A Title VI complaint has been filed against Buncombe County, one of the primary counties in the state impacted by Hurricane Helene in September. The complaint filed with the US Department of Treasury by WNC Citizens for Equality alleges that hurricane relief funds distributed to local businesses are being prioritized based on racial preference rather than by need. WNC Citizens for Equality filed the complaint on Wednesday on behalf of local business owners affected by Helene. 

“I am confident that the Treasury Department will take steps to bring Buncombe County into compliance with anti-discrimination laws,” said Dr. Carl Mumpower, president of WNC Citizens for Equality. “Our citizens deserve to be treated equally, regardless of race, and I am optimistic that Buncombe County’s administration will agree to do the right thing and stop judging its citizens by skin color.” 

Buncombe County business destroyed by Helene. Photo Courtesy of WNC Citizens for Equality.

When Helene hit on Sept. 27, Buncombe County was hit with 14 inches of rain in less than 72 hours. As a result, flooding brought widespread devastation to the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers, triggering extensive landslides and uprooting trees. Entire storefronts and businesses were swept away, leaving residents without their primary sources of income. Even four months into the recovery, many businesses remain closed, and debris still lines the streets that once bustled with activity.

Buncombe County officials reallocated almost $1.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a newly created grant program, the Helene Relief: Small Business Grant Program, also known as the Asheville-Buncombe Rebuilding Together Grant Fund. The county administered the grant program in partnership with Mountain BizWorks, another local nonprofit. Applicants could receive up to $25,000 in grant money to cover losses incurred from the storm. The complaint has been filed against both Mountain Bizworks and Buncombe County.

According to Buncombe County, the grant program would prioritize BIPOC (Black, Indigenous People of Color) or “nonwhite” businesses over white businesses rather than prioritizing businesses based on need. 

Screenshot from Helene Relief: Small Business Grant Program.
Screenshot from Title VI complaint filed with US Department of Treasury.

“Supporting small businesses who are working to recover from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Helene is vital to our local economy,” said Brownie Newman, county commissioners chair, during a public hearing concerning the grant program, according to news reports. “Buncombe County appreciates the opportunity to partner with Mountain BizWorks on this important initiative.”

Newman stepped down from his position as chair at the end of October. 

During a Jan. 7 update, Mountain BizWorks, in partnership with the county, announced that they awarded 137 grants averaging $11,441. Twenty-eight percent of the grants were issued to nonwhite applicants, while less than 12% of Buncombe County’s population is nonwhite, according to a press release from WNC Citizens for Equality. 

“People have already been devastated by Helene,” said Mumpower, “To have the county then tell storm victims that they now cannot receive equal treatment for help due to their skin color is just adding insult to injury. We should be coming together as a community, but Buncombe County leaders feel it’s more important to divide us by race. It’s appalling that they took this opportunity, at this point when people are so desperate for help, to make the color of a person’s skin a priority in deciding who receives help. Buncombe County leaders should be ashamed of themselves.”

Ruth Smith, a civil rights attorney at Elmore and Smith Law Firm, contends that the county is jeopardizing the entire $1.6 million in federal funds.

“The county’s actions are a clear violation of Title VI, which forbids entities from using federal funds in any manner that discriminates based on race,” said Smith. “The penalty here could be stiff: Buncombe County could be required to reimburse to the federal government the entire $1.6 million, and that’s at a time when the county is broke. They are projecting a $20 million budget shortfall, and they are already cutting services and staffing. It’s beyond stupid to risk what money they do have to push an illegal discrimination agenda.” 

Buncombe County History on Racial Equity

A focus on “equity and racial equity” has been prominent policy in Buncombe County government, including a county Racial Equity Action Plan and in a 20-year plan adopted in 2023. 

In July 2020, the Asheville City Council passed a resolution supporting community reparations for Black Asheville based on recommendations from a county reparations commission. This commission has been tasked with determining how to address the legacy of slavery and related injustices.

Last year, Buncombe County Schools also offered an internship program for high school seniors, allowing students to spend a semester at the local health institute, the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC). Participants received full academic credit, including honors credit, while working alongside nurses and doctors to explore careers in healthcare. However, the program initially excluded white and Asian students from participating. The program has since been amended and opened to all races. 

On Wednesday, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump issued an executive order ending all discriminatory programs under diversity, equity, and inclusion for federal agencies, federal contractors, and federal grantees. The order effectively terminates all DEI-related positions, equity action plans, equity actions, initiatives, programs, grants, and contracts.

Screenshot from executive order issued by the White House.

“This Title VI complaint was filed last year, and the Biden administration decided not to act on it,” Smith told the Carolina Journal. “We think that with the new administration and the objectives that Trump has set out, Title VI  will likely now be enforced because what we were seeing before was Title VI was only enforced if it was a nonwhite victim.”

Buncombe County legal department and the chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners did not respond to CJ’s request for comment.