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Asheville Watchdog (https://avlwatchdog.org/)
Vance, Patton, Woodfin, Henderson, Weaver, Chunn, Baird — their names are familiar to anyone living in Asheville and Buncombe County today. All were wealthy and influential civic leaders honored by having their names bestowed on statues, monuments, streets, schools, parks, neighborhoods, and local communities. They were also major slaveholders or slave traders and white supremacists… READ MORE >
By 1860, about 15 percent of the population of Western North Carolina was enslaved. Only a small percentage of the White settlers, who had pushed out Indigenous Native Americans, owned slaves — about 2 percent of households, according to Katherine Calhoun Cutshall, collections manager, North Carolina Room, Pack Memorial Library — and of those, most… READ MORE >
In 2019, if you were to ask anyone what drove Asheville’s economy, they’d tell you beer, arts and crafts, outdoor recreation, hotels and restaurants. In short, tourism. Today, with those businesses only just beginning to ramp back up and tourists staying home, talk of diversifying Asheville’s economy is picking up. Local technology businesses and the… READ MORE >
Editor’s Note: On June 23rd, Madison Cawthorn defeated Lynda Bennett to become the Republican candidate in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district race. Cawthorn will face Democrat Morris (Moe) Davis in the general election Nov. 3. When then-Congressman Mark Meadows stunned his constituents last winter with plans to abandon his seat to become White House chief… READ MORE >
African-Americans in Asheville are three times more likely than white people to be searched by police in traffic stops and are disproportionately charged with common crimes such as marijuana possession in disparities that experts in police bias called shocking, an AVL Watchdog analysis of police data found. Among lower-level crimes such as disorderly conduct, trespassing… READ MORE >
The legendary Miami Beach police chief Rocky Pomerance was asked in an interview with People magazine why he so passionately believed in the importance of police work. “Because,” he said, “we are the only social-service agency you can call on for help after 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.” Characterizing the police as a social-service… READ MORE >
One by one, they arrived at their downtown businesses this week to find shattered storefronts and graffiti-stained walls. The damage could not have come at a worse time, following a two-month closure from a pandemic and a sluggish reopening. But these Asheville business owners chose not to cast blame or demand justice from the vandals…. READ MORE >
June 1st. Night. A few minutes before the first explosion a black woman stopped to say, “It’s nice to see another older person.” She patted my arm. “You too,” I replied. Such kind eyes, I thought and reached out to touch back but she was gone. I was standing just up from the police station,… READ MORE >
Impressions from the front lines as the school year ended last week with classrooms shut and students trying to learn from home: A Buncombe County elementary teacher: “We had some students who looked to me like they hadn’t bathed in a week,” said the teacher, recounting an experience from before the schools shut down. “If… READ MORE >