Asheville’s Black Cultural Heritage Trail now has a new component — a vibrant mural in the city’s South Slope neighborhood.
The trail was launched in 2023 by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority after years of advocacy by Asheville’s Black community.
The mural, “Black Girl Magic,” features a young girl beaming as she waters the flowers around her.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, artist Tommy Lee McGee described the words on the mural — “Each One, Reach One, Teach One” — as a call to action in the Black community.
“It’s something that I grew up hearing,” he told BPR. “And it’s really about, once you do reach that level of either success or groundedness, that you open yourself up to the people – the generation after you – to be able to bring them up, to be able to impart the wisdom and information and guidance.”
At last week’s ceremony, McGee told the exuberant crowd that he hopes to increase the focus on the younger generation through imagery telling the Black and Brown story.
He said he was inspired in part by his mother and sister.
“It’s my thank-you letter to Black and brown women in this community, in this country and in this world,” he said. “And it’s also my prayer that the little girl inside of them that may have not always been cared for and have their gardens watered, that when they do see that, it is a reminder of that little girl inside of them, and that she’s appreciated. She’s loved and cared for.”
The event also featured a performance by the John R. Hayes High Steppin’ Majorette and Drum Corps. The group wowed the crowd as its young members — who range in age from 6 to 19 — twirled their batons and kept the rhythm under a blazing sun.
The group is led by Michael Hayes, executive director of the UMOJA Health, Wellness and Justice Collective. In 1977, Hayes’s father founded the performance group, which was formerly known as the Hillcrest High Steppin’ Majorette and Drum Corps.
“They took their model from Stephens-Lee High School, which was the only Black high school here in Western North Carolina,” Hayes told the crowd. “And they had one of the baddest bands that you ever saw, high steppin’ majorettes and all.”
Hayes said the group plans to expand. Part of that effort is a May 31 fundraiser at the newly-reopened YMI Cultural Center in downtown Asheville.
“We’re trying to raise money for the youth that want to be involved,” Hayes told BPR. “You know, we have a big program. It’s growing, so we would love to have some support from the community.”
Among the group’s members is 16-year-old Tink Johnson. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, she told BPR one of her favorite parts of the mural is its message.
“I like it,” she said. “It’s unique. First time seeing it, actually. Very colorful. And it’s got what we’ve got on our shirts: ‘Each One, Teach One, Reach One.’”
The mural is the first of three projects McGee is working on for Asheville’s Black Cultural Heritage Trail, in partnership with the Buncombe TDA and River Front Development Group.
If you’d like to check out the mural, head to the parking lot next to The Whale at 21 Buxton Avenue in the South Slope.
