Black-led. Community-Driven.
Many voices, one sound.
We are honored to be based in Asheville, NC where many members of our community have realized the need for reparations. Both the City of Asheville and Buncombe County governments passed historic reparations resolutions in 2020. Later that same year, Buncombe County government passed an additional resolution declaring racism a “public health and safety crisis” that “should be treated with the urgency and funding of a public health and safety emergency.”
We are guided by a restorative justice approach to reparations. As survivors of the harms caused by systemic racism and discriminatory practices against Black citizens in Asheville and Buncombe County, Black citizens must be at the heart of, and play a part in creating, solutions.
Uniformity is not our prime directive, but we emphasize always working in unity to leverage the power of our collective voice and diverse experiences around adversity.
“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes”
Our Goals
The RSAA will build systems to allow individual Black residents of the City of Asheville and Buncombe County to have input in the distribution of funds set aside for reparations.
The RSAA administers an Reparations Fund to be a perpetual resource for Buncombe County’s Black community, to complement the tax revenue stream earmarked by the City and County for initial reparations remedies, and to ensure funding is available for reparations once those tax revenues are no longer available.
Why We Exist
One of the key components of any reparations strategy is the development of an independent, Black-led institution that guides the distribution of reparations funds in response to community input. As NAARC outlines in Basic Elements for Municipal Reparations Initiatives, “the affected party must be trusted to control the administration of the remedy, e.g., resources or opportunities offered via an independent community institution or structure. A Community Reparations Finance Authority which can receive and administer public and private resources would meet this criteria.” The Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville (RSAA) exists to fill this role in our local reparations movement.