Stephens-Lee alumni work to keep legacy alive 100 years after first graduating class

Growing up in Buncombe County, Angel Redmond never thought much about Stephens-Lee High School, the institution that educated Black students in Western North Carolina for four decades until it closed in 1965. “I did have aunts and uncles who went there, but I didn’t realize how much of an impact Stephens-Lee had,” says Redmond, who […]

Tuesday History: Catholic Hill School and the fire of 1917

Catholic Hill School — Asheville’s first school building constructed to serve the African-American community — was built in 1892. The three-story brick building held classes for students in the first through ninth grades. On Friday, Nov. 16, 1917, the school’s furnace malfunctioned. Fire consumed the building, and seven students perished in the flames. In 1923, Stephens-Lee […]