Southgate was a motel on what was then High Point Road in Greensboro, NC. By the time I became acquainted with it the motel wad fallen into a state of disrepair and served as a place of refuge of the chronic homeless and as a place of business for drug dealers and prostitutes.
Many years earlier I had attended a funeral in Raford, NC and read a copy of a local newspaper telling about the death of a young boy in a house fire and that story not only was upsetting because an innocent child lost his life but also because the circumstances surrounding the fire as described in the paper didn't seem normal to me. I really wanted to know more about how a mother could let her child die in a house fire and not suffer any ill effects herself so I started doing research which eventually let me to the Southgate Motel. Because of this story I met many of the city's prostitutes and learned some of their stories.
It is true that many of these women are mentally ill but many were abused children. Some were raped, constantly molested and some started on drugs when encouraged by a parent. Common denominators are growing up in poor neighborhoods and having a strong rebellious personality. A girl can be quiet and sweet as she can be but about the age of 12 or 13 their personality changes and they become more strong willed.
The truth is they only do sex to get money for drugs and hate the :johns" for taking advantage of them. Between 1 and 2 percent of all high school girls will become involved in the sex trade at some point in their lives. One such woman was the subject of my book and after much effort I finally got the truth of what happened that night the young boy died. She referred to herself as the "Queen of Southgate" and much of my effort to get to the truth centered around that motel. I just adopted the name "Southgate News' as my blog title.
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