Opportunities to act, support, attend, and learn: Divest from Police/Invest in Community From the Racial Justice Coalition: “In early June, Asheville’s Black community came together to develop Black Asheville Demands, the first of which was to divest from the police by … Continue reading Black-led Action in Asheville
What do we want to flourish in our community? As my long-time readers know, my critiques of institutions are always balanced (or perhaps outweighed) by writing about the transformative work being done daily in our community. Below is some of … Continue reading WHAT WE WANT
Friends, it’s been an interesting several days. On Friday, my Citizen-Times op-ed, “The Buncombe County TDA spends millions on unsustainable tourism – and we can stop it,” was published online, and it was in print yesterday. The op-ed is a … Continue reading The nature of nourishment
Today I am going to share some inspiration and opportunities to invest in transformative work happening in our community, plus a call to action. Help CPC meet their goal by this Friday, November 15! As I shared in my last … Continue reading Inspiration and investment
The Asheville Blade has published my first piece for them, which is a bold call to action: Abolish the TDA. Written with input from editor extraordinaire David Forbes and Blade writer Matilda Bliss, it makes a case for dismantling a … Continue reading Taking on the TDA
As systems continue to fail us, mutual aid is a compelling framework to explore. It asks us to move from the individualism of white supremacy to collective action based on interconnection. It offers a model of community care that is … Continue reading Mutual Aid
Our economy was built on the genocide of Indigenous people and the violent extraction of labor from enslaved Africans. This cruelty was justified by white people’s created illusion that those we killed, stole from, and enslaved were inferior and that … Continue reading Reckoning with cultural extraction
Today I add my voice to the chorus of people singing the true story of old-time and bluegrass music. It is a marvelously multicultural story, wrought with pain and possibility. We call for the repair of false and incomplete narratives … Continue reading Repairing narratives: old-time and bluegrass music
Asheville has long been known as a cultural and creative hot spot, or “vortex,” as you will. This is certainly an aspect of our city I celebrate. I am currently half way through writing four articles for the Mountain Xpress … Continue reading Culture Cultivators
Discouragement and despair wash up on the shores of my psyche daily. The dissonant banging of construction outside my window shakes my concentration and my confidence in the possibility of positive change. Tuning into the news crumbles my courage. Optimism … Continue reading Fortify the Fortifying
