The Asheville Blade covered a lot of ground as we fought through a tumultuous, trying, important and groundbreaking 2016 alongside the people of the city we love Above: Fireworks over City Hall. Photo by Bill Rhodes. Well that was a hell of a year. As 2016 (finally!) meets its end

Hundreds of Ashevillians showed up to protest Donald Trump’s Sept. 12 rally, running into the thousands that showed up for the event. Here are scenes from that day Above: Protesters and police outside the Civic Center entrance during the Sept. 12 Trump rally. Photos by Max Cooper Earlier this week,

[IMPORTANT: additional evidence and research has revealed that the figure identified as Isaac Dickson in this piece was instead Roosevelt bodyguard Frank Tyree. For more on this correction, see here.] Recently found images of legendary African-American leader Isaac Dickson with Theodore Roosevelt shed new light on an important chapter in

The historian and UNCA professor on African-Americans in WNC, facing the reality of American tragedy and the importance of power and democracy in public spaces Above: Darin Waters speaking at a Martin Luther King Day event at Kenilworth Presbyterian. Photo by Max Cooper. From informing Ashevillians about the reality of

As ongoing protests raise the issue of racial injustice and police violence, dismantling racism here will take a harder look within Above: Protesters gather in downtown Asheville after a grand jury refused to indict an NYPC officer for the killing of Eric Garner. Photo by Max Cooper. Cities across the

The truth about the decades-long fallout from racist government programs offers some harsh reminders — and important lessons for Asheville today. Above: The 1937 HOLC map for Asheville. The areas in red, most of them African-American, were designated “unsafe” for investment.  Over the past week, I’ve been incredibly pleased to

Racist government programs shaped Asheville’s ‘urban renewal,’ demolishing homes and pushing out thousands. The results still haunt the city today. Above: Priscilla Ndiaye, with her map of the homes demolished in the Southside neighborhood during urban renewal. She’s standing on the site of the house her family lived in, condemned