Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The Community Reparations Commission is starting to hone in on concrete recommendations for how local governments should atone for generations of systemic racism in Asheville and Buncombe County. The latest example: At their Dec. 4 meeting, commissioners discussed at length a desire to use reclaimed city- and county-owned land to establish a centralized campus for needed services.
A joint recommendation drawn up by education and economic development focus groups from the commission concentrated primarily on what facilitators called an “education resource campus” to provide a place where Black folks know they could access resources for everything from specialized classes to prenatal and elder care.
“We know that education is a building block to be able to do whatever you want in your life. And we know that the literacy rates alone in this community already don’t set up Black kids to be able to do whatever they want in their life, and they’re not being taught,” said facilitator Amieris Lavender, who represents the education focus group. “What do our kids need to have in order to be able to access the resources that are in our community? There’s plenty of programs, and there are resources, and yet when you walk into them, you might not see us.”
Lavender said the commission had gotten feedback from Black residents who felt there had been a loss of places for Black residents to meet with each other and dependably access resources.
“We want to make sure that we’re encouraging collaborative solutions, that there’s no lost opportunities and that we can combat the deep trauma that has been inflicted upon the Black community through years of systemically racist policies that were implemented by city and county entities,” she said.