Shiloh, Past and Present, a Virtual Panel Discussion
Founded by newly freed people after the Civil War, Shiloh is one of Asheville’s oldest historically Black communities.
Due to construction of the Biltmore Estate, and later changes wrought by highway and interstate development, the communities boundaries have changed over the last century and a half. Many locals still refer to both old and new Shiloh.
“Shiloh Baptist Church” (listed as an African Methodist Episcopal church in 1883-4 city directory) located 1 1/2 mi south of Best (NC; 1882-1893) post office (area along Swannanoa River, east and south, now Biltmore), near J.N. Bailey’s farm.
In this special panel, community historian Anita White-Carter and a young filmmaker and activist, Ria Young, discussed their research, memories, and past and present connections to the Shiloh community and its residents. The panel was moderated by Jefferson Ellison.
Watch the presentation made on August 13, 2021.
About the Speakers
Anita White-Carter grew up in Shiloh and has spent most of her adult years in the community. She retired from the UNC-Asheville library after 30 years as a Public Services Librarian. She established the Shiloh Little Free Library located in the Shiloh Community Garden. She is active in the community and is currently researching the history of the neighborhood. She is a graduate of Allen High School (Asheville), Bennett College (Greensboro), and the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania).
Maria “Ria” Young is a former collegiate All-American Basketball Player, director, writer, author, screen and playwright from Asheville, NC. She hails from the Shiloh community who have heavily influenced the stories she tells. In 2017, Maria released her memoir Lost In A Game: The Road To Self Discovery detailing her collegiate journey as a black athlete with little to no self identity navigating the trails and tribulations of collegiate basketball at a PWI.
Maria has taken her story all over the southeast during speaking engagements at multiple colleges/universities and high schools. She made her stage and directorial debut in ‘Transition’, which is her last extension of her 2017 memoir in December of 2020, followed by her directorial debut of ‘The Power Of Our Village’ short in February of 2021.
The event was organized by the Western North Carolina Historical Association, www.wnchistory.org.
