Asheville Reparations Commission

TITLE: City of Asheville Community Reparations Commission – Part Two

AUTHOR: City of Asheville staff

SOURCE: City of Asheville website

PERMISSION to use not required

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The Community Reparations Commission is working to make significant and sustainable advances in repairing the damage caused by systemic racism in Asheville and Buncombe County. The Commission seeks to enhance the quality of life for Black residents by dismantling historical barriers and promoting economic mobility and generational wealth.

Mission

The Community Reparations Commission began meeting in April 2022, comprised of community members representing historically Black neighborhoods and appointed by civic leaders. The Commission aims to enact a continuous financial investment to address and prevent the harms experienced by the generations of Black residents in Asheville and Buncombe County; including the historical harms stemming from enslavement.

The intent of the reparations process as defined by the Commission is to significantly enhance the quality of life for Black residents by systematically dismantling and reforming policies and institutional barriers that have perpetuated harm, while avoiding creating new or additional harms. The process will include strong efforts to eradicate racial wealth disparities through measures that increase access to homeownership, land ownership, business ventures, and equitable financial restitution. These efforts are intended to deliver lasting benefits across generations, with particular focus on the empowerment of Black youth through education that fosters economic advancement.

Moreover,the Commission insists on an official public acknowledgment and apology from municipal and county governments, as well as from organizations and entities that have historically profited from racial injustices.

The accountability for these reparative actions will rest with a continuing Reparations Commission guided and evaluated by those most affected by historical injustices: Black residents and their descendants. This ensures that the measures taken are directly responsive to the needs and experiences of those whom the reparations process is intended to serve.
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The Commission's Work

The City Council's 2020 resolution tasked the ReparationsCommission with recommending short- and long-term budget and program priorities for the following core issue areas:

• Increasing minority home ownership and access to other affordable housing
• Increasing minority business ownership and career opportunities
• Developing strategies to grow equity and generational wealth
• Closing gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety, and fairness within criminal justice.

In addition to the full Community Reparations Commission meeting each month, Commission members serve on at least one of the five Impact Focus Area workgroups based on the charges set forth by the City Council’s resolution: Criminal Justice, Economic Development, Education, Health & Wellness, and Housing. These work groups are responsible for analyzing detailed information on the impact focus area and reporting key findings to the full commission.