Description
Join the Asheville Museum of History (AMoH) and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) on Thursday, September 18th, from 7 PM - 8:30 PM via Zoom or at UNCA's Reuter Center for a special History Hour screening and the Asheville premiere of Color Beyond the Lines by filmmaker David Weintraub and the Center for Cultural Preservation. The event airs live.
The program will include the screening of the film, followed by a Q&A session and discussion with filmmaker David Weintraub.
About the Film:
There was a great thirst for education in the black community because they understood to be truly free, they needed to be educated. Black education was available since the 1870s, mostly in people’s homes, in church basements and in small one-room schoolhouses. In the 1920s, there were black schools in at least seven communities: Edneyville, Clear Creek, Horseshoe, Etowah, Brickton, Saluda and in East Flat Rock. In 1951, they were all consolidated to the 9th Avenue School which had a reputation for providing high quality education to students as well as a “family-like” connection to the teachers. However, black students had access to inferior facilities compared to the white community, old, torn up books, and cramped spaces. Yet in spite of that, many alumni of 9th Avenue School received superior learning. When integration was established in Henderson County in 1965, there was an embrace of the better facilities but also a sense of loss that precious black institutions had been taken from them.
The film documents the tremendous discrimination the black community in Henderson County and WNC faced and how they overcame it by building a nurturing, supportive community led by area churches such as Star Bethel Baptist Church. Sports also played an important role after integration in developing unity in the community. And black athletes excelled as demonstrated by the 1972 Hendersonville High Bearcats that took the basketball state title with unprecedented four black students in the starting five, shortly after integration.
This film is made possible by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, the Arts Council of Henderson County, and North Carolina Humanities.
About the Speaker & Organization:
David Weintraub is is an award-winning film director having produced over 50 films that have screened at film festivals around the world and on public television. He is the founder and director of the Center or Cultural Preservation that has completed more than 500 videotaped oral histories with elders throughout the Southern Appalachian region.
Weintraub believes that understanding how people lived their lives before Walmarts and plastic devices ruled our lives is important to rekindle how communities can find ways to live more resilient, more authentic lives. Weintraub has also published more than a dozen books, is a columnist with his local newspaper and dabbles in law when he can find the time.
As self-proclaimed environmental troublemaker for the area, Weintraub has worked with half a dozen environmental organizations in order to create a better balance between development and protecting our natural inheritance. Finally, he is the owner of Weintraub Films, a boutique film production company, that produces documentary films for businesses and families that which to tell their story.
The Center for Cultural Preservation is a nonprofit institution dedicated to preserving the culture, history, and adaptive strategies of our nation’s cultural legacies. By honoring and transmitting these cultural traditions, we offer today’s citizenry a closer connection with their recent past that’s more sustainable over the long term. The Center fulfills this mission through oral history, documentary films, and public programs that rekindle the power of local culture and the value of its continuance. For more information about the Center contact them at (828) 692-8062 or www.saveculture.org.
Tickets:
$10 General Admission / FREE for OLLI & AMoH members. We also have no-cost, community-funded tickets available. We want our events to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you are able, please consider making a donation along with your ticket purchase. These donations are placed in our Community Fund, which allows us to offer tickets at no cost to those who would not be able to attend otherwise. Tickets are limited for in-person lectures, so don't miss your opportunity to secure a spot!
* In-Person Tickets are limited *
Online Viewing:
Registrants will receive a confirmation email with Zoom link with which to view the program. For those attending in person, see "Location & Parking" below.
Location & Parking:
Reuter Center, home of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNCA -- 300 Campus View Rd, Asheville, NC 28804
Visitor Parking is available and free (only from 5PM - 6AM) at the Reuter Center, BUT you must register your vehicle through UNCA's Visitor Parking webpage on the day of the event.
For questions about this event:
Email education@ashevillehistory.org or call AMoH at 828-253-9231
*This event is co-sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville*
Date & Time
Thu, Sep 18, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Venue Details
Reuter Center - UNCA/OLLI
300 Campus View RoadAsheville, North Carolina 28804
