A revitalized volunteer push is underway to rescue Western North Carolina’s oldest known African-American cemetery from the ravages of neglect and obscurity. The effort includes a new website that features an interactive map of the cemetery and a digital guide to each of its graves.
Last year, Leicester resident Valeria Watson-Doost submitted a letter to Mountain Xpress about an historic building in West Asheville’s Burton Street neighborhood that was slated for demolition (see “Wrecking Ball Swings Toward Asheville Black History,” Letters, May 15, 2007). “I did research on the building … and found out that it was built in 1924 […]
Some 300 people gathered at UNC-Asheville’s Highsmith University Union on Feb. 16 for the second annual State of Black Asheville Forum, a daylong event featuring panel discussions about blacks’ experiences in education, employment, law enforcement and health care in Asheville. The event was started last year by UNCA political science professor Dwight Mullen. Taking stock: […]
Last year, a group of students in a political science course at UNC-Asheville began researching socio-economic issues facing African-Americans in Buncombe County. Led by African Studies Professor Dwight Mullen, their work culminated in a forum that brought elected officials and community leaders to the table to talk about blacks’ experiences relating to health care, housing, […]
