The Urban News - Asheville, NC - The Invisible Black Asheville

As a relative “newbie” to Asheville and Buncombe County, perhaps my view is a little askew. Perhaps someone could explain why in a city as rich as Asheville, where you can’t throw a dead cat without hitting new construction and development, with Tiger’s new golf course on the horizon . . . why, amidst this economic ‘horn of plenty,’ I don’t see any rich black people out and about in our fair city.

Why are the only black businesses of any note relegated to one side street in downtown Asheville? Why nothing on the “Main” street? Are there any rich black people here? I don’t see any enjoying the nice restaurants, clubs and spas in town. Why is that?

I know the African American community has a long history in the city and county, so I wonder if the community was simply left out of all the important issues and decisions that were being made as Asheville moved into prosperity?

Are any African Americans being included in the present discussions about Asheville’s future? Any businesses, contractors, workers of any kind going to be working on the upcoming Ellington, that twenty two-story edifice to the rich and infamous slated to be built in downtown? How about Tiger’s golf course, or the dozens of other projects that County Commissioners and City Council have approved?
Are any African Americans being recruited for executive positions in the new hotels and businesses that are changing this city for better or worse?

Is it possible that because the voter turnout for African Americans in the last election was about 3% black Asheville is invisible to the powers that control where the prosperity finally ends up?

These are questions that have troubled me since I arrived in Asheville. I wonder why, with an African American mayor who is also female, more emphasis is not placed on women and minority participation in getting a slice of this economic pie - a few set-asides for affordable housing notwithstanding.

Are there not enough entrepreneurial black folks in Asheville to put together a business proposal or combine resources to become involved in the economic fabric of this city, and not just on the periphery?
I get an image of black people in Asheville, standing outside the candy store or the fancy restaurant with our noses pressed against the window pane, waiting for an invitation to come in — an invitation that’s not coming.

I pose these questions not to condemn or criticize, just maybe to draw attention to the latest economic train that’s leaving the station without any people of color on board. I wonder if it’s because of a vacuum of black leadership that there is so much disparity between the black and white economic conditions in a city as rich as Asheville.

One issue I will criticize is the apathetic African American voter participation. After all the people, black and white, who sacrificed lives and injury for our right to vote, to have a 3% voter turnout for any election is shameful - and Dr. King would rightly be ashamed. If for no other reason than to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to gain our right to vote, we should be lined up every time an election is held.

I think finally it comes down to whether we have the ability to take our destiny in our own hands and demand a piece of this enormous economic boom, or will lament our bad fortune and say, “Oh, that’s just the way it is, white folks won’t let us in… Woe is us!”

One way to start taking your economic destiny in your own hands is to VOTE! Then again, maybe we simply don’t have the ability; maybe our destiny is to have others decide our destiny. But I certainly hope not. That’s just my opinion.

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written by Richard Harvey on June 22, 2008

Greetings Mr. Jesse Junior, you raise similar questions I've pondered over myself. I don't live in Asheville, yet, as we plan on relocating there from Fort Lauderdale, FL. I did visit Asheville in summer of 2007 and loved the landscape and beauty of the region (I'm a Jamaican national so the mountains appeals to me). But I was/am concerned about the state of the so-called 'African-American.' We have business ideas that we plan to establish once in Asheville and I also plan on studying a UNC-Asheville. The statement that stirs me the most is " I wonder if it’s because of a vacuum of black leadership that there is so much disparity between the black and white economic conditions in a city as rich as Asheville." Being on the ground there, what do you suggest, apart from more voter turnout, is needed in the community, as pertaining to leadership? What's your advice for young aspiring leaders and entrepreneurship?