Twilight of a Neighborhood is a project of the Buncombe County Public Libraries, the NC Humanities Council, Stephens-Lee Alumni Association and the Center for Diversity Education. Twilight of a Neighborhood explores the impact of urban renewal in the 1970’s and ‘80’s on Asheville’s historic East End neighborhood.
Photographer Andrea Clark’s grandfather James Miller was a black brick mason and contractor whose construction company built many Asheville churches, homes and public buildings. Andrea grew up in Massachusetts and came to Asheville as a young woman in the late 1960s. The segregated black community she saw in the East End neighborhood amazed her, and she began taking photographs. Her subjects, accepting her as one of their own, allowed her to look directly into their faces and homes. The result is a compelling visual history of an often ignored segment of Asheville’s past.
The 1970s were a time of great change in Asheville. Attempting to integrate institutions and improve living conditions in the black community, the city of Asheville began an ambitious program of urban renewal. Hundreds of buildings on and around Valley and Southside streets were removed, and residents of that area were scattered across the city. Sadly, along with deteriorating structures, the black citizens of Asheville also lost beloved neighborhood schools, black-owned businesses and a strong sense of community. Andrea Clark’s powerful images document that lost African-American community, preserving a place and way of life that no longer exists.
In June 2007, the North Carolina Collection at Pack Memorial Library acquired the negatives of more than 1000 photos taken by photographer Andrea Clark around 1970. Before obtaining these photographs, the Pack Library collection included only a few photographs of the once vibrant East End neighborhood, now just a fading memory. Thanks to Andrea Clark’s striking photographs, the people and places of that community can live again.
The truest and best history of any community is found in the memories of its members. During August through October of 2008 we will record oral histories and input from discussion groups. Please share with us your memories of the neighborhood, and maps, photographs or any other material about the East End. You can help us bring to light and to preserve the untold history of this significant period. If you have pictures or memories to share, contact Pack Library NC Desk, 250-4740 or email library@buncombecounty.org.