North Carolina state House lawmakers were sharply critical Wednesday of DEI programs in Raleigh and Asheville, the latest Democratic-controlled cities to attract the ire of Republican legislative leaders.
The Republican-controlled legislature has passed several measures in the past two years banning “diversion, equity and inclusion” efforts in schools, public universities, and state government, saying they amount to racial preference.
At its meeting Wednesday, the North Carolina House Select Committee on Government Efficiency heard a lengthy presentation by Asheville attorney Ruth Smith, an unsuccessful 2024 legislative candidate, who alleged that Buncombe County and Asheville are using “equity” to allocate resources based on race. Smith says that violates the 14th Amendment, the North Carolina Constitution and federal anti-discrimination laws.
She cited examples including the 2021 Buncombe Racial Equity Plan as well as internships and scholarships that exclude white and Asian students.
Smith pointed to Buncombe County Justice Partners, a summer internship program for high school students in the area. It’s funded by the Buncombe County Bar and city of Asheville. The program exclusively excluded white and Asian students, Smith said, despite using state funds and taking place on state property at the Buncombe County Courthouse.
“I want to say clearly that I am not saying that race is not a problem in America, it’s not a problem in Buncombe County,” Smith said. “What I’m looking at is whether or not the remedies that Buncombe County and the city of Asheville are taking are constitutional or in violation of law.”
She also pointed to the City of Asheville Black Scholarship Fund. This program reallocated $500,000 from a class-action lawsuit over illegal water fees to establish scholarships for high school students and teachers. The funds were provided to a third party, the Asheville Schools Foundation, to administer.
“Every race was excluded, except for Black folks,” she said.
After a lawsuit, the scholarship was redrafted to include all high school students. A scholarship for Black teachers remains, Smith said.
No one representing the local governments of Asheville or Buncombe County offered testimony. It’s unclear whether they were invited to do so.
Rep. Brian Echevarria (R-Cabarrus) asked Smith how the city of Asheville and Buncombe County had justified their efforts.
Smith said they looked at disparities, applying resources based on race and assumptions about advantages.
“Again, I’m not saying that there aren’t disparities and that the goals aren’t what we should be doing, but you can’t discriminate on the basis of race,” she said. “The government cannot do that. It’s well established in the Supreme Court.”
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell and City Manager Marchell Adams-David appeared in front of the panel after legislators summoned them to testify due to allegations that the city was still engaging in DEI efforts.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders banning DEI in programs that use federal funding. That led to discussions among Raleigh city leaders, who suspended initiatives like equity training and an equity action plan to be in compliance with the orders.
The accusations against the city came about after a conservative activist posed as someone applying for a job within the city and asked about its support for DEI, recording an undercover video.
Cowell said she wasn’t aware of the video until lawmakers asked her to testify.
“We became aware of it when y’all asked us to appear,” she said.
Throughout the year, the city made other changes to meet federal compliance requirements, such as realigning department functions.
Adams-David emphasized that the city of Raleigh does not have quotas — there is no preferential treatment for certain backgrounds.
The city’s inclusion efforts, she said, are focused on economic development, not race. She pointed to a recent small business expo as an example.
“We work really hard to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to thrive,” Adams-David said. “When we make decisions from a fiduciary perspective, it doesn’t matter what race you are, what nationality you are, what religion you participate in or not, and the same thing applies when we make hiring decisions.”
Cowell said the city has other initiatives to help support small businesses as well.
There’s a lot of baby boomers who own businesses and are retiring, she said, so the city is working on helping to educate them on selling their businesses to their employees. “It’s a way to keep those businesses local, keep the wealth local, and do a nice transfer,” Cowell said.
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