Asheville-Buncombe County Reparations Commission 2025 Report

The Reparations Commission briefed Buncombe commissioners at their September 3, 2025 meeting about its final report.

On September 14, 2020, the Asheville City Council passed a resolution supporting community reparations for Black Asheville. The resolution calls for the city manager to, “establish a process within the next year to develop short, medium and long term recommendations to specifically address the creation of generational wealth and to boost economic mobility and opportunity in the black community.”

The Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission, created in March 2022, is a 25-member body representing Black residents, local institutions, and government. Members used a truth-telling framework grounded in restorative justice and community healing. They engaged more than 1,000 residents through listening sessions, surveys, and public forums.

The Commission’s Impact Focus Area work groups conducted deep analysis to develop strategic recommendations aimed at eradicating disparities and fostering true equity in areas where historical and systemic racism has significantly affected the Black community.

The Commission’s final report included 39 recommendations in five areas: criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing.

Criminal Justice

• Reform policing practices: Implement community oversight, transparency in misconduct investigations, and anti-racist training.
• Reduce incarceration rates: Expand diversion programs, restorative justice initiatives, and alternatives to jail.
• Expunge records and support reentry: Provide legal aid, housing, and employment pathways for formerly incarcerated Black residents.
• Invest in community safety: Shift funding toward violence prevention, mental health response, and youth engagement.

Economic Development

• Create a Reparations Fund: Seeded by public and private sources to support Black wealth-building.
• Support Black-owned businesses: Through grants, technical assistance, and equitable procurement policies.
• Expand workforce development: Prioritize training, mentorship, and job placement for Black residents.
• Return land and assets: Where feasible, restore ownership or provide compensation for dispossessed families and institutions.

Education

• Audit and reform curriculum: Integrate Black history, culture, and contributions across subjects.
• Close achievement gaps: Invest in early childhood education, tutoring, and culturally responsive teaching.
• Recruit and retain Black educators: Offer incentives, mentorship, and leadership pathways.
• Create community learning hubs: Support intergenerational education and access to technology.

Health and Wellness

• Address racial health disparities: Fund clinics, mobile health units, and culturally competent care.
• Expand mental health services: Especially trauma-informed care for Black youth and families.
• Improve access to nutritious food: Support Black-led food justice initiatives and urban agriculture.
• Invest in environmental health: Remediate toxic sites and ensure clean air and water in Black neighborhoods.

Housing

• Increase affordable housing: Prioritize Black residents in development plans and subsidies.
• Prevent displacement: Enforce anti-gentrification policies and expand tenant protections.
• Restore land and property: Identify opportunities for restitution or compensation.
• Support homeownership: Provide down payment assistance, credit repair, and financial literacy programs.

The 2025 Asheville-Buncombe County Reparations Report outlines a comprehensive roadmap for addressing racial injustice through community-led reparations. It emphasizes systemic change, historical accountability, and sustained investment in Black communities.

Historical Context and Justification

• Documents centuries of racial harm: Enslavement, Jim Crow laws, redlining, and discriminatory policing in Asheville and Buncombe County.
• Highlights local government complicity from land dispossession to unequal education and housing policies.
• Centers Black community voices through interviews, archival research, and public engagement.

Key Findings

• Black residents face persistent disparities in wealth, health, education, housing, and criminal justice.
• Generational trauma and mistrust are rooted in systemic exclusion and broken promises.
• Community priorities include land return, economic investment, education reform, and cultural preservation.

Recommendations

• Create a Reparations Fund with sustained public and private investment.
• Return land and property to Black families and institutions where feasible.
• Support Black-owned businesses through grants, technical assistance, and procurement reform.
• Transform education and policing by utilizing equity audits, curriculum changes, and accountability measures.
• Establish a permanent Office of Equity and Reparations to oversee implementation and ensure transparency.

Next Steps

• Adopt recommendations into policy via city and county resolutions and budget allocations.
• Monitor progress publicly through annual reports and community scorecards.
• Continue community engagement through youth leadership, cultural programming, and intergenerational dialogue.

Read the full report at www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/01yp663blctwmh4divijf/Asheville-Buncombe-County-Reparations-Report-2025.pdf