Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail Brings Focus to Black History in the Blue Ridge Mountains
From L to R: Matthew Bacoate, Jr., Catherine Mitchell, Vice Mayor Sandra Kilgore, Buncombe County Commissioner Al Whitesides and others in front of an Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail panel. Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
From well-known figures like Nina Simone, who attended boarding school in Asheville (her nearby childhood home will soon be open to the public), to community landmarks like the YMI Cultural Center, one of the oldest Black community centers in America, to everyday citizens like William R. "Seabron" Saxon, who refused to give up his bus seat four years before Rosa Parks, the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail unearths intimate and fascinating stories of dignity, struggle and resilience. The trail comprises 14 stops and 20 panels across three historically significant Black neighborhoods.
Community activist Catherine Mitchell, who shepherded the trail to completion after years of extensive community efforts, said, "Our goal was focused on lifting up Black history in an inclusive way by illuminating stories of resilience and resourcefulness. The trail's completion represents a moment of celebration, unity and remembrance."
How to Experience the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail – Three Historic Neighborhoods and Exclusive Digital Content Provide an Immersive Experience
Trail-goers can explore each leg of the three-part trail – Downtown, Southside, and the River Area, also known as the River Arts District – and gain an uncommonly immersive experience of the past, walking past historically significant sites.
Downtown: a Renaissance of Black Businesses on The Block | In the Downtown section of the trail, visitors can learn about the enduring legacy of the YMI Cultural Center, one of the first Black community centers in the country that was designed by Biltmore architect Richard Sharp Smith and will host a grand re-opening in 2024 after extensive renovations. The YMI anchors The Block, historically a center of Black innovation and creativity that is experiencing a renaissance of Black-owned small businesses like Noir Collective AVL, a boutique vendor for Black artists and creators, and LEAF Global Arts, a gallery and retail space that produces an annual multicultural festival.
STEP OFF THE TRAIL AND INTO COMMUNITY:
Shoppers can connect with a variety of Black-owned small businesses, such as Different Wrld, an underground arts collective and performance space in West Asheville, or Healed Skin and Candle Co., where groups can craft personalized candles that transform into luxury skin care.
Visitors to The Block can stay at The Foundry Hotel, which once crafted the bricks for the Biltmore Estate, and now hosts a free Live Jazz Night every Saturday.
Southside: "Urban Renewal" and a Green Book-Era Landmark | Stops on this portion of the trail explore the dark history of urban renewal – a series of policies in the mid-20th century that ultimately demolished the homes of half of Asheville's Black residents. The trail also celebrates local Black luminaries like Dr. John Wakefield Walker, the first Black pulmonologist in America who opened a tuberculosis clinic in 1915 when patients were flocking to Asheville for its clean mountain air.
STEP OFF THE TRAIL AND INTO COMMUNITY:
Ashleigh Shanti, who was a James Beard semi-finalist for "Rising Star Chef of the Year" and competed on Season 19 of Top Chef, has described her cuisine as "Afro-lachian", a signature blend of traditional Southern and foraged mountain ingredients.
NEW RESTAURANT: Shanti's first brick-and-mortar restaurant, the highly anticipated Good Hot Fish (a classic North Carolina "fish camp") opened in January 2024 along the Southside portion of the trail.
Art-lovers can explore Southside's rich collection of public art with Mountain Mural Tours, including artist Jenny Pickens' "Black Lives Matter" mural in the center of downtown.
SoundSpace@Rabbit's was once Rabbit's Motel, a Green Book-era landmark that provided safe lodging for traveling luminaries like Richard Pryor and Duke Ellington. Now it's an art studio and music rehearsal space co-owned by 30-year Ween drummer Claude Coleman, Jr.
BLACK MUSICAL HERITAGE: R&B singer Roberta Flack is honored in a mural in Black Mountain, NC where she was born.
The River Area: Trailblazer Matthew Bacoate Counseled Presidents | The River Area, also known as the River Arts District, exists today as a colorful mecca for creatives of all stripes (and the new art-inspired boutique hotel, The Radical). However, the River Area was once a historic center of Black business. One stop honors Matthew Bacoate, Jr., an Asheville Civil Rights icon who integrated a local bowling alley and golf course, opened the first Black-owned textile factory in North Carolina, counseled Presidents Nixon and Carter on Black entrepreneurship, and continues to run the Skyview Golf Tournament, the oldest Black golf tournament in the nation.
STEP OFF THE TRAIL AND INTO COMMUNITY:
Black Wall Street AVL continues this legacy of Black commerce with its business incubator and events space. Co-founders J. Hackett and Bruce Waller Jr. own GRIND coffee shop, also located in the River Area.
Digital Content Brings History to Life with Inspirational Music and Augmented Reality | QR Codes on interpretive panels along the trail open up a well of supporting multimedia content on the trail website and app, including:
The Swannanoa Tunnel Song was a stirring folk song created by incarcerated Black laborers, many of whom died while building the Swannanoa Tunnel in the 1880s. Watch local musician Leeda "Lyric" Jones perform an emotional tribute to the lives lost with this Appalachian folk song.
Dr. Oralene Simmons was the first Black student at Mars Hill College (now University) which, in a previous era, used Dr. Simmons' enslaved great-grandfather as collateral for its founding loan.
Sylvester Owens went from chauffeur to head gardener at the Biltmore Estate where he grew and photographed award-winning azaleas (his photos grace the back of trail panels).
Step into history with an augmented reality experience at the YMI Cultural Center.
To access a shared image gallery, click here. All images are for editorial use only and should be credited to ExploreAsheville.com.
For more information about the Asheville Black Cultural Heritage Trail, please visit BCHT.exploreasheville.com.
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