I hope you have found value within the information presented on this website. More importantly, I hope you will gain a better understanding as to why there is so much discussion on reparation.

“Remapping Community” was my vision; and I am elated to see the vision into existence. Dr. Marcianio and I wanted to connect humans to the data. I wanted the stories to be told, pictures to be shown, and history preserved. I wanted to revisit the community in which I was born and grew up. Transitioning through the map takes me back 50 years. Seeing the actual homes as I maneuver through the map triggered personal memories. I lived at 477 South French Broad. If you search for “Herbert Robinson,” you can locate the apartment building. We live on the first floor. You will see my family on the porch as the appraiser snapped pictures. Ms. Bernice Littlejohn, a widow, lived at 106 Black Street. She used to make the best cupcakes. You could smell the aroma coming out of the house. Ms. Littlejohn was given $7,500 for her home. Ms. Sophie Foster lived at 498 South French Broad and was one of the largest families in the community. She was given $4,500 for her home and never rebuilt on the $1 lot she was told she could rebuild on. The property clearly remains bare. Will her children receive reparation?

To learn what the homeowner and business owners received compared to the would-be-value today is unbelievable. For example, the Hallums were given $8,600.00 for their grocery store. You can journey there by clicking on the “Remapping” tab. Click on the map and type “Hallum” on the search line. Choose Dorcas Hallum at 69 Livingston Street. Double click on the highlighted parcel. Looking at the pictures gives you a glimpse of what may have been blighted and not blighted.

As a result, questions that have surfaced are: What happened to the property? What would the home/property be worth today? How many jobs were lost? How much generational wealth was lost? Is it possible that continued operation of the store could have prevented a food desert in the Southside area? Currently, there are no grocery stores in the area that sell fresh vegetables.

Ms Jacquelyn Hallum is a relative of the store owner. She currently lives in the Asheville area. There are also several homeowners within the Hallum family. Will Ms Hallum receive reparation? You can find a picture of Ms Hallum and property documentation in the “Gallery.”

The same applies to Ms Virginia Holloway who lived at 24 Beech Street. She was given $6,600 for her home and told she could repurchase the land for $1 to rebuild. That never happened. What happened to the lot? Will her family receive reparation?

Just thinking, were all the homes acquired by Housing Authority City of Asheville (HACA) sold/transferred to the City of Asheville? All the homes were not blighted. Were those homeowners given higher value or did they get categorized as blighted, too? What about those taken by eminent domain?

To get a general idea, I Googled “How much did a 3 bedroom house cost in 1970,” In 1950, prices went up to $7,354.  In 1960, prices rose to $11,900. In 1970 prices rose to $17,000. We must remember the purchase prices during Urban Renewal fell within the “Redline” strategy.  In July 2021, Asheville home prices were up 15.3% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $386K.