More than five years after Asheville City Council voted to establish its Community Reparations Commission, the body has released its final report on addressing the legacy of systemic racism in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Commission Chair Dewana Little and Vice Chair Bobbette Mays presented the document at City Council’s Sept. 9 meeting. The report lays out 38 new recommendations across five areas — criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing — meant to rectify inequities faced by Black residents.
The suggestions include a blend of new community programs, such as a Black mental health network and Black business corridors, alongside policy tweaks such as requiring more anti-bias training for law enforcement. The report also advocates “direct cash payments to individuals harmed by racial discrimination.”
However, the document does not outline any specific funding proposals. That’s in contrast with prior votes by the commission, which in 2024 recommended Black business grants of up to $100,000, an annual $100,000 allocation for Black health care subsidies, and lump-sum payments of $148,000 to families and businesses impacted by Asheville’s urban renewal in the 1960s and ‘70s. (To date, the only commission recommendation to receive city or county funding has been the “Cease Harm” audit, completed by a Florida-based consultant in 2024 at a cost of about $175,000.)
Council members asked no questions after the presentation and provided no substantive feedback. Mayor Esther Manheimer did thank commission members for their work, noting only that “it’s been a much longer process than you probably signed up for in the beginning.”
Council’s muted response may have been influenced by a Sept. 4 letter from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon wrote to both city and Buncombe County officials, claiming that the recommendations, “if implemented, would violate federal civil rights law.” She promised to investigate any alleged violations and enforce the law “to the fullest extent possible.”
Dhillon’s warning drew attention from national media, including The Hill, Esquire, Black Enterprise, and Newsmax. She has since continued to rail against the reparations proposals, including in a Sept. 9 post from her official X account stating, “Get woke, go broke!”
Asked by BPR last week for comment on Dhillon’s letter, Asheville spokesperson Kim Miller said: “Our legal team will advise the City Council and staff on the legality of the Commission recommendations, in order to ensure compliance with current law.”
The Trump administration had previously criticized Asheville in March over its intent to prioritize “minority and women-owned businesses” in Helene recovery, threatening to withhold $225 million in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city subsequently removed that language to secure the money.
Sala Menaya-Merritt, who leads Asheville’s Department of Human Relations, Anti-Discrimination and Compliance — known until earlier this year as the Office of Equity and Inclusion — said city staff would follow up on the reparation commission’s recommendations but did not provide a timeline. Council plans to formally dissolve the commission in October.
Other tidbits
- Council approved a $10 million, zero-interest loan to the Western North Carolina Affordable Housing Loan Fund, which finances construction of rental projects and is managed by the Durham-based Self-Help Ventures Fund. The money comes from $20 million in bonds that Asheville voters approved for affordable housing in 2024. All new units supported by the funds must be located within city limits, and at least 20% must be affordable to households making 60% or less of the area median income (up to $55,900 for a family of four.)
- After a lengthy public hearing, the council unanimously backed a conditional zoning amendment for new construction at the Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community in South Asheville. Residents of The Ramble, an adjacent neighborhood, had objected to a parking lot slated for the edge of the property, but council members said the developer had planned sufficiently to mitigate its impacts.
- The Interstate 26 Connector Project Aesthetics Advisory Committee presented recommendations for the controversial bridge that the N.C. Department of Transportation is planning over Patton Avenue in West Asheville. Plans include moving a planned pedestrian and bicycle path on Patton farther away from vehicle traffic, placing public art on bridge surfaces, and installing “colorful, dynamic LED lighting under the new bridge” to create a unique sense of place.
- Asheville allocated an additional $724,000 to a waterline project along Patton Avenue. The effort has been ongoing since 2018; a staff report blamed the extra expenses on the NCDOT, citing “multiple delays and changes” to the I-26 project that have complicated the city’s own work.
Asheville City Council regularly meets every second and fourth Tuesday at the Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza, beginning at 5 p.m. However, the council’s summer schedule is less frequent, and the next meeting will take place Tuesday, Oct. 14. See the full recording and the agenda of the Sept. 9 meeting.
