Advancing Racial Equity in Asheville

Happening Now

The 30/60/90 Day Plan is now Advancing Racial Equity in Asheville. Implementing equity takes more than 90 days, and the City is committed to environmental, economic, and social justice. With our Equity and Inclusion Office’s help, the City of Asheville will apply an equity lens to the work we do in every department.

This overarching initiative spurred from protests that swept the country during the summer of 2020 in response to George Floyd’s death; the City began to grapple with their role in systemic racism and address these for the next generation. The City of Asheville is committed to working towards social justice and creating a City where every resident feels included and heard by their elected officials and city staff.


30/60/90 Day Work Plan
Initiative	Timeframe	Description	Status
1	30 Days	Resolution to move monuments; shroud Vance monument; and creation of a joint city/county task force	Underway For more information, click here.
2	30 Days	Work with the community, using the African American Heritage Commission (AAHC) as a resource, to rename streets named after former slave owners and replace them with historic local black leaders.	Underway For more information, click here. Supporting Documents Street Naming FAQ Draft Inventory of Street Names
3	60 Days	Continue partnering with Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools to address Opportunity Gps.	Underway
4	60 Days	Initiate conversations to Defund the Police budget by 50%.	Underway For more information on Reimagining Public Safety, click here. August 25 City Manager’s Report September 8 City Manager’s Report – Video, Powerpoint FY 2020-21 Manager’s Recommended Budget Amendment Presentation
5	60 Days	Initiate conversations with the district attorney’s office regarding the probation decision for Mr. Hickman	Underway
6	90 Days	Provide protocol, practices overview of assessment, plans and implementation by City government; and resources allocation data from the Equity and Inclusion Department on the City’s Website. a. Examine what recruitment strategies have been used to establish inclusive hiring practices that includes the use of inclusive benchmarks. If none or currently in use research best practices and modify current hiring practices to include those strategies. b. In addition we demand an audit of the internal practices of the city – what decisions have been made vs what has been recommended by the office of Equity and Inclusion.”	Underway For more information, go to Equity and Inclusion Dashboard.
7	90 Days	Better understand and work through solutions for remaining demands. Creation of “Harm Free Zones” All Civilian Oversight Committee	Underway
8	90 Days	Utilize best practices to recruit people of color.	On-going
9	90 Days	Develop Race and Gender Conscious Policy in response to the disparity study as part of City contracting and procurement.	Underway For more information, click here.