The Community Reparations Commission met Monday night. This was the group’s fifth meeting. The 25-member commission is charged with coming up with a reparations plan for the city and county. It was formed after local leaders adopted a resolution in 2020 to repair damage caused by systemic racism.
Among the agenda items was an in-depth presentation on reparations theory and practice from Dr. Onaje Muid, Health Commission co-chair for the National Coalition of Black Americans for Reparations. Muid’s virual talk included a look at the history of redlining.
“There were provisions that prohibited Black people from living in certain places,” Muid told the group.
“So even though we have laws against redlining, there’s something called 'pinklining,’ in terms of the inability to get the same loans, or loans at the same percentage rate as their white counterparts. So it hasn’t stopped, it’s just morphed into another form of exploitation.”
During Tuesday’s Buncombe County commissioner’s meeting, commissioners are expected to revisit a recommendation passed in May. It proposes adding a line item in the county budget for reparations for Black people in Buncombe County as a percentage of the overall budget in perpetuity. The commissioners meeting begins at 5 p.m., you want watch it virtually here.
The Community Reparations Commission is made up of people from Asheville neighborhood groups along with 10 people who were appointed by the City and County.
