ISAAC DICKSON

November 1, 2021
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Another early citizen of Asheville to make an enduring mark on the city was Isaac Dickson, the first person of color appointed to the Asheville City School Board. In 1892, he convinced Dr. Edward Stephens, principal of Asheville’s first public school for African American students, that Asheville needed a YMCA-like facility for Black men. Dickson and Stephens approached George Vanderbilt, founder of the Biltmore Estate, with the idea for their “Young Men’s Institute.”

They couched their proposal in terms of helping the Black construction workers employed at the Biltmore Estate: “to improve the moral fiber of the black male through education focusing on social, cultural, business and religious life.” Moved by their presentation, Vanderbilt loaned the organization $32,000 for a building to be designed by one of the Biltmore Estate architects, Richard Sharp Smith.

The Young Men's Institute Building, also known as the YMI Building, opened in 1893. Today, the two-and-a-half-story, 18,000-square-foot building of pebbledash-coated masonry with accents of brick, stone, and wood is on the National Register of Historic Places. Located on Eagle Street, it is only 1.5 miles from Applewood Manor. The facility became the true center of the civic, cultural, and business life of Asheville’s Black community. It featured a public library and classes for children and adults, as well as dormitory and athletic facilities. It served as a social and spiritual center and included office space on the ground floor for a doctor, pharmacist, barber, undertaker, and restaurant. By 1910, it even had its own orchestra.

As times changed, the need for a separate facility for Black men faded. In 1980, a coalition of nine Black churches, with the support of both the Black and White communities, bought the YMI. The new owners restored the building and re-established it as a Cultural Center. Today, organized around five core components—community programming, community forums, cultural exhibitions, economic literacy, and an annual cultural festival—it continues to serve the Black community. The building is now more commonly known as the YMI Cultural Center.

The annual three-day cultural festival, known as Goombay, is a display of sights, sounds, and tastes of the African-Caribbean. This free event delivers a variety of entertainment, including dancing and the beating of West African drums, alongside harmonic live music featuring gospel, reggae, funk, and soul.

After more than 125 years, Isaac Dickson’s imprint on the city remains, and his YMI Building is still used to promote and celebrate the Black community of Asheville.