When Wakina Robertson birthed her twins in Buncombe County 30 years ago, it was a harder experience than it should have been. The babies arrived nine weeks early. “I wasn’t listened to,” she tells Xpress. “Did I want to have my babies early? … If I could have pushed a little longer to carry them […]
When Xpress asked community members about safety and security in 2021, the questions were intentionally left very broad. After all, concepts like safety and risk can mean very different things to different people depending on their circumstances. Would respondents opine about public safety? Housing security? Financial security? Sexual assault? Homophobia? The resulting responses take the […]
Western North Carolina is grappling with a controversial part of its history: monuments erected in commemoration of Confederate figures. In May, after months of debate and consideration by a specially appointed task force, Asheville began removing the Vance Monument, an obelisk honoring the late Confederate military officer and former Gov. Zebulon Baird Vance. And in […]
“Educators have a duty to educate and guide students. It’s no easy task and deserves public support.”
The murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, spurred nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. In Asheville, Floyd’s murder had the immediate effect of religious institutions looking inward and engaging with their congregations around racial justice. More than a year on from those events, many […]
Critical race theory, a set of ideas about the ways race influences society, drew 13 commenters at a June 3 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Education. Officials at both the county and Asheville city school systems say they do not explicitly teach CRT and encourage students to develop their own judgments.
In June 1995, a young lawyer named J. Calvin Hill parked his car in downtown Asheville and walked toward the Buncombe County Courthouse. Hill, who had been working for several years as a defense attorney in eastern North Carolina, had been recruited by the Buncombe public defender’s office. As he strolled to his job interview […]
“Get rid of the racist cops and replenish the police budget to where it needs to be, whatever that might be — not what the mob wants it to be.”
“If you are like me and see the value in all people and would like to understand the problem better in hopes of doing better to create a new culture where racism is a thing of the past, then I invite you to join me for Justice in January.”
“If we follow that logic, though, shouldn’t we also tear down Vance Elementary School rather than merely renaming it?”
“As we demonstrate for transformation of police departments, the removal of statues and other symbols of racism, remember that unequal health care delivery to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) is real, with lifelong and generational effects.”
“You cannot practice racism and bigotry and still call yourself a ‘patriot.'”
“Peace in Asheville has never been more important than in the year 2020.”
Asheville City Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting reparations for Asheville’s Black community at its July 14 meeting. Members also moved to table a $83,000 contract with risk-management firm Hillard Heintze to investigate Asheville Police Department’s response to recent protests after listening to community concerns.
“The white-led action featured in your cover story was inspired by Black-led protests — which are the real story.”
“What’s next? Whites need to listen and learn about the roots of systemic racism and poverty.”
“My family may worry about our safety for a few weeks, but others in this country worry every single day — pandemic or not.”
“Segregation and economic apartheid have been standard operating procedure for all my life in Asheville, and that has not changed.”
How did Xpress readers process all the local news and changes this year? Here’s a look at the topics that generated the most commentaries, letters to the editor and online comments in Xpress in 2019.
The 10th Congressional District representative’s constituents challenged him on issues including climate policy, Israel-U.S. relations and the behavior of President Donald Trump at his annual Buncombe County town hall on July 31 at the Riceville Community Center.
“How despicable to think that a grown woman cannot make her own statement about her interpretation and experience regarding working with President Trump.”
