The YMI Cultural Center

Downtown Asheville takes pride in its landmarks, and one of the leading institutions for the African-American community is the historic Young Men’s Institute, or YMI. 

Wealthy tycoon George W. Vanderbilt decided to erect an Asheville building “for the convenience and service of colored men and boys” who were helping to build his Biltmore House in the 1890s. Hundreds of black construction workers and skilled craftsmen were employed at the Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt’s plan for the YMI was seen as both a business ploy and a humanitarian effort to house employees, and the construction crew that helped build the $32,000 structure made up one of the first racially integrated crews in the South. The first of its kind in the nation, the YMI has served as an educational, religious, cultural and community center for more than a century.

Today, it is a cultural repository for those seeking historical information about African-Americans in the area, and it offers a variety of workshops, art exhibits and festivals, each of which are intended to celebrate the rich history of the black community. 

YMI endured and flourished until the late 1930s. African-American workers from the Biltmore House were required to purchase a membership to the Institute.  Its indoor swimming pool and comfortable rooms accommodated many who had nowhere else to go. The YMI was a welcome retreat. 

Until the 1960s, Asheville strictly observed the discrimination imposed by Jim Crow segregation laws, as did most of the South. When local hotels and eateries refused to serve African-Americans, the YMI offered good food, entertainment, and a place to sleep and bathe. 

However during the ‘60s, the YMI, along with many other nonprofit organizations, fell on hard times. There was a gradual decline in the neighborhood now known as “The Block,” as desegregation prompted several black-owned homes and businesses to relocate.  Moving out of the area usually meant higher costs for businesses, and lending institutions did not provide the financial support needed for black businesses. In addition, the all-black, high-achieving, and well-accredited Stephens-Lee High School was unceremoniously closed. Had it not been for the leadership of key individuals and organizations, the YMI also would have been lost forever. 

Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information tracing the origins of the hundreds of African-American workers who resided in or migrated to Asheville to work on the Biltmore Estate, and one of the purposes of the YMI is to educate members of the community about their roots. 

“What we’re trying to do is define our culture and reach out to the community,” said Harry Harrison, executive director for the YMI Cultural Center. “We try to focus on documenting the history of this area, to begin to have the cultural enrichment and how it relates to other parts of the country.” 

In the heart of downtown 

Arguably one of the nation’s oldest African-American community centers, the YMI building was built during the years 1892-93. The 18,000-square-foot, three-story pebbledash and brick building was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, a native of England who served as resident and supervising architect for the Biltmore Estate under architect Richard Morris Hunt. 

The first of its kind in the area, the YMI provided night school for adults, a day school and kindergarten, a Sunday school, a bath facility, and a library. One of the largest buildings in town, it had a gymnasium, a doctor’s office, drug store, reading and meeting rooms, sleeping rooms, and a swimming pool. It seemed the black community had finally found a safe, socially enriching niche.

However, as Biltmore’s workload decreased, unemployment for the men caused financial difficulties for the YMI, and compounded by the Great Depression, Vanderbilt decided to sell.

In 1946, the Market Street Branch YMCA bought the building under white management as a primary recreational facility for the black community. It eventually closed, unable to maintain the deteriorating building. By the time the YMI building was condemned in 1977, it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

After a large-scale fundraising effort led by nine African-American churches from Asheville, the YMI officially became under black ownership. By becoming part of Pack Place, a consortium of six professional theaters and museums on Pack Square, more YMI renovations were made and the building now stands as a testament to the hard work of the community it has served for more than 100 years. 

Present successes

The YMI Cultural Center has experienced something of a renaissance throughout the past couple of decades with new arts programs, permanent exhibits, workshops, and a commitment to preserving the past. 

“Awareness of the African-American’s history in this area is essential to succeeding in the future,” said Harrison. “We’re trying to remove the amnesia, and to bring [the area’s segregation] to a point of discussion; not by becoming so nostalgic that we can’t move forward, but so we can evaluate and avoid some things that happened in the past. We need to find a way to strengthen community connections.”

After living in larger cities such as Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, and Columbia, S.C., and coming equipped with a background in arts administration and museum development, Harrison has helped the YMI reach a demographic larger than just the black community since he arrived in 2006. He has also been instrumental in acquiring sought-after traveling exhibits, as well as reaching out to local artists who can convey the history of the area into art. 

“My responsibility is to elevate this organization to the level where we are a repository for cultural education,” Harrison explained. “We need to establish that there once was a vibrant community. There were housing problems just like now, but they didn’t have access to banking and other modern needs that we are afforded today. Advances weren’t as possible back then. If you have a strong arts community, it generates economic vitality in the city; economic and cultural development go hand in hand.” 

Harrison is also quick to correct the misconception that the organization is like the YMCA/YWCA. 

“We are not a recreation facility; we are a cultural arts facility,” he explained. “We are trying to define our cultural identity and to be identified as a resource for the African-American community.”

Despite its financial limitations as a nonprofit, the YMI has done so much to enhance the quality of life, for blacks in particular, in Asheville. It is the one place in town that can be counted on as exhibition space that showcases emerging and established African-American artists and performers. Paintings, sculptures and photographs can be viewed during every season of the social calendar. For more information about the YMI Cultural Center, visit www.ymicc.org or call 828.252.4614.  The address is 39 South Market Street, Asheville, NC, 28801.

Artist-in-residence “Mama” Ruth 

The YMI Cultural Center invites artists to hold workshops and exhibits on a cyclical basis. One of its frequent resident artists is Ruth Lowery, who communicates solely through body language and her remarkable beadwork. Known by many simply as “Mama” Ruth, she has spent more than a half century in a world both silent and dark. Now 64, she was about 10 years old when tubercular meningitis robbed her of her hearing and sight. When you see her necklaces, with their carefully placed, unusual beads, it’s hard to imagine their creator cannot see. According to Margaret Fuller, Arts in Education Coordinator of YMI, Mama Ruth uses her tongue to feel for the holes through which she strings the beads.

Mama Ruth occasionally uses a word or two, but most of her words have been lost during her 50-plus years of solitude. Fuller believes “Mama” Ruth has a sense the rest of us don’t have. 

“I’m sure God gave her something extra to make up for what she doesn’t have,” Fuller said. “Here’s a woman who can’t see or hear but she can be productive, and she can be creative. The message is, ‘Never give up in the face of obstacles; never let anything stifle your creativity.’” 

Kwanzaa

One of the most colorful seasonal celebrations for Aferican-Americans, Kwanzaa, will be celebrated on Dec. 26 at The YMI Cultural Center. Opening ceremonies include an introduction to Kwanzaa and its origin and the traditional lighting of a candelabra called the kinara. Other scheduled activities include singing, dancing, drumming, and plenty of food. 

Started in the United States in 1966 by an African-American named Maulana Karenga, the holiday was designed to celebrate and honor African traditions and culture. 

Unlike Christmas and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa has its roots in heritage, not religion. Traditionally held over the seven-night period between Christmas and the start of the New Year, the holiday is filled with many symbols. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the holiday decoration. These colorful foods, along with a unity cup and kinara, are placed on a hand-woven mat and coordinated in such a way to represent the colors of the pan-African flag: red, green, and black. 

Ebony Fashion Show

One of the Center’s main events is the traveling Ebony Fashion Fair, which features some of the black community’s most celebrated models and designers. It is an elaborate production fully equipped with special effects, hip-hop and R&B music, as well as all the entertainment of a Broadway show. Known for its commitment to giving back to the community, the show has donated more than $55 million to charitable organizations and scholarship funds.

“The Ebony Fashion show is a national event that is a like fair for some of the best designers in the world,” Harrison said. “It’s been in existence for about 40 years. We do this to heighten cultural awareness and to reach out to the community. [Kwanzaa and Ebony] are signature black events, and what I mean by that is even though they are Afro-centric in origin, they reach across all ethnicities.” The show will come to town on October 29. Tickets are $25. 

For more information, visit www.ebonyfashionfair.com.