Community Activist and Historian Andrea Clarke Remembered
The noted photojournalist and granddaughter of James Vester Miller has passed.
Andrea Clarke, best known for her black and white photographs of historic Asheville, spent decades ensuring Asheville’s Black history was documented.
Born in 1945, Andrea grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After studying photojournalism in college she moved to Asheville to connect with her father and his family in the East End community.
In Asheville, Andrea discovered her grandfather James Vester Miller’s legacy as a builder and master brick mason, who built many of Asheville’s most recognizable landmarks, including the Young Men’s Institute (YMI), St. Matthias Episcopal Church, Asheville Police Department, Varick Chapel AME Zion Church, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, US Federal Building (old annex), and the Asheville Masonic Temple. But despite Miller’s lasting contributions in Asheville, his name is largely absent from the city’s historic records.
Before the East End community was demolished during urban renewal projects, Andrea captured more than 200 photographs depicting its homes, churches, residents, and businesses between 1968 and 1971. Her images also captured everyday people, community gatherings, storefronts, and the beauty of a neighborhood that was devastated by urban renewal.
In an interview with The Urban News, Andrea commented: “My work emphasizes the human side of life and change: families, businesses, children, homes, and community spaces. Valley Street is gone, and a lot of people are gone too. But they’re still here in my pictures.”
In 2020, Andrea was awarded the Sondley Award by the Historic Resources Commission of Asheville & Buncombe County for her contributions to documenting local history and historic resources. Andrea also created the James Vester Miller Historic Walking Trail, launched on Juneteenth 2021.
The self-guided tour highlights several of James Vester Miller’s surviving works and tells the story of his career and influence on Asheville’s development. Also, an exhibition titled The Photography of Andrea Clarke: Remembering Asheville’s East End Community opened at the Asheville Museum of History in September 2024, featuring 35 framed prints of her work from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Through Andrea’s photographs honoring her grandfather James Vester Miller and her beloved East End community, she helped preserve stories that might otherwise have been lost.
Rest in Power, Andrea. Rest in Peace.
