the oath, the pride that surged through him made every struggle worth it.

- Once I became a citizen, it was, it felt like an honor, honestly.

And I'm very thankful for that, I would say every day because if I wasn't here my life would be totally different or maybe I wouldn't be here at all.

- [Chris] With the burden of mere survival finally loosening its grip, Diego's passion for art was rekindled drawing him back to the canvas with a renewed fervor and a heart eager to create a one-of-a-kind gift.

- Our first year together for his birthday, I painted him a really pretty picture of two elephants.

He thought that was his spirit animal.

- I had never had someone create a piece of art just for me, and for him to take time so early in our relationship to create that and then something that was so meaningful to me in terms of the elephant and the story with that was something that was great.

- [Chris] It had been a decade since he lasted in front of an easel, but he hadn't missed a beat.

Classically trained, but with a modern touch, Diego commands a brush and palette like a master, and his digital design prowess rivals that of any tech savvy creator.

Crafting works that marry the best of both worlds.

- Sometimes when I feel stuck, I take a picture of the painting in the current state, and then I open it on my iPad and then I can execute my vision.

If I don't like that, I just delete the layer that's much easier to undo as opposed to making a big mistake on the canvas.

There's no control Z here.

- [Chris] It wasn't long before Diego's works weren't just hanging in his own home.

- I was drawn to a painting of his, small painting on the cardinal.

It was very precise and vibrant piece, and bought the piece without seeing it other than online.

He now has another commission for me because I like the piece so much so, and I have a complimentary blue jay coming.

- [Chris] Last year, the Mooresville Art Gallery proudly showcased his work, affirming Diego's creations are nothing short of extraordinary, captivating, every eye that gazed upon them.

- I think that validation from experts across the country that have been doing this for years to show that and to reinforce to Diego that the work he does is exceptional.

That was, for me, the most powerful.

And I way more than anything I could do to him, because I think he always says that I'm biased.

- I would encourage people to see his art and to appreciate it.

And let's see if we can help both Diego and other emerging artists in Charlotte.

- [Chris] Diego Alba's journey is a testament to resilience and reinvention.

He embraced both traditional and digital mediums, channeling the strength board of his struggles into powerful, evocative works of art.

Today his career thriving, his creations are celebrated in galleries and homes alike.

A living testament to the artist who refused to let the world's challenges extinguish his creative flame.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Chris Clark.

- Thanks so much Chris.

Diego's art ranges from $200 to over $2,500.

He isn't the only artist in the family.

Many of his relatives are musicians.

However, he picked up a brush instead of a guitar.

Well, our final story this evening begins with a social media post and an out-of-nowhere comment that had nothing to do with the post.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis is here to sort it all out for us.

- All right, you gotta hang with us here for a second because it might sound a little confusing at first.

This past year, the city of Charlotte announced it was contributing $650 million for renovations and upgrades to Bank of America Stadium, where the Panthers play.

According to watchdog group, the Center for Economic Accountability, it was named the nation's worst economic development deal of 2024.

In the comment section to that story on an Axios post, there were all your typical pros and cons of whether the city should or shouldn't do it, people in favor or against the plan.

But in the middle of all of it, a random post, a random comment that simply said, "If you need a cake, I got you."

And that let us to this.

- If you need a cake, I got you.

- [Jason] It's not something Sharon Strickland does often, leaving a comment on a post that had absolutely nothing to do with the post.

- I rarely look at the news.

So I just seen it and I just seen a bunch of people commenting.

I'm like, let me just let these people know if they need a cake, I got you.

- [Jason] Sharon's random comment, closing in on a hundred likes with multiple responses and a phone call from us.

- The only way you're gonna get what you want in life is if you just shoot your shot.

The only thing that somebody can say is yes or no.

If you get a yes, great.

If you get a no, move to the next door.

That door wasn't meant for you.

- [Jason] As we soon learned, Sharon is gifted at self marketing, social media, and promotion by just being herself.

What is this?

- Right now we are looking at a one tier six inch cake.

It is very colorful, very cute like me.

- I love her personality.

It's so bubbly.

How she is like on her Instagram is how she is in person.

- [Jason] It's that bubbly personality and creating something unique that has gotten her noticed.

- I walk up to random people in the store.

I'm like, if you ever need a cake, come to me "The Cake Florist."

They're like, "Oh, do you have a card?"

Yes, I have a card.

I have what you need.

- [Jason] Sharon has branded herself as "The Cake Florist."

- It's not just, oh, I'm just ordering the cake.

No, you're ordering the cake from "The Cake Florist."

- Sharon is amazing at what she does.

- So I have flavored profiles.

My flavored profiles go as like my brown butter cinnamon roll profile that comes with brown butter cinnamon roll cake, cookie butter filling, crunchy cookie butter bite crumble, caramel glaze, and a cinnamon spice buttercream.

So it's like tailored.

It's not like, oh, I want a vanilla cake with sprinkles.

No, we do it up.

- [Jason] And in case you hadn't already noticed, there's a decidedly pink theme around her.

Pink!

Pink's your color!

- Pink's my color!

- [Jason] Growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, Sharon was what you'd call a creative.

- I grew up in a performing arts school.

I liked singing, playing the piano, and I took art very serious.

I like painting and I like drawing.

So that carried me all throughout my life.

- [Jason] But growing up wasn't always easy.

- I've been struggling with depression since I was a little kid.

I used to get bullied in school a lot.

And anxiety came from overthinking a lot and hearing what the bullies would say, because I didn't fit a certain aesthetic or I didn't look a certain way, or I didn't have a certain materialistic thing.

It would get to me and it just grew throughout life and it just became like a jacket of anxiety.

- [Jason] Through her creativity and faith, Sharon's work to keep a positive mindset, putting her artistic skills to use as she started learning how to do hair and makeup.

- I moved to Charlotte in 2018 and I moved here to go to Paul Mitchell School of Hair.

- [Jason] But when COVID hit in 2020.

- The Vid!

- [Jason] And with everyone stuck at home, work dried up.

- I came home, I started baking for fun as a way to help with my anxiety and depression, and it just grew from there.

Baking has been so very therapeutic for me.

- [Jason] She never took a class, never went to baking or cooking school, but it was the creative part of the process that sparked a new passion.

- It was the decorating part that where it sparked.

I was like, "Ooh I like this."

I can make colors, I can make shapes, I can make flavors.

- [Jason] Sharon incorporates real flowers into her cakes or can create flower shapes with frosting.

- I literally asked her, how do you do that?

And she could barely even, she can barely describe it.

So I know that that's like something on a whole nother level that she does.

- So we are going to take our flour and you can do this at home, you can do it in a car, you can do it.

Don't do it at your job, but yeah, do it in the kitchen.

- [Jason] And uses edible ink and sheets to wrap her cakes with various designs.

- Now, these edible images, I create myself using AI.

So you try to go on Google, you not gonna find this image 'cause I made it.

- [Jason] She even created one on the spot for PBS Charlotte.

- Add to page.

We're gonna make this bigger.

Put it in the center.

So now we got a whole picture.

- [Jason] This is edible, edible paper.

- This is edible paper.

And what you'll do, you'll go ahead, peel it off.

- [Jason] Sharon invested in cameras and lighting and quickly gained a social media following with over 27,000 Instagram followers.

She also teaches online classes and appeared on the NBC Peacock Show, "Baking It."

- Social media transformed my life.

Just me posting things and talking about it like I treated social media like it was my own TV show.

- When Shay and Deborah Corley got married in 2022, they hired Sharon to do their wedding cake.

- Obviously for a wedding, you want your cake to be like a wow moment.

And she definitely delivered.

- My wife Deborah, she picked out this flavor and she was like, "This is the one."

I picked out one flavor and I'm like, "This is the one."

And she was like, you know what?

I could do something for the both of you.

- [Jason] Shay and Deb want to do things a little different.

So instead of the traditional cutting up of the cake and handing out pieces at the reception, they had Sharon create separate take home slices for guests to enjoy.

- So everybody had like their own personal cake.

It was awesome.

- And everybody enjoyed it.

Honestly, our guests really liked the fact that that was their take home favor.

It was a piece of cake and everybody loved it at the end of the night.

- [Jason] So impressed by her work, Shay and Deb hired Sharon again for Shay's birthday.

- I'm a huge sneaker head.

She made a birthday cake, which was like a sneaker cake, a Nike shoe cake.

It was really cool.

- [Jason] And then had her create a Paw Patrol themed birthday cake for their daughter.

- I like to do my cake's different.

If a client brings me a cake that I've already done, I'm not gonna do it the same.

I'm gonna do it better.

- Like this is somebody who is just, has passion for this and I feel like you're just drawn to people who have passion for what they do.

It makes you like it even more, honestly.

- [Jason] And that little girl once bullied and riddled with anxiety is doing much better now, thanks to her faith, self-confidence and creating something people enjoy.

- If I could go back and talk to my little self, I would tell her that things get better.

To just keep going.

Keep your head up and keep your faith strong.

Even when you feel like you can't see the road ahead, just keep walking.

Just keep swimming.

Just keep, just keep going.

Yeah.

- Okay.

Those cakes are amazing, and after watching it, of course I'm hungry and I'd like some cake.

What's the price?

- Price range?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, it's a little bit up there, but it's the design, it's the how much time.

I mean, when you're putting fresh flowers and all the sort of details that she does that's what does it.

All right.

A dozen jumbo cupcakes is around $78.

So that comes out to about 650 each, but it's two flavors, two to three different colors.

The sprinkles, the custom toppers, and the fresh florals.

Full cakes are around $200.

And how about this, Sharon says, I'm not just local, I'm global.

She doesn't ship her stuff out, but she's actually gotten on an airplane to deliver.

Because she doesn't trust shipping, she doesn't trust flying.

But she's actually gotten on an airplane to hand deliver her cakes.

So it's quite the deal.

- How amazing.

- Yeah.

- Again, another unique, intriguing story.

Thanks Jason.

- Yep.

- It's always cool.

Well, if you know of someone like Sharon doing interesting things in our region, reach out to us.

Email us your ideas to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, that wraps it up for this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on Carolina Impact.

Goodnight my friends.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.