Juanita Wilson / Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, NC
Six months ago, as part of a reckoning on racial injustice, the City of Asheville and Buncombe County both passed resolutions to consider reparations to the Black community as a way to begin making amends for slavery and generations of systemic discrimination.
The votes were hailed as “historic” by The Asheville Citizen Times, and ABC News asked, “Is Asheville a national model?”
Since then, local officials concede, little has been done. Some in the Black community see zero progress.
“From my understanding, they’ve done nothing,” said Rob Thomas, community liaison for the Racial Justice Coalition.
Asheville has not seen a year like 2020 in a hundred years literally.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Not since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919 has the world including our corner of it experienced this kind of public health challenge.
Working with Buncombe County health officials, City of Asheville employees rolled up their sleeves, crafted creative solutions and showed up to serve this community.
The year was also marked by national and local social unrest
following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis.
But that’s not all that happened. The City made strides in solar energy, social and environmental justice and completed a massive dam improvement project.