Monthly Archives: January 2014

Kenilworth Presbyterian Church MLK Celebration Jan 20

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Martin Luther King

  • Monday, January 20 in the Fellowship Hall of Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 123 Kenilworth Ave, Asheville.  Potluck from 5:30-6:30pm and the program from 6:30 until 7:30pm.
  • The program for the evening is the past, present and future of slave history in Buncombe County. Drew Reisinger, Buncombe Co. Register of Deeds, will be speaking about the Buncombe Co. slave deeds that are now available on line and David Quinn, who is helping to restore the South Asheville Cemetery will be speaking about the future of the cemetery.
  • We will have the interactive exhibit “An Unmarked Trail” from the Center for Diversity Education at our celebration. We will have a DJ spinning great tunes and will have craft projects for children.
  • For more information contact Katie Adams 828-252-8872 or email kenilworthpresbyterianchurch@gmail.com

Documentary: The House I Live In

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A-B Community Relations Council

ABCRC presents: The House I Live In
January 19th, 6:00 PM
Firestorm Cafe & Books
48 Commerce St., Asheville 28801

Join us for a screening of the documentary The House I Live In on January 19th at Firestorm Bookstore and Cafe. Seating will be limited, so please arrive early. Donations to ABCRC are welcome. 30 minute informal discussion to follow!

About The House I Live In: Since Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs 40 years ago, millions of people have been incarcerated for low-level drug law violations, resulting in disproportionate impacts on poor and low-income communities and communities of color, a growing epidemic of drug overdose fatalities, and increased rates of addiction and misuse. The drug war plays a major role in feeding the crisis of mass incarceration, where an ever-increasing number of Americans are imprisoned or placed under criminal justice supervision for low-level offenses – costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year. It will take a drastic shift in public consciousness and perception to create the change needed to effectively and successful end the war on drugs. THE HOUSE I LIVE IN provides an opportunity to educate and engage policymakers, faith and community leaders, and individuals working in the public and private sectors about the colossal failure of the drug war.

http://www.thehouseilivein.org/

watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFobm01kBw

We look forward to seeing you there!  For more information or questions about the event, please contact ABCRC at 828/252-4713.

Slave Deeds of Buncombe County

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When you visit Pack Square in downtown Asheville, you can’t help but notice that monument to Zeublon Vance, Confederate military officer, and former slave owner. It is less well known that the site of Vance monument also marks the location of the courthouse, where slave auctions were once held.

Since the late 1700’s the records of the buying and selling of slaves as property were kept in the Buncombe County Deed Books. These books have now been scanned and digitized by the office of the Register of Deeds. Drew Reisinger, Register of Deeds, and Deborah Miles of the Center for Diversity Education worked to have these records indexed so that this history: the names of the enslaved people, and those who bought and sold them, is no longer hidden away.

The Buncombe County Register of Deeds has produced a video about these deeds and the importance of exposing them to the light of day. These are valuable for family historians, for historians seeking to learn about Western North Carolina’s slaveholding past, and for ordinary citizens, black and white to have a full picture of their community history.

Heritage of Black Highlanders Collection 1888-1972

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One of UNC Asheville’s collections at Ramsey Library is the Heritage of Black Highlanders Collection. This collection includes photos, oral histories, biographies. Stories of community leaders and common people, churches, schools, businesses, community and social groups. Although a visit to the library would be wonderful, there is a great deal to see on the website itself. Our history is too important for us not to embrace it and learn what we can from the past in order to direct our future steps.

Crossroads – a look at Asheville’s historic black neighborhoods

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In the Fall of 2010, the North Carolina Humanities Council published Crossroads, which took a close look at East End, South Side, Stumptown and Hill Street & Burton Street. These were once thriving communities, often built around areas where during segregation African Americans of Asheville lived in small areas with local churches, schools, and businesses and community organizations.

Asheville was one of many cities across the United States that participated in urban renewal, part of a national effort during the 1950s through the 1970s
to improve so-called blighted areas of cities. in theory, urban renewal would enhance the landscape of cities and provide displaced residents model housing. in practice, however, many rich and vibrant communities of color were flattened throughout the United States. replacing these neighborhoods were wide roadways, highways, and new multi-story build- ings. residents, some of whom were homeowners, were either relegated to substandard public housing or forced to relocate elsewhere. (Page 1, Crossroads)

As we look at Asheville today and seek answers to how we got here and how we must move forward, we can’t help but look at the trauma caused to the black community by the forced removal of these neighborhoods. We can’t go back in time, nor would we want to go back to the days of segregation. Desegregation removed painful barriers to upward mobility, even as it took away a built-in customer base for many black businesses. While we don’t have some of the same thriving neighborhoods that once were part of Asheville, we now have new and powerful tools for networking and can “vote with our dollars” to support Asheville’s black businesses.

If you aren’t familiar with this history, please read Crossroads, and learn about the amazing history of Asheville’s black citizens.

Asheville African American Heritage Commission Vote TUESDAY NIGHT!

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On Tuesday, January 14, 2014 there will be a presentation encouraging Asheville City Council to approve a joint City-County resolution establishing an Asheville African American Heritage Commission. We’re hoping for a packed gallery – need the community to be present. Please come out and support this worthy cause. The presentation will be done towards the end of the Agenda. See under VI. NEW BUSINESS on the link below. You will also find a link to the Resolution there. It’s difficult to determine what time we’ll get to present. We are asking folks to arrive by 6 – 6:30 at the latest. Spread the word.

YMI Dickson-Stephens Leadership Institute

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From the YMI Cultural Center:

Asheville,N.C. – The YMI Cultural Center announced today its release of The Dickson-Stephens Leadership Institute. Named for Mr. Issac Dickson and Dr. Edward Stephens, who were the founders of the YMI, DSLI is a 10- week leadership cohort program that addresses the personal, cultural, civic and professional needs of emerging African American leaders in Asheville City and Buncombe County. Through the Institute, DSLI works to build a group of transformative African American leaders who hold a lifelong commitment to create lasting change in the African American community.

About The YMI Cultural Center
The YMI opened its doors in 1893 as the Young Men’s Institute. The institute was erected as a location for black men to improve their moral fiber through self- governance. The targeted areas were: education, economics and entrepreneurship. The YMI Cultural Center continues to focus on these areas some 120 years later through smart partnerships through exhibitions, lectures, collaborative class offerings, income tax assistance for low income citizens and asset management resources. For more information, please visit The YMI Cultural Center website: ymiculturalcenter.org.

About The Dickson-Stephens Leadership Institute

The Dickson-Stephens Leadership Institute will equip African-American professionals, ages 22-35, with the necessary skills to make positive transformations in their schools, communities, and society.  Through this program, participants will gain skills in leadership development, resiliency, cultural competence, and will develop stronger levels of self-esteem and a positive identity. Session one begins January 2014.

To learn more of the Young African American Leaders Institute please contact the Program Director:

Dr. Lamar Hylton
lrhylton8@gmail.com or
Sharon K. West, Chair of the YMI Board of Directors
ymicc@att.net

Building Bridges Session 43 – starting soon!

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The Mission of Building Bridges is to enable our community to confront and overcome racism through a continuing process of changing attitudes and hearts through education, conscious-ness raising, nurturing, and ongoing support. Our goal is to be intentional in respecting diversity within our community.
The board, facilitators, volunteers and I are in the process of preparing for you, your friends, acquaintances and others to come to Building Bridges session 43 as we begin our twenty-first year of building relationships through education, understanding and dialogue.  Please consider enrolling or re-enrolling in this session and do distribute the attached flyer widely.  Consider who you can send it to and where you can post it, including your social organizations, businesses, offices, churches…
Your voices are needed.  Our white participants are always amazed that the usual participation rate of African Americans is low.  They are disappointed because they typically hope to have an experience with more racial diversity and they truly benefit from hearing our stories, experiences…  Most of them don’t have a clue what the African American experience is like but they show up, listen and care.  Participation in Building Bridges is a way we can make Asheville/Buncombe County better place.  It facilitates communication, understanding and respect.  Let’s grow these seeds so that we can work together to actualize the kind of community we want to live in.
Blessings to you in this new year,
Jackie
Jackie Simms
Volunteer Building Bridges Coordinator
828 687-7759

Melissa Harris-Perry: WCU’s MLK Jr. 2014 Keynote Speaker

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On behalf of the 2014 Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, the Department of Intercultural Affairs of Western Carolina University cordially invites you to join us in welcoming Melissa Harris-Perry as WCU’s MLK Jr. 2014 Keynote Speaker on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 at 7:00p.m., in the A.K. Hinds University Center Grand Room. This event is free to the public.

Melissa V. Harris-Perry is host of MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry.”  The show airs on Saturdays and Sundays from 10AM to Noon ET.  Harris-Perry is professor of political science at Tulane University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South.  Harris-Perry is author of the well received new book, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (Yale 2011) and the award winning text Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought (Princeton 2004). Professor Harris-Perry is a columnist for The Nation magazine where she also writes a monthly column also titled Sister Citizen.  She lives in New Orleans with her husband, James Perry, and is the mother of a terrific daughter, Parker. Reception/book signing to follow presentation in UC Illusions.