Category: Views

Power, survival, gender, politics and transitioning in a time of upheaval. The Blade‘s editor tells their story and how they got here. I don’t write much about my personal life in the Blade, but at this point multiple readers have asked me to publish this piece here.…

White supremacy, the failures of Asheville liberalism and one activist’s journey through grassroots organizing during a revealing summer in our city Above: Protesters, including the author, try to pry a plaque lauding Robert E. Lee off a monument in the middle of downtown. Photo by…

A night of close and surprising election results show a changing Asheville with harsh political divides and some stark lessons Well, that was revealing. Last Tuesday Ashevillians went to the polls to narrow a sizable and fractious field down to two mayoral and six Council…

Veneration of the Confederacy is founded on lies about a brutal regime that terrorized millions. It’s long overdue to confront that history and the ways its evil still endures in our city today Above: With drills and crow bars, activists try to dismantle the Robert…

Our city is in a time of crisis, one that our current political culture is badly unprepared to deal with. But each election is a chance for change. For Asheville’s candidates, here’s a few things you should take to heart Above: City Hall under renovation.…

The Asheville Blade started three years ago. A look at where we’ve been, what we’re about and what we’re fighting for Above: “Three years of the Blade,” artwork by Wendy Lou I can still remember the feel of the particular kind of paper the Virginian…

City officials have treated two budget expansions — for police and transit — in ways that are very different and revealing about local government priorities Above: City Hall by night, photo by Max Cooper. Tomorrow, Asheville City Council is set to vote on the City’s…

A recent town hall exemplifies the repeated contempt and disdain of several local politicians for Asheville’s non-binary and transgender community, signaling that they do not deserve to hold office Above: State Sen. Terry Van Duyn, at right in white suit, standing alongside activists (including the…

The controversial proposal to expand policing downtown has been marked by confusing claims, a lack of transparency, a broken process and inaccurate numbers. The public deserves better. Above: Numbers for a range of crimes in the South Slope neighborhood, where APD Chief Tammy Hooper claims crime…

May Day calls on us, as people and a city, to consider the reality of the world we face and how we can start to change it. Here are three important changes Asheville could do right now Above: City Hall under renovation. Photo by Bill…