Rooted in Legacy “Loss and laughter,” a phrase I used in a song (see video below), kept ringing in my head last weekend during the Black Montford & Stumptown Reunion. The reunion weekend was hosted by the Historic Stumptown Neighborhood … Continue reading Loss and laughter
“I’m real proud of Stumptown, I know I’m a long way from Stumptown but I can’t forget, that’s my roots. That’s my roots.” – Sophie Dixon, Montford & Stumptown Stories Memory as medicine. The balm of remembering infuses the three new … Continue reading Memory as medicine
The power of parties “Get on the ground,” my friend and neighbor Odell Irby often says, referring to the importance of in person encounters. And he means it. Frequently sitting on the corner in front of his house, Odell knows all … Continue reading Get on the ground
Embracing multiple truths is not easy in a culture that prefers binaries, that tends to simplify complex realities into good/bad, right/wrong, etc. Yet multiple truths exist. We find them woven throughout the story of the Montford Park Players and their … Continue reading Shakespeare and Stumptown
Hill Street was a historically Black neighborhood in Asheville. Have you heard of it? Likely not. Its story, like the homes which once stood there, has been lost. It’s a story I’ve been studying deeply, wanting to fill in as … Continue reading What happened to Hill Street?
The onset of the pandemic and quarantine in 2020 inspired a deeper awareness of my relationship with my neighborhood, leading me to extensively research its history. On the land of the Anigiduwagi (Cherokee) is Asheville’s census tracts 2 and 3, … Continue reading Numbers vs. narratives
A few years ago, our friend Damion “DJ Supaman” Smith called to see if my sweetie Jason Krekel could take some boxes of records that were his father’s, Cleo “Mooseman” Shivers. He did not have room in his apartment, and … Continue reading Mooseman’s Records
When I last wrote, it was wonderings on water. Today, I am examining earth; specifically the patch of soil upon which I live. The rooted love I feel here. My spirit holds so many stories of this place, stories I’ve … Continue reading Montford & Stumptown Stories
In 1998, I made a decision that would greatly shape my life – I bought a small bungalow in the Montford neighborhood. Fast forward to 2021 where I am writing this in that same house, my home for literally half … Continue reading History, accountability, and home
The intention behind my work is to illuminate, amplify, and fortify transformative ideas and action. To shine honest light on what binds us while tuning into positive possibility. On this sunny spring day with a periwinkle sky, I will write … Continue reading Gentrification Hurts
Ami Worthen 