Calls to Action

Tell the Mayor: The Police Shouldn’t Decide Who Holds Them Accountable

UPDATE (December 15th, 2022) Mayor Esther Manheimer stood firm in her decision not to appoint Council Member Kim Roney to the Environment and Safety Committee. “I'm a little ruffled at the idea that I need a chief of police to tell me what to do,” she said at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, “Because that's not how this works.” However, she…
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Asheville and Buncombe County: Authorize the Audit

The Community Reparations Commission has asked the City of Asheville and Buncombe County to formally commit to stop harming Black people in this region.  You can read their draft “Recommendation for Immediate Action” here. (They made several small revisions at their meeting on December 5th, 2022, including asking for a timeline for the completion of the audit. We’ll share the…
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Update: Goombay Festival Back on Track

We’re excited and relieved to inform you that the situation with the Goombay Festival liquor license and security (described below) has been positively resolved. The liquor license was approved in time for it to be applicable to the event. Chief David Zack and City Manager Debra Campbell also worked with YMI to find creative solutions to the security issues so…
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Speak out at Buncombe County Commission Meeting Tuesday July 19th at 5 pm

Do you think reparations should have proper funding??? It’s important that community members have their voices heard, and presence felt, at the next Buncombe County Commision’s meeting, Tuesday, July 19th at 5 pm, 200 College Street in downtown Asheville.  Buncombe County will be discussing whether reparations should be an ongoing commitment weaved into their budget.  If you want your voice…
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Buncombe County Joins City of Asheville in Making Reparations Funding Commitment

Reach out to elected officials today to thank them for this important step Update #4: This past Tuesday, the Buncombe County Commission voted to include an ongoing budget line item for Reparations in their yearly budget. The City of Asheville took a similar step last month.  Let’s take a moment to feel some appropriate pride and satisfaction for the part…
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Share your support for the Homeowner Grant Program with Buncombe County Commissioners

The Homeowner Grant Program (something we pushed for in last year’s budget) is vulnerable due to a high cost of administration. We encourage you to contact the County Commissioners in support of protecting it. The need for the homeowners grant program is just as strong as last year, and getting rid of it is not a viable option. If kept…
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Buncombe County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team

We are lifting up Black women and challenging our community to remember that doing the work of creating racial justice must also include addressing other false hierarchies that are often deeply unconscious in us as individuals and are also cultural, structural, and institutional.  We encourage you all to engage with the vast body of work by Black feminists that has…
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Advisory Board Restructuring Proposal

City staff have released a proposal for restructuring the Advisory Board system that guides City Council. You can read more about it (and sign up to attend an informational session) here. We understand why this proposal is being made. The current system has big problems, the biggest being that City staff members don’t have the resources or personnel to adequately…
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Asheville Needs More Affordable Housing

This Tuesday, October 26th at 5 p.m, City Council will vote on a proposal to support the Haywood Street Congregation Development (HSCD) in developing a housing development that will provide 45 apartments to people earning between 30 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income.  Click here for an email template that encourages City Council to vote yes on moving…
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Make A Public Comment on July 27th

The Asheville City Council will address three issues on Tuesday 7/27 with racial justice implications: a noise regulation ordinance that could unfairly target people of color, a property tax relief program that is likely to help too few of those in need of relief, and a work session involving multiple millions of dollars of federal aid that is not open…
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Black community members need direct representation on the Reparations Commission

Asheville has hired TEQuity to oversee the set-up of the Reparations Commission, but it remains unclear whether all Black community members will have a say in who represents them on this Commission, or whether that choice will be made exclusively by City Council members, County Commission members, and a handful of community members from only a few neighborhoods. We’re concerned…
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Opportunities for Racial Justice on the June 15, 2021 Buncombe County Commission agenda

The Buncombe County Commission meets this Tuesday, June 15, at 5 pm. They’ll be discussing a range of things. (You can review the full agenda here.) We encourage you to reach out to them to discuss several items before the meeting or to make a public comment at the meeting.  Click here for an email template that highlights the budget…
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Racial Justice Priorities for June 8th

The June 8th Asheville City Council meeting has a number of advocacy opportunities. You can read more about each of them below. Click here for an email template that addresses each of these issues. (If the link doesn’t work for you, you can copy and paste the message below and send it to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov) We invite you to personalize this…
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The Proposed 2021-2022 County Budget Must do More for Black Buncombe County Community Members

(Also check out our latest call to action for the City of Asheville here) Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder will present a draft budget on June 1, 2021 to the County Commission. We think that the County can go further in the direction of racial equity by increasing equity funding across the board, making allocations to the Reparations Fund, taking…
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Seed the Reparations Fund with $2.1 million on June 8th

The agenda for the June 8th City Council meeting has been released, and there is promising news in it: Council has listened to the request for a standalone vote on Reparations funding, with the amount doubled from the original proposal. This is an important step in the right direction, and we applaud City Council for their approach. Now it’s necessary…
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The Proposed 2021-2022 Budget Must do More for Black Asheville

Updated: Click here to see the latest call to action City Manager Debra Campbell presented a draft budget on May 25, 2021 to City Council. This budget contains the first allocation toward Reparations, which we applaud. We think that the City can go further in the direction of racial equity by solidifying the Reparations funding process, taking real strides toward…
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Racial Justice Items on the 4/27 City Council Agenda

Asheville City Council will meet again on Tuesday, April 27th, at 5 pm. We’ve identified five items with racial justice implications on this meeting's agenda. Below you can find more information on each of those items as well as instructions on how to contact the City Council if you'd like to advocate with us. Consent Agenda D.1. High Intensity Drug…
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Encourage City Council members to prioritize Racial Justice at their next meeting

On March 23rd, City Council will be voting on whether to remove the Vance Monument, and they need to hear that we support them in taking this important next step. Call or email Council today and sign up to make a public comment! Some suggested talking points, along with contact information, are below. At that same meeting, City Council will be…
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Ask City Council to Table the Hotel Development Policy Vote on February 23

Thanks to your advocacy efforts, City Council has made substantial changes to the hotel development policy that was proposed during its February 9th Council meeting. However, these changes don’t do enough to advance racial equity and offset the harmful effects of hotel development on housing insecurity and gentrification, which have a disproportionate impact on Asheville’s Black communities.  We’re calling for…
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Ask City Council: Vote NO on New Hotel Development Policy

The City Council announced its new proposed hotel development policy in a public hearing at its Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 9th. At first glance, it might have seemed that the City was requiring hotel developers to ensure that their hotel projects have benefits for (and offset the negative impacts to) our communities. On closer review, it became evident that these…
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Solidarity Circles Supporting Engagement & Accountability

The RJC has a way to support our members’ anti-racist activism while combating fatigue and passivity: Solidarity Circles.   "Being a part of a Solidarity Circle is, for me, that connection I need to have a sustainable relationship with racial justice. Feeling connected to my small group helps me stay accountable and also keeps racial equity in focus in this fast-paced…
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Make a Public Comment at the Next County Commission Meeting

The County Commission agenda for January 5th has several items on it that RJC members may want to comment on. Our breakdown of these items and their relevance to racial justice in our community is below. To make a public comment, you need to sign up by Monday, January 4th at 3 p.m. You can follow this link to sign up. If…
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Make a Public Comment on December 8

The City Council agenda for December 8th has a number of items on it that RJC members can comment on. Our breakdown is below. To make a public comment, you need to sign up by Tuesday, December 8th at 9 a.m. and know which section of the agenda you are commenting on.  To make a live public comment during the…
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Committee Watcher Project

What is the Committee Watcher Project?  If you’ve ever wondered how local policy comes to be, look no further! Although the ultimate authority for setting policy is held by the Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Commission, much the work of planning and policy recommendations is done on a number of committees.  These committees are composed both of elected…
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Advocate for anti-racist juvenile justice policy in NC

The North Carolina Select Committee on Community Relations, Law Enforcement, and Justice is currently finalizing a report to the North Carolina General Assembly. It’s urgent that they make stronger proposals to keep Black and Brown kids out of the justice system. They are accepting public comments until Wednesday at 5 pm. Will you reach out to the Committee today? Click here to make a public…
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Support the $4 million Reparations Fund plan

According to the Citizen Times, Council Member Keith Young was able to garner initial support for a $4 million fund for reparations from three of his colleagues: Council Members Brian Haynes, Antanette Mosley, and Sheneika Smith.* But in the same article, there are signs that one or more of them may be wavering in that support.  Will you contact all four of…
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Make A Public Comment on October 27

There are two important matters that City Council needs to hear from us about on Tuesday: Council appears prepared to pass a resolution suspending the sale and rezoning of city-owned land that was obtained through urban renewal—something we’ve advocated for since early September. This is a positive development, but a closer look reveals some problematic details. The city is carving out…
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Make City Council Meetings Accessible and Equitable

Please reach out to City Council and ask them to reinstate the Open Live Public Comment process (call-in public comment without pre-registration) for City Council meetings, to begin at their next meeting (10/27) and to continue once meetings transition back to an in-person format. After City Council passed a resolution on July 14th promising reparations to Black communities in Asheville,…
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Tell City Council: Vote NO on the Budget Amendment

Tell City Council to Vote NO on the Budget Amendment and Work with the City Manager and Office of Equity and Inclusion to Craft a Budget that reflects Divest/Invest Priorities and implements an APD hiring freeze. City Council will vote on a Budget Amendment Proposal this Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020. The proposal was released on September 17th, 2020, and it…
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Rental Assistance

The time for this action has passed. Click here for current actions Make a public comment: tell City Council to vote for rental assistance One of the agenda items on Tuesday's City Council agenda is the allocation of funds in response to COVID-19. Back in May, RJC members urged Council and city staff to come up with a plan for $615,000…
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Moratorium on City Land Seized During Urban Renewal

Tell City Officials: Support a Moratorium on Selling City Land Seized During Urban Renewal As the process of reparations unfolds, Asheville City Manager Debra Campbell and the City Council can show their commitment to meaningful change in two ways: A moratorium on the sale of city land taken from the Black community needs to be on the September 8th City…
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Divest / Invest (Interim Budget)

Tell Asheville City Council: Keep your word and pass an interim budget plan City Council is going to hold a budget vote on Thursday, July 30 at 5 pm. There will be no opportunity for public comment. It's essential that they hear from us today: Contact City Council (see instructions below)Invite them to be steady with their word and demonstrate…
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Divest / Invest (Tell City Officials)

Tell Asheville City Officials: Divest from police and invest in community In early June, Asheville's Black community came together to make an important demand of the City: Divest from the police by at least 50%, and invest that money into the Black community. City officials at the time insisted that they needed time to develop a new budget. They promised to engage…
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Hickman Probation: Call to Action

Tell Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams: Extend Officer Chris Hickman’s probation Former Asheville Police Department Officer Chris Hickman’s probation hearing for his assault on Johnnie Rush is happening August 10. It’s wrong for his probation to expire before he completes with integrity the terms of the agreement, which included community service and a restorative justice process. What to do: Contact…
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Make a Public Comment: tell City Council to divest from the police and invest in the Black community

The Asheville City Council needs to listen to the community that it serves. The community is calling for Asheville to divest from the police and invest in the Black community. The community is asking for a process of deep public engagement to determine the way forward, rather than a secretive process with minimal participation from community members. Council needs to commit…
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