M.A.R.C.H Newsletter: August 2024
The purpose of the M.A.R.C.H. newsletter:
“M” is for Memory. The core purpose of this newsletter is remembering, honoring, and learning from the lived experiences of our elders be it here in the community, across the state or nation.
“A” is for Awareness. The purpose of memory is to guide our awareness, so that we understand the context and complexity of the work that is needed regarding achieving racial and social justice.
“R” is for Resilience. Memory and awareness are built on the resilience of our spirit. Racial and social justice work requires one to be mentally, physically, and emotionally strong. The purpose of this newsletter is to build up that needed strength.
“C” is for Community. The purpose of this newsletter is to remind us that our strength to fight for racial and social justice is fueled by knowing that the work is not done in solitude but in solidarity. As Dr. King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“H” is for Hope. We know that racial and social justice is not just going to happen. Our hope is that through our actions of voice, feet, or mind we will get closer to it happening. This newsletter highlights ways folks are working toward the goal of this nation truly being a place of racial and social justice for all.
This e-newsletter shares what the MLK Association and its Community Outreach Providing Empowerment (COPE) Program is doing and offers other news, events, and stories that align with its efforts. Below are some items that are noteworthy.
As always, feel free to share any or all of these items or the entire e-newsletter.
***Voting***
If you are part of an organization, faith community or group that is interested in hearing more about the changes that have happened in NC with voting, feel free to contact Ron Katz. He is reaching out to faith communities, nonprofits and other groups to speak or provide a speaker to support their efforts to vote in 2024. Ron is working with a number of nonpartisan groups that are promoting voter engagement throughout WNC and the entire state.
National News
- Religion has become part of the 2024 Presidential campaign. This article shows how Vice President Kamala Harris has been influenced by her Christian faith. This article looks at how prayer is used at events for Donald Trump.
- Olympian Allysin Felix received a $20 million grant from Melinda Gates to further the advocacy for Black Maternal Health. article
- The Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm has a confusing reaction to President Biden ending his re-election campaign. article
- Project 2025 is a Heritage Foundation 900-page outline of policy proposals should Donald Trump be elected president. Here is a brief overview of Project 2025’s far-right goals. article
- As states adopt “anti-woke” banking laws, the US Treasury warns that these laws are a threat to our national security. article
- Farm equipment maker John Deere is working to distance itself from diversity and inclusion efforts as it announces that it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events. article
- Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded the Freedom Singers and later started the ensemble Sweet Honey in the rock, passed away in July. article
State News
- NC state regulators say that a nonprofit run by the wife of NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson must repay $132,000 for disallowed expenses. article and article
- These are the ways NC public universities are moving to obey the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) ban. article
- A Raleigh police officer is on leave after posting on Instagram that Juneteenth is a “made-up holiday.” article
- Founded in 1885, the NC town of Princeville is the oldest community in the US founded by formerly enslaved people. After decades of natural disasters and economic disinvestment the town is now struggling to decide whether residents should stay or relocate. article
- Ms. Carrie Everett, Miss Johnston County, was recently crowned Miss North Carolina 2024. article
Issues in Education
- Colleges are risking losing talented faculty and staff with their pushback on diversity initiatives. article
- The state of Georgia twist and turns its way to teaching the Advance Placement African American Studies course. article
- As more states turn to school vouchers in efforts to diminish public schools, the effects on the state of Arizona’s budget are a major warning. article
- Wake County Public School System is ending its dress code discrimination against natural hair styles. article
- The North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) and the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) have a new $1.3 million dollar grant funded partnership to provide community college students an easier process in having their credits count toward a bachelor’s degree at any private four-year university in NC. article
Racism
- Black voters feel excitement about Vice President Harris’ campaign but are also worried. article
- As CNN laid off 100 employees as it restructured its newsgathering operations it also quietly disbanded its Race and Equality team. article
- Nashville NewsChannel5 reporter Phil Williams confronts Neo-Nazis marching in downtown Nashville. article
- After 34 years in prison, courts in Missouri have ordered Christopher Dunn, wrongfully convicted of murder, to be freed but the state attorney general continues to work to keep him behind bars. article
- The practice in several Southern states of operating penal farms on former slave plantations is facing a push for reforms. article
- In Coloma, CA, where the famous California Gold Rush began, several Black families are fighting for the return of land taken from their ancestors to create a state park. article
- Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who revealed the US government’s cruel Tuskegee syphilis study passed away in May. article
More videos of Juneteenth 2024 events can be found on MLK Asheville
Local News
- A group of community activists marched in Sylva to honor Rep. John Lewis and to call on Congress to protect voting rights. article
- The Confess Project of America held their annual Black men and mental health awareness effort known as “Beyond the Shop” with local barbers. article
- Facing a budget deficit, UNC-A has cut four academic departments. article
***Reparations***
- The Asheville and Buncombe County Community Reparations ComissionCommission webpage
- The Reparations Stakeholders Authority of Asheville has created the RSAA Reparations Fund. Here is information on how people can learn and support this effort organized by the Tzedek Social Justice Fund.
- The Asheville Racial Justice Coalition (website)
Monthly Community Events
Hood Huggers offers a fun way to learn about the history of Black Asheville. They also organize volunteer opportunities at the Peace Garden 47 Bryant St. Assheville, NC 28806. There are regular Community volunteer days. The Farm stand is open on Fridays from 3pm-7pm every week. Get details about how to book a tour, volunteering or taking part in their other community actions here.
First Friday: An evening on the Block! Come join us for a celebration of Black artists and entrepreneurs, a monthly tribute to the past, present, and future of The Block. Fri. Aug. 2nd 5PM-7PM at the Noir Collective AVL, 39 S Market St Suite C, Asheville, NC 28806. (map)
The Shiloh Community Events
Garden Day!
Saturday, August 3, 2024 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Shiloh Community Garden (map)
The Shiloh Community Association monthly meeting
Monday, August 5, 2024 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Linwood Crump Shiloh Center (map)
We are now hosting an Open Jam Night in The Canopy at Art Garden AVL (191 Lyman St., Suite 320, Asheville, NC 28801) every 2nd Friday of the month! Join us Friday, August 9th, from 7-10 pm for our next Open Jam Night!
Hosted by The Pot Stirred and local band, East Ritual! You can come and listen, or sign up to show off your own musical talents. This is a free event, open to the public. Reserve your seat at https://www.artgardenavl.com/
Plant Club Pop-Up Market! Come enjoy The Canopy and check out local growers and makers of all things plantie: from unusual houseplants and rare tropicals, to native medicinals, handmade pots and trellises, to botanical watercolor paintings, stained glass art, and cut flower bouquets, herbal salves and teas, and more!
This market happens every 3rd Saturday of the month in The Canopy at Art Garden AVL (191 Lyman St., Suite 320, Asheville, NC, 28801) from 11 am – 3 pm. Our next Plant Club Pop-Up Market will be on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
Check our IG @artgardenavl the week before each Plant Club to see who will be vending with us that month!
The East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association announces Flex in MLK Park – Sat. August 24th at 9am at 50 Martin Luther King Drive. Workout beside others who are on a similar journey…
The GATE Cohort Meet Up is back and better than ever!
Join us on Tues. August 27, 2024 from 6:30PM-7:30PM at Black Wall Street AVL, 8 River Arts Place, Asheville, NC, 28801 (map)
This event is a unique opportunity to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and industry experts, gain valuable insights, and propel your business forward. Be part of a community that supports and inspires growth. RSVP now and secure your spot! [https://bit.ly/GATEMeetUpAugust]
Resources of Interest
- The Color of Asheville’s Black-Owned Businesses and Community directory
The Freedom to Learn Network is a coalition of leading civil rights and social justice organizations; national teachers unions; education advocates; parents; students; and other interested parties across the nation and world focused on fighting against attempts to limit antiracist education in US schools. website - Data from the 2016 election shows how statistics on sexism, racism, and nationalism can be used to explain and predict election results. article
- The North Carolina State Capitol Historic Site has begun a “From Naming to Knowing” project. The goal of this project is to name and, as much as possible, share the stories of the enslaved men who built and maintained the State Capitol between 1833 and 1865. https://namingtoknowing.org/
- The National Museum of African American History & Culture has 500,000 pages of Freedman’s Bureau records available online. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/freedmens-bureau
- The Official mapping Police Violence database – https://mappingpoliceviolence.us/
Remembrance Projects Nationally & Locally
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) has been the important partner not only to Buncombe County but to all communities willing and working to address their history of racial injustice. As in each edition of this e-newsletter, we will continue to highlight several items from the EJI.
- EJI is currently working with nearly 100 communities to advance Community Remembrance Projects. More than half have erected historical markers. You can find out more about the communities that have erected EJI sponsored Community Remembrance Project markers here.
- You can view what is on each of the markers for Buncombe County, front and back, here as compiled by the Equal Justice Initiative. To see the markers, go to the following sites: for Mr. John Humphries – College & Spruce Streets; for Mr. Bob Brackett – Triangle Park; and for Mr. Hezekiah Rankin – Craven Street & Emma Road.
- The full stories about each of the three men who were lynched are captured in this document.
- The Equal Justice Initiative shared this webpage of the Historical Markers Installation Ceremony In Asheville on October 30th of 2021.
Please remember:
- Do you want to stay connected to the work of the Equal Justice Initiative? Sign up for updates about their work here.
- Every day of the year offers important racial justice history. If you want to get a daily reminder of that history, the Equal Justice Initiative offers this sign-up. Go here to get today’s reminder.
The NC Black Alliance offers this webpage with a page entitled – “Access to Healthcare: What You Need to Know” along with other pages that have articles and information concerning the Black community.
Bernice Johnson Reagon, Black Maternal Health, Divine Nine Black Fraternities and Sororities, Freedom Singers, John Deere, Olympian Allysin Felix, US Treasury, Vice President Kamala Harris