M.A.R.C.H Newsletter: September 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.

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***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.
• Here are things you need to know to vote in NC article 
• Data from the 2016 election shows how statistics on sexism, racism, and nationalism can be used to explain and predict election results. article

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“Race” and politics

• Throughout this election Donald Trump has questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ race. Which shows his lack of understanding the different ways Black people must use to navigate society. Like code switching
• Black voters respond to the controversy regarding Vice President Harris’ “Race.” article

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National News

• President Biden spoke to “CBS Sunday Morning” about the dangers of Donald Trump becoming president again. article  
• Former President Jimmy Carter says he’s trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris in November. article 
• Black farmers begin to receive payments from the $2.2 billion Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. article 
• The state of Georgia may once again capture the nation’s attention during the presidential election because of new and possibly illegal Election Board rules. article 
• The claim Bill Clinton made at the DNC that since 1989 Democratic presidents have created 50 times more jobs than Republican presidents is true. article 
• The Jack Daniel’s Distillery and the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle company have joined the ranks of companies ending their DEI efforts. article 
• Illegal voting by noncitizens is rare and not the major issue Republicans are making it out to be. article

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State News

• Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign has had both the RNC and DNC playing politics. article 
• Some WNC counties will experience higher utility bills. article 
• Democrats and education advocates view the GOP candidate for Governor Mark Robinson and the GOP candidate for Superintendent of Public Schools Michele Morrow as threats to public schools. article  
• The NC state health plan needs an increase of funding but the General Assembly refuses to act. article

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Issues in Education

• The Associated Press looked at how Black students are disciplined in K-12 schools across the nation. article 
• Louisiana governor bans the use of Critical Race Theory in the state’s k-12 public school systems. article 
• The University of Alabama closed their Black Student Union office and queer resource center. article 
• The University of Florida suspends its Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement programs and shuts its cultural student engagement offices. article 
• The University of Kentucky disbanded their diversity office. article 
• More schools in the US are taking meditation breaks to help students mental health. article 
• New College of Florida tossed hundreds of library books and gender diversity books. article

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Racism

• A third set of remains, with gunshot wounds, has been found in search for graves of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. article 
• A new commission in Tulsa, OK., will study reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims and descendants. article 
• Spectrum News takes a deep look at the challenges of locating, restoring, and preserving African American cemeteries. article 
• Susan Lorincz of Marion County, FL, was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of A.J. Owens after an argument about Owens children playing in Lorincz’s yard. article 
• The federal case of the Texas high school student suing the Barbers Hill school district over its policy restricting hair length which had him suspended for having dreadlocks has been dismissed. article 
• A soldier stationed at Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, NC actively recruited across the state for the white-supremacist group Patriot Front. article 
• A $100 million reparations bill was introduced in Minnesota. article 
• A Black Trump supporter claims he was called a “slave” while working for right-wing political organization. article 
• People continue to create ways of glorifying the Confederacy. article

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Local News

• GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump made a campaign stop in Asheville. article 
• The Asheville City Council voted to extend the Reparations Commission’s work through February 2025. article 
• The Buncombe Rental Assistance Collaborative (BRAC) provides connections to housing opportunities in the county. article

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***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)

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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.

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You are invited to join us for a free event we’re calling “Dinner Discussions” on September 12, 6:00-7:30pm, with the Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust. We’ll talk about the ways in which substantive equity can be achieved in housing and homeownership in the Asheville-Buncombe region. Click here to register (required) for this event.

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The East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association Meeting is Thursday September 12th at 6pm at Stephens-Lee, 30 George Washington Carver Ave.  Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb is the guest speaker. If you have something important to share with the community, please contact us at EastEndValleyStreet@gmail.com. We’ll do our best to accommodate your request and add you to the agenda.

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The Neighborhood Advisory Committee invites all of Asheville to gather for a day filled with neighborly interaction, learning, and fun for the whole family. This event brings together neighbors from all corners of Asheville intending to strengthen the bond between residents, neighborhood associations, and local organizations and create a harmonious and thriving community.

Admission to the event is free, and everyone is welcome.

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The Shiloh Community Association monthly meeting
Monday, September 16, 2024 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Linwood Crump Shiloh Center (map)

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The Asheville Museum of History is proud to announce the opening to the public on Saturday, September 21st, The Photography of Andrea Clark: Remembering Asheville’s East End Community will feature 35 framed photographic prints from Clark’s extensive photo series of areas of the city that were later rapidly transformed by the city of Asheville’s urban renewal program and redevelopment. Clark’s photos are a vital record of the landscape, people, and buildings that once made up the now lost African American community of the East End.

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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, September 21, 2024.

Check our IG @artgardenavl the week before each Plant Club to see who will be vending with us that month!

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Officer Hughley will share her journey and insights from her experience as a parole officer. Discover the challenges, triumphs, and perspectives that shape her role in the justice system. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and engage in meaningful dialogue on the intersection of race, gender, and law enforcement. Click here for more information and to register (required) for this event.

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The Goombay Festival has attracted thousands of visitors to the city since it was created in 1982 as a vibrant celebration of the African diaspora and Asheville’s African American community.  

Hosted by the YMI Cultural Center, this free, family-friendly event will take place from September 27-29, 2024, in downtown Asheville at Pack Square, Reuter Terrace, and Roger McGuire Green. The theme this year is “Back to Our Roots,” which promises to connect the community through Black culture, art, food, and entertainment.

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Resources of Interest

• The Color of Asheville’s Black-Owned Businesses and Community directory  
  The NC African American Heritage Commission (AAHC) created in 2008, the commission works across the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to achieve the mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting North Carolina’s African American history, art, and culture, for all people. website 
• 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 
• 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/

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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. 

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The full stories about each of the three men who were lynched are captured in this document. 
4. The Equal Justice Initiative shared this webpage of the Historical Markers Installation Ceremony In Asheville on October 30th of 2021.

     Please remember:

1. Do you want to stay connected to the work of the Equal Justice Initiative? Sign up for updates about their work here.
2. 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.