Reparations for Asheville and Buncombe County
Part One
TITLE: Reparations for Asheville and Buncombe County – Part One
AUTHOR: Wilma Dykeman Legacy website staff
SOURCES: Buncombe County, City of Asheville, WLOS-TV, U.S. Department of Justice, Asheville Watchdog, Blue Ridge Public Radio
PERMISSION: Fair use
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy’s series of articles describing the formation and work of the Asheville-Buncombe County Community Reparations Commission has ended. On October 14, 2025, the Asheville City Council voted to dissolve the Commission following its presentation of final recommendations. But the hard work of implementing reparations for Asheville and Buncombe County has just begun.
There are and will be many challenges to overcome. For example, the day after the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners at their briefing meeting on September 2, 2025, heard the Community Reparations Commission’s final report,[1]local television station WLOS reported as follows:
"Michael Pope, an Asheville resident, told News 13 he doesn’t believe there’s a need for these efforts. ‘Money to be paid to people or something to happen years ago, it doesn’t make any sense,’ said Pope. Dr. Noreal Armstrong with the county says they have just over $2.9 million set to go towards these recommendations."[2]
The following day – September 4 – the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice sent a warning letter via email to the Buncombe County Commissioners with a copy to Asheville City Council members. Titled “Unlawful Race-Based Discrimination,” the letter concluded:
"Although you have not formally adopted the recommendations, public reporting suggests that you intend to do so. According to media statements by the county’s Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer, Dr. Noreal F. Armstrong, the county has already set aside more than $2.9 million toward implementing the recommendations. My office will be closely monitoring your actions. To the extent these recommendations are formally adopted, you are now on notice that my office stands ready to investigate and enforce violations of federal civil rights laws to the fullest extent possible."[3]
On September 5, local news outlet Asheville Watchdog reported on the DOJ letter and included these comments from Dwight Mullen:
"Dwight Mullen, a retired University of North Carolina Asheville political science professor and the former chair of the Reparations Commission, said its recommendations were clearly supported by evidence generated in an exhaustive years-long process that included extensive community input as well as the hiring of a consultant to quantify the impact of racial injustice.
"The findings also parallel a decade’s worth of reports researched and written by his students for the State of Black Asheville initiative.
“'There’s consistency there, and the Trump administration has responded by, well, let’s cut off the data … because somehow that’s racist,' he said.
"Still, Mullen said, his initial impulse is to advise the county to temporarily table the decision about whether to support the recommendations because the legal fight would sap the limited funds available to address the results of racial injustice.
“'The resources we have can’t compare to the resources that can be marshaled by the federal government,' he said. 'It’s an unfair fight.'”[4]
Four days later, the Community Reparations Commission’s final report was presented to Asheville’s City Council by Commission Chair Dewana Little and Commission Vice-Chair Bobbette Mays. According to the minutes of this September 9 meeting, “On behalf of the City Council, Mayor Manheimer thanked all the Commissioners for their hard work on this very important matter.”[5]
The next day, Blue Ridge Public Radio reported:
"Council members asked no questions after the presentation and provided no substantive feedback…Council’s muted response may have been influenced by a Sept. 4 letter from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice…Asked by BPR last week for comment on [the DOJ] 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.'”
[1] Minutes of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ Briefing Meeting, September 2, 2025, page 1.
[2] Rian Stockett, “Buncombe County Board reviews reparations report to address systemic racism impacts,” WLOS, September 3, 2025.
[3] Email letter from Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice to Board of County Commissioners, County of Buncombe, September 4, 2025.
[4] Andrew R. Jones and Dan DeWitt, “U.S. Department of Justice threatens Buncombe County with investigation over reparations recommendations,” Asheville Watchdog, September 5, 2025.
[5] Minutes of the Asheville City Council meeting, September 9, 2025, page 25.
[6]Daniel Walton, “Last Night at Council: Community Reparations Commission gives final report to Asheville,” BPR News, September 10, 2025.