The Many Facets of Asheville, then and now, through Art, History, Writing & Architecture

“What poverty makes invisible, art makes immortal.”

Brian Combs, Haywood Street Congregation Founding Pastor

This interdisciplinary curriculum centers on the Haywood Street Fresco, Stephens-Lee Community Center, and the historic James Vester Miller Walking trail in Asheville, NC. Through art, history and language arts, we will explore the stories of unhoused members of our Asheville community as well as Black Ashevillians from the past through the present. We will experience where their stories and our stories meet and respond to how we can move through the current struggles of today to make racial and economic justice a reality for the Asheville community.

On this website, you will find a variety of valuable lessons for secondary students and teachers organized into pre-activities, field trip activities (during), and post-field-trip activities. We also provide resources for volunteer opportunities and further exploration of topics emphasizing social and economic justice within the local community. Students will view art, read various texts, and take a field trip to downtown Asheville to view the Haywood Street Fresco, murals, and historical landmarks. Upon return from the field trip, students will create products to demonstrate their learning. The post-field trip activities section of the website include a choice board with nine assessment choices and other possibilities for final projects. While this curriculum is written with high school students in mind, many lessons may be adapted for variety of grade levels and programs. All activities are aligned with state and national standards.

When we truly see each other and hear each other’s stories, we can start to view others as our neighbors, and we can work together to transform the community and the world into a more just place.  

“There is something about looking at another human being that requires acknowledging their dignity.  If I don’t look at you, it means that I really don’t think you’re a human being.”  

Brian Combs, Haywood Street Congregation Founding Pastor

“I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.” 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.