“In the area of diversity in hiring, Asheville is just as segregated, racist and unequal as it ever was, and while whites promote Asheville as a tourist and artistic mecca, African Americans are still cleaning rooms in expensive hotels instead of front desk or management positions and not being hired in banks, restaurants and trendy bars in downtown, Biltmore and West Asheville.”
“Protest is fundamental to America. It got your attention, didn’t it? Even if it’s only to know that women are expecting some more balance from their government.”
Fifteen thousand patients visit the Minnie Jones Health Center in downtown Asheville each year. Most of them are low-income residents of the area, often under- or uninsured. More than 200 of them are transgender patients seeking care at the center, which is run by Western North Carolina Community Health Services.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples in all 50 states have a fundamental right to marry under the U.S. Constitution. President Barack Obama will make a speech on the ruling at 11 a.m., Friday, June 26. Live stream here.
Dierdre Gilmer, Hall Fletcher Elementary PTO president, said her organization initially looked for a grant in 2014 from the Asheville City Schools Foundation for racial equity training because they noticed parents weren’t being represented properly at PTO meetings. A new initiative could change that.
Amid national furor over high profile cases around the country in which unarmed black men were killed by police officers, local activists held a Dec. 7 candelight vigil against “police brutality” at the Vance Monument in downtown Asheville. Local photographer John Penley documented the gathering:
Protesters took to the streets in Asheville in the wake of the Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the July 2014 death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner. (lead photo by John Penley)
Calling Dr. Jim Wallis President Barack Obama’s “spiritual advisor,” the popular conservative news and opinion website The Daily Caller reported July 7 that the liberal evangelical leader went on a “race rant” at a recent event Hot Springs. But was it really an accusatory, racist rant, from a man “who has the ear of the leader of the free world,” as the website alleges? Or was it part of a constructive dialogue on a tough topic?
The Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County has announced several events in celebration Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 20, including a film screening, prayer breakfast and march.
On Oct. 15, Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger became the first in the South to accept same-sex marriage licenses, setting off a torrent of media attention and online commentary.
As hopes of a progressive North Carolina crumble into ruin, there is renewed interest in an LGBT community center in the city that, two years ago, a state senator dubbed “the cesspool of sin” because of its domestic-partner registry.
Asheville Middle School’s boisterous student body took to the streets Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.‘s iconic “I Have Dream” speech.
Events continue in Asheville this week with the aim of raising awareness about racism. (photo by Max Cooper)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees of Buncombe County gained another safeguard against discrimination after commissioners gave final approval April 16 to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to its list of protected classes.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote again on a contentious plan to add language to the county’s personnel ordinance specifically safeguarding workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Here’s a look at some of what supporters and detractors had to say during a recent public hearing on providing domestic partner benefits to Buncombe County employees.
Buncombe County commissioners voted March 19 along party lines to extend employee benefits to both same- and opposite-sex domestic partners.
At their March 19 meeting, Buncombe Commissioners will consider extending county employee benefits to both same- and opposite-sex domestic partners. This post features live updates from the meeting via Twitter.
A key committee is recommending that Buncombe County extend employee benefits to both same- and opposite-sex domestic partners.
Women in North Carolina have made progress towards equality in recent decades, but significant disparities remain which affect the daily lives of women in North Carolina and in the nation as a whole.
Commissioners gave final approval Aug. 21 to a personnel ordinance that doesn’t specifically include protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
