It's a blue-skied Friday in April in downtown Asheville, N.C., and the rising echo of voices in the brewery-packed South Slope district hints at the looming lunch rush.
I spot silhouettes strolling across Banks and Coxe avenues, where a newly installed information panel framed in etched metal recounts how this trendy part of town was once a vibrant Black neighborhood called Southside. The panel, which offers a brief history of the area's urban renewal projects throughout the 1950s and '60s, is one of 20 that make up Asheville's mile-long Black Cultural Heritage Trail. Unveiled in December, the trail's markers are placed in prominent tourism spots across what were three historically Black neighborhoods: Downtown, Southside and the River Area.
The project is part of a wider, government-funded effort costing nearly $2 million. The goal: to honor the significant Black legacy that exists in this burgeoning mountain town, otherwise known for its art scene, breweries and scenic nature areas. More important, it's a way to ensure that Asheville doesn't inadvertently exclude its Black communities from the area's record-breaking tourism boom, which brought in 12.
5 million visitors and $2.9 billion in 2024. "A lot of folks don't realize the National Housing Act of 1934 really was instrumental with redlining," says community advocate Joseph Fox, referring to the discriminatory practice of outlining neighborhoods with Black residents and public housing as undesirable and more at risk of ba.