Effects of Racial Segregation
More than 145 years ago, a hilly patch of wooded land, just east of Asheville's hub, provided space to a recently freed people in search of a home place. East End is located just east of the Buncombe County Courthouse and Asheville's City Hall. It is bordered on the North by College Street; east by Beaucatcher Mountain; south, McCormick Field; and west, Biltmore Avenue. Every phase of life for black people in Asheville evolved out of Asheville’s East End. It was a proving ground, where newly freed African Americans came together to build an enduring community that would provide social, commercial, religious, and educational opportunities denied them in a segregated white society. In 1912, the City of Asheville passed residential segregation ordinances. Adopted during a time of rising support for residential segregation across much of the United States, these ordinances created black and white residential zones. Separate but never equal, running water and sewer services were often limited or entirely unavailable in African-American districts. Most harmful to African-Americans was residential segregation laws' de facto prohibition of black ownership of businesses within white districts, although no similar prohibition prevented whites from owning businesses in black districts.
Despite this clear disadvantage, Asheville’s East End became a thriving bastion of progressive black culture within Asheville's segregated society during the 20th century. Home to hundreds of black families, and boasting with a growing population of skilled workers, businessmen, and professionals, the community was poised for a new growth and achievement. One of the few areas in Asheville that provided space for black-owned businesses, East End's Eagle Street business district began to take shape early in the new century and thrived during the 1920s. The Great Depression hit East End hard, and as a result, the community became even more self-reliant. The neighborhood's semi-rural nature, still evident in Andrea Clark's photographs from 1968, supported traditions of gardening, preserving, and keeping chickens. (Figures 5-7)
By the late 1960s, schools were nominally integrated, and efforts were underway to open local job and housing markets more effectively to blacks, but desegregation in Asheville proved devastating to black businesses. Black people began to purchase goods from white owned businesses, and blacks began to find decent employment outside the community. Eagle Street took on the image of a ghost town as those once-thriving businesses began closing. There were pockets of standard homes scattered about East End, as in most black communities of that era; others were basically sound and needed only renovation and repair. But some residents faced leaking roofs, outdoor toilet facilities, rotting floors, broken sewer lines, and other such serious problems. Most of the rundown properties were owned by wealthy whites, who resided in North Asheville. After years of failing to enforce city housing codes and ignoring storm drainage and sewer problems in East End, city officials applied for federal funds for an urban renewal project. In the spring of 1979, bulldozers began dismantling a once-proud and resourceful community. Valley Street, East End's main artery, became a passage affording North Asheville's largely white population easy access to southern areas of the city. Residents were displaced and businesses closed; what was left of East End was divided by five lanes of asphalt.
Despite this clear disadvantage, Asheville’s East End became a thriving bastion of progressive black culture within Asheville's segregated society during the 20th century. Home to hundreds of black families, and boasting with a growing population of skilled workers, businessmen, and professionals, the community was poised for a new growth and achievement. One of the few areas in Asheville that provided space for black-owned businesses, East End's Eagle Street business district began to take shape early in the new century and thrived during the 1920s. The Great Depression hit East End hard, and as a result, the community became even more self-reliant. The neighborhood's semi-rural nature, still evident in Andrea Clark's photographs from 1968, supported traditions of gardening, preserving, and keeping chickens. (Figures 5-7)
By the late 1960s, schools were nominally integrated, and efforts were underway to open local job and housing markets more effectively to blacks, but desegregation in Asheville proved devastating to black businesses. Black people began to purchase goods from white owned businesses, and blacks began to find decent employment outside the community. Eagle Street took on the image of a ghost town as those once-thriving businesses began closing. There were pockets of standard homes scattered about East End, as in most black communities of that era; others were basically sound and needed only renovation and repair. But some residents faced leaking roofs, outdoor toilet facilities, rotting floors, broken sewer lines, and other such serious problems. Most of the rundown properties were owned by wealthy whites, who resided in North Asheville. After years of failing to enforce city housing codes and ignoring storm drainage and sewer problems in East End, city officials applied for federal funds for an urban renewal project. In the spring of 1979, bulldozers began dismantling a once-proud and resourceful community. Valley Street, East End's main artery, became a passage affording North Asheville's largely white population easy access to southern areas of the city. Residents were displaced and businesses closed; what was left of East End was divided by five lanes of asphalt.