M.A.R.C.H Newsletter: February 2025

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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Friends, 

The Trump Administration’s executive orders over the past weeks are blatant intentional actions centered on creating an environment of fear, pain, and uncertainty. They are an insult to the efforts people have made and are making to create positive changes in our communities.  

These actions are counter to the MLK Association’s commitment to racial equality, economic equity, and social justice. They do not intimidate us, instead they encourage and empower us! We will not be quite or stay quite in the face of hatred and injustice.  

As Dr. King said in his 1956 speech, When Peace Becomes Obnoxious, “If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it. If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadening status quo, I don’t want peace. If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated, and segregated, I don’t want peace.”  

We recognize there is still much work to be done. We are determined to keep on working to recognize and celebrate our diverse histories, unique lived experiences, and shared hopes on our journey to becoming the Beloved Community Dr. King dreamed we would become, and we encourage you continue marching with us on this journey.  

We will celebrate Black History Month this month, Women’s History Month next week and the other cultural heritage days and months throughout the year. We are America and our history is American history! 

Jonathan McCoy 
VP of the MLK Association 
Editor of the M.A.R.C.H newsletter 

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The history of Black History Month. article 

Here is a list of Black History Month events taking place across WNC throughout the month. article 

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National News

• As President Biden left office, he issued several preemptive pardons. article 
• Take a deep breath before reacting to actions taken by the Trump administration. article 
• In January, an AP-NORC poll showed that few people were confident that Justice Department and FBI will act fairly under Trump. article So, the firing of Justice Department employees involved in prosecuting charges against him was not a surprise. article  
• Violent crimes decreased in US cities in 2024, but why didn’t it feel like it? article 
• US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returns to its past practice of carrying out arrests in schools and churches. article 
• President Trump looks to send “worst criminal aliens” to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. article 
• President Trump’s early actions in office mirror Project 2025 goals. article 
• Amid the tragedy of the DC plane crash, Trump and his administration blames DEI and Obama. article 
• The Trump administration ends federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and positions. article 
• Did you know that Kansas is currently going through the largest tuberculosis outbreak in US history? article 
• The “Doomsday clock” has ticked closer to midnight. article 

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State News

• Meet Governor Josh Stein’s Cabinet appointees. article 
• Former NC Lt. Governor Mark Robinson has ended his lawsuit against CNN and maybe ending any future political aspirations. article 
• A recent UNC study shows an alarming rise in the risk of suicide for Black middle school students. article

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Issues in Education

• Achievement scores for NC K-12 school in Math have improved but have dropped in regard to Reading. article 
• HBCUs are under threat from President Trumps’s executive orders. article 
• Recent actions by the Trump administration have led the UNC system to end its diversity course graduation requirement. article 
• A Republican women’s group in Tennessee cited Hitler in promoting its reading list. article 
• The Oklahoma Board of Education is requiring parents to prove their citizenship when enrolling their children. article

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Racism

• When karma comes knocking: A Historic Black church in Washington DC, now owns the “Proud Boys” name. article 
• On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the states of Alabama and Mississippi still honor Robert E. Lee. article 
• As President Biden left office, he issued several pardons for political activists. article 
• Target along with these other companies have reversed course in their support of diversity initiatives. article 
• Costco has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity centered practices and policies. article 
• President Trump’s executive orders are deliberately chaotic. article 
• In response to President Trump’s anti-DEI executive order the US Air Force ended a course that discussed the Tuskegee Airman and female WWII pilots. article But following an outcry from the public, the Air Force reinstated the course. article 
• The Idaho State House passed a bill to memorialize their opposition to the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage. article 

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Local News

• Grant applications for the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative II (WNCSBI) are now being accepted. article 
• The West Asheville Presbyterian Church building has been given to the Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville. article 
• Young people are leading local protest marches against the Trump administrations new immigration policies. 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 Hurricane Helene Relief Fund.Here is the link to the donation page.
• The Asheville Racial Justice Coalition (website)

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Monthly Community Events

The Photography of Andrea Clark: Remembering Asheville’s East End Community: PART II
Sat. February 22nd 11AM-5PM    FREE EVENT

Community Day
Featuring Rev. Sean Palmer (YMI Cultural Center Executive Director)
Sat. February 22nd 11AM-5PM 

History Hour: Echoes of Texana: The Families that made it a Community with LaKisha Blount. Tues. February 25th 6PM-7PM   MUST PURCHASE TICKETS

More information of these and other events can be found via this link Events

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Rally to protest the attempted overturning of a fair election for N.C. Supreme Court Justice.
Speakers will include a few of the 60,000+ voters whose votes are at risk of being canceled. 
     The court case rises from a dispute in the 2024 election in which Judge Jefferson Griffin lost the election to current NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes. The suit claims that the state broke election law for decades by not requiring certain documents and that more than 60,000 votes statewide should be thrown out. 
Common Cause NC and its partners are staging rallies across the state on Presidents’ Day weekend to protest the dangerous precedent of possibly disenfranchising 60,000+ North Carolina voters. You can get additional information about this rally and register here. 
 
WHEN:  Noon, Monday Feb. 17

WHERE: The amphitheater at Pack Square Park in downtown  Asheville

CONTACTS:  Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or Gino Nuzzolillo

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Hood Huggers offers a fun way to learn about the history of Black Asheville. They work on 17 different community projects as well as organizing 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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Recources: Community Care in WNC

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The East End/Valley Street Neighborhood Association Meetings are on hiatus until February or March of 2025. Use this link to their website to stay updated.

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The Shiloh Community Association Garden Days!
Saturdays Feb. 15th & 22nd 10AM – 2PM
Shiloh Garden (map)

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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.