FINDING THE LINK: "We're all connected along that same road," says Ray Christian. "Everything that is happening now is just a continuation of things that have happened in the past."

Tuesday History: What Ray’s Saying

Posted on May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 by Thomas Calder

Last year, historian and eight-time Story Slam winner, Ray Christian, launched his podcast series, ‘What Ray’s Saying.’ The monthly program is a combination of storytelling, Black history and social commentary.

FREE TO BE: Dancers cut loose inside Roseland Gardens, circa 1950. The venue offered entertainment and a gathering space for area African-Americans during the era of segregation.

Remembering Roseland Gardens

Posted on February 16, 2017February 16, 2017 by Timothy Burkhardt

While WNC remained segregated, Horace Rutherford — rumored to never turn away business — wasn’t opposed to allowing white people to drink at his bar, and Roseland Gardens may have been the first integrated establishment in the region.

A simple hand-carved wooden sign marks Western North Carolina's oldest known African-American cemetery. Nearly 2,000 bodies are crammed into the 2-acre patch of land in Asheville's Kenilworth neighborhood. Photo by Hayley Benton.

Stones and bones: Volunteers help resurrect local African-American history

Posted on September 2, 2014September 23, 2014 by Jake Frankel

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.

Original copy of 13th Amendment will be exhibited in WNC for first time

Posted on May 1, 2014May 1, 2014 by Jake Frankel

A handful of documents changed the character of the United States. The 13th Amendment, formally ending legal slavery in this country, is one of them. North Carolina’s copy of the document will be exhibited in WNC for the first time on June 12 at Vance Birthplace in Weaverville.

Center for Diverstity Education Director Deborah Miles and APD Officer Ervin Hunter stand before a new exhibit honoring local slave history. Thirteen years ago, Hunter was one of about 20 high school students hired to do research that illuminated the lives of Buncombe County slaves such as Sarah Gudger (pictured in the middle). Photos by Max Cooper.

Bought & Sold: Forgotten documents highlight local slave history

Posted on April 9, 2013August 20, 2014 by Jake Frankel

In Buncombe County, thousands of slaves toiled as cooks, farmers, tour guides, maids, blacksmiths, tailors, miners, farmers, road builders and more, local records show. And after mostly ignoring that troubled history for a century and a half, the county is now taking groundbreaking steps to honor the contributions of those former residents by making its slave records readily available online.

Root Shock: Weighing the cost of urban renewal

Posted on February 18, 2009June 20, 2014 by Brian Postelle

Urban renewal, once hailed as the savior of urban areas, has often led to unintended consequences. The drastic reshaping of a city can prompt the demolition of entire neighborhoods, often including homes that were historically owned by African-American families. Asheville has its own history of troublesome urban renewal, especially in the East End neighborhood, where […]

Tag: black history

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