ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — As the Interstate 26 Connector has progressed across the Asheville area, it has brought changes and complications to several Asheville communities, particularly in West Asheville.
Clifford W. Cotton II, a lifelong resident of the Burton Street neighborhood, provided his perspective on the impact the project and other recent development has had on his community.
Cotton is the grandson of E. W. Pearson, the founder of the Burton Street community and a 20th-century Asheville luminary. Among Pearson’s accomplishments were the establishment of the first Asheville chapter of the NAACP and the Asheville Royal Giants, the city’s first Black semi-pro baseball team, as well as the organization of the Buncombe County and District Colored Agricultural Fair, a community event that drew thousands of attendees and encouraged neighborhood residents to grow their own food…