Fourteen Asheville organizations and institutions, led by Buncombe County Public Libraries and with funding support from the NC Humanities Council, have collaborated to produce four special events focusing on urban renewal in Asheville.
Friday, February 27 at 7pm
The series, ROOT SHOCK: Asheville’s Urban Renewal Hits Home, kicks off with an address at UNC Asheville, Friday, February 27 at 7pm, by Dr. Mindy T. Fullilove, MD, of Columbia University. Dr. Fullilove coined the term “root shock” to describe the “traumatic stress reaction to the loss some or all of one’s emotional ecosystem”. She is the author of ROOT SHOCK: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts American and What We Can Do About It. Her topic at UNCA will be, “ROOT SHOCK 2009”. A book/sale and signing will follow.
Saturday, February 28 at 2pm
On Saturday, February 28, at 2pm, “Twilight of a Neighborhood: Asheville’s East End 1970”, an expanded exhibit of Andrea Clark photographs, will open at Holly Library, A-B Tech. A catalogue of Clark photographs will be released at the opening, making selected copies of the photographs available to the public for the first time.
Saturday, February 28 at 7pm
Saturday evening, February 28, at 7pm at Diana Wortham Theatre, the YMI will host “Conversations with Community Elders” followed by a reception for Dr. Mindy T. Fullilove and her husband, Dr. Robert E. Fullilove, Associate Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Copies of ROOT SHOCK and of the Clark catalogue will be available for purchase after the program.
Sunday, March 1 at 2:30pm
The series concludes Sunday, March 1, at 2:30pm, with a public forum: “Learning the lessons of ROOT SHOCK: Building Better Communities for Us All”, in Ferguson Auditorium, at A-B Tech. A panel headed by Dr. Mindy T. and Dr. Robert E. Fullilove will lead a community discussion of urban renewal and discuss community-building strategies for creating better alternatives. Copies of ROOT SHOCK and the Clark catalogue will be available for purchase after the program.
Major funders of the series are Buncombe County Public Libraries Trust Fund, Friends of Buncombe County Public Libraries, UNC Asheville, The Center for Diversity Education, and the NC Humanities Council. Additional community sponsors are A-B Tech’s World Connections Committee, the Friends of West Asheville Branch Library, LINKS, The Stephens-Lee Alumni Association, UNC Asheville’s Cultural and Special Events, The Urban News, The YMI, and The YWCA of Asheville.
For More Information: Karen Loughmiller, West Asheville Library, 250-4750
