We’re walking through the pages of history while walking the streets of one of the most visited cities in the southeast.  This is a history lesson that exercises the body as well as the mind – as we travel Asheville’s Black Cultural Heritage Trail.

Unveiled in December of 2023, the trail started taking shape back in 2018.  After extensive story-gathering efforts, collecting photographs, mapping out routes, creating a fantastic website and weathering a pandemic, the Heritage Trail opened to national acclaim and today it’s a great way to get to know the soul of the city.

The mission is to share, preserve, and amplify the stories of Asheville’s Black community and its role in making Asheville the place it is today.  As you travel the trail you follow along on your phone – experiencing tales of the past using the most modern technology.

As you traverse one of the three walking tours (Downtown, Southside, and River Area) the past comes alive.  Each offers incredible insight into the history and culture of the city – and they help to paint a much broader and more dynamic picture of this beautiful mountain town.

You’re looking at about a quarter to a half a mile of walking depending on which tour you choose – and I’d recommend you combine all three for a more complete picture.  The entire trail takes about two and a half hours to walk and read.  And it’s an illuminating experience diving into this rich history.

There are stories like that of Nina Simone who used her now famous voice to sing for Civil Rights.

The tale of Newton Shepard – born into slavery and the first Black man to win election in Asheville in the late 1800’s.

And the history of the YMI, founded in 1892 and one of the oldest Black cultural centers in the United States.

Asheville, like a lot of cities throughout Ingles country is finding a way to celebrate and lift up these stories from the past to educate and inspire us today in hopes of building a brighter and better tomorrow.