ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville has gone through many changes in the past 50-plus years, and Priscilla Robinson has watched as her city transform.
“This space is where the three-story apartment, my three-story apartment that I once lived in, used to be,” Robinson said.
That lot is now vacant but used to house an apartment building until the 1960’s when Robinson and her family were told by Asheville’s Housing Authority they needed to move.
“My family was told that we were going to be relocated to better living conditions because many of the apartments were blighted,” Robinson said. She said it was a positive experience to move into a new apartment, but that quickly changed.
Robinson’s family and many other Black families, Black homeowners and Black businesses were uprooted during a process called “urban renewal.”
Urban renewal negatively impacted many aspects of life, including education, economic development and housing.
“It took away unity. It took away community. We were forced to move – and I say we as a whole – to other communities. For those who could go out and repurchase, [they] were forced to move into communities where they were not accepted,” she said.
Priscilla said reparations is about making amends. “Urban renewal was like a big wound and the wound has never healed. Reparations would actually begin the healing process,” Robinson said.
Dewana Little is a fourth generation Asheville native and the Community Reparations Commission chair. Her great-grandparents lost their home during urban renewal and that impacted intergenerational wealth.
“There was a real economic impact. My mom’s generation was in public housing, and I even spent some time in public housing,” Little said. “I was fortunate to have opportunities and people that opened doors for me to be able to transition out.”
She said everyone doesn’t have those opportunities, which is why reparations is about breaking down barriers.
The commission is looking for a six-month extension to address all areas where reparations are needed.
“There has not been enough time for us to really dig deep into the policies and practices that continue to perpetuate harm on Black people,” Little said. “The marginalization, the issue, has been far greater than a two-year time line.”
The Reparations Commission recently made 38 recommendations to the city and county of how reparations should be allocated. A few of those recommendations include settlements of $148,000 given to families and businesses negatively impacted by urban renewal, establishing a health care subsidy fund, requiring mandatory training of public servants in criminal justice, and providing job training and educational support for Black students after high school.
Asheville Community Reparations Commission meetings are every third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Banquet Hall.
