Asheville Reparations: Members hear final equity audit: 108 new recommendations

Asheville Reparations: Members hear final ‘equity audit:’ 108 new recommendations

ASHEVILLE – As the historic Community Reparations Commission works toward its final report, it has a new slate of 108 potential recommendations to consider from Florida-based Carter Development Group, intended to “cease the harm” done by local municipalities against Black residents.

A final presentation of the equity audit was heard by the reparations commission March 18, and by Buncombe County commissioners the following evening. The Carter Group’s “high impact” recommendations included designating legacy Black communities as historic districts in response to urban renewal — an attempt to guard against gentrification, though county commissioners questioned if that would be the outcome — and the establishment of a Black Chamber of Commerce. The $174,375 contract cost for the Carter Group’s work was shared between the city and county. The consultant called it the first known audit of its nature funded by a municipal and county government.

Extension calls continue

Meanwhile, the commission hurdles toward its June deadline. As they do, some members continue to express the need for an extension. “If we are trying to squeeze in more meetings to finish … there is clearly more to be done within these next couple months,” said commission alternate Osondu McPeters. He said there should be “heavy consideration” of more time. It’s not the first extension request made by the commission. An eight-month extension to their two-year timeline was proposed in October 2023, which would have prolonged the process until December 2024. Both city and county agreed only to a June extension. The historic 25-member board is tasked with making short-, medium- and long-term recommendations to repair damage caused by public and private systemic racism. A resolution in support of reparations was first passed by Asheville City Council July 14, 2020. Asheville and Buncombe County are among the first locales in the country to undertake such an effort. No timeline was established in the resolution. Members were appointed to the commission in March 2022. No term limits were included.

Sala Menaya-Merritt, the city’s new Equity and Inclusion director, who began in January, said if the commission reaches June and needs more time, they can present a plan, which she dubbed a “checkpoint,’ to City Council.

“It is a sense of urgency that we’re all feeling given our timeline and our time constraints,” said Reparations Commission Vice Chair Dewana Little at the March 18 meeting. “This work will not be done by June. We already know that. If we don’t, we’re not being realistic. This work took hundreds of years to get to this place, the trauma, everything we’re trying to address. And now (with) community engagement and all of the things, it’s going to take longer.”

What were the results of the ‘equity audit?’

After the initial Jan. 22 presentation from the Carter Group, boasting a slate of 70 preliminary recommendations, which have now grown to more than 100, commission members and local activists told the Citizen Times that the report’s recommendations, even those that seem to duplicate ongoing efforts, are vital to ensuring the work actually happens. The Carter Group’s March presentation to both the reparations commission and county, led by project lead and founder Adrian Carter, highlighted five “high impact” recommendations:

• Designate legacy communities as historic districts in response to urban renewal, a program of the 1970s and ’80s that devastated Black neighborhoods and businesses.
• Increase jurisdiction linked to school district funding.
• Develop a procurement industry and utilization dashboard.
• Create a community-led Black Chamber of Commerce.
• Conduct a Buncombe County disparity study.

The city of Asheville has conducted disparity studies since 2018. The audit’s recommendations will be evaluated by the reparations commission for possible inclusion in its final report.

While some recommendations, like including public health notifications in the BCAlert text messages from Buncombe County, may be immediately actionable, said a March 19 news release from the county, others such as pursuing legislative changes in education may be more aspirational in nature. The county is planning its next five-year strategic plan, and many recommendations from this audit may be incorporated into that plan.

In creating its recommendations, Carter said they considered comparable best-practices in other localities, information gathered from county and city staff and the review of more than 1,000 documents, including policies, procedures, and reports. The study looked at information from July 2020 to June 2023. Their process did not include community engagement with Asheville residents.

In its 168-page report, still identified as a “draft,” it says the assessment “unveiled racially disparate practices harming African American residents within various sectors,” including criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing. A “significant harm,” said the report, was the lack of data-driven practices in key government functions. The full draft of the audit can be read online at the county’s website.

The reparations commission is in the midst of hearing its own Impact Focus Area reports. Most recently, the health and wellness IFA gave a March 18 presentation that offered an overview of its recommendations, which included the establishment of Black healing and birthing centers, no-cost insurance, and development and funding for a Black mental health network.

Learn more

The Community Reparations Commission will next meet at 6 p.m. April 15 in the banquet hall of the Harrah’s Cherokee Center. Meetings are open to the public.

An intermediate virtual meeting may be announced before then.

Final Thoughts

As the Asheville Community Reparations Commission nears its deadline, the work of the Carter Development Group and the ongoing dialogue among members highlight the dedication to bringing about meaningful change for Black residents in the region. The journey toward providing reparations for past injustices is a challenging one, but with each recommendation, the community moves closer to a more equitable future.