Catherine Mitchell has been working toward the creation of a Black Cultural Heritage Trail in Asheville for more than a decade.
Today, the 78-year-old and the entire city will get to see that dream become a reality as the trail of sites important to Black history in the area launches.
For Mitchell, the launch of the trail, which highlights contributions to Black history and culture throughout Asheville, is the culmination of years of work.
“There were so many people who kept saying, ‘Will it happen?’ Asking, ‘Well? When? How?’ And, it is. I am thrilled,” she said.
Mitchell is part of the River Front Development Group, a Black community development nonprofit that spearheaded the creation of the trail. A former lawyer who was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she has long been involved in the fight for civil rights.
At a 2010 meeting of residents in Asheville’s historically Black East End neighborhood, she and others decided to begin investigating the possibility of a monument or trail commemorating the city’s Black history.
With funding from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, work on the project got underway. An 18-member advisory committee provided recommendations throughout the process.
The trail contains three parts: a Downtown Route, a Southside Route and a River Route. Signposts at each location tell the story of the lives, achievements and resilience of the city’s Black community, from the history of Asheville’s Black newspapers to the efforts of Black residents to push for social change.
Want to go?
The ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration is open to the public.
Where: Black Wall Street AVL in the River Arts District (8 River Arts Place)
When: Friday, December 15, 10am-Noon.
Trolley service will be available noon-2pm for participants to explore the trail.
For more information on the trail, click here.
This post has been corrected to reflect the TDA is the Tourism Development Authority.
