City Council hears from DEI protestors, advocates; Stanwood Lane rezoning approved

HENDERSONVILLE - The first 45 minutes of the May 4 Hendersonville City Council meeting involved a topic that wasn't even on the agenda for the Council to discuss, but the public attendees made sure their voices were heard.

The meeting drew another big crowd stemming from last week's Diversity, Inclusion and Equity presentation to the Council. At that meeting, there were people in the crowd holding signs against the DEI report. At the May 4 meeting, the protestors were back again with their signs, but this time, there were also people in the crowd in favor of DEI and they brought their signs.

The City Council allowed each group a total of 10 minutes to give their public comments, and the group in favor of the DEI study, which was presented at the April 26 meeting by Bahiyyah Greer of Ahkirah Consulting, went first. One of their speakers was Eric Gash, the pastor at Speak Life Community Church who was also a former principal at Bruce Drysdale Elementary School and the former football coach and athletic director at Hendersonville High School.

More: Protestors greet Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultant at City Council meeting

"I want to thank you for being proactive and not reactive," Gash said to the Council. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The older I get, the more that makes sense to me. Who waits until they need a doctor before they go to the doctor? Preventative care is the best care. I wanted to thank you for being forward-thinking. Can we get better? Can we do better? Change is difficult. but not to change is fatal. It's not just about race and gender but also about age and religion, ability and disability."

Jennifer Mayo of Hendersonville was next to the podium.

"I am honored and delighted to be here before you speaking on behalf of Hendersonville Pride. One of the things that struck me about Hendersonville was this beautiful and amazing, intangible spirit of love and welcome," Mayo said. "But as I stand before you tonight brothers and sisters, my heart is heavy and it's sad and it weeps. I sense a spirit that is opposite of that at work in our community... a spirit and mindset that would take us back in time to the 1950s. I watched last week's meeting on YouTube and saw signs that I literally could not fathom about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion being compared to Marxism."

She went on to talk about racism in the 1960s.

"This is now 2023... and we have the same issue, same signs, same accusations, same fear and same mistrust of the other. My message is simple... every person born is inherently loved and we all deserve opportunity, equality, equity and we deserve a city that reflects an ever-growing and more diverse community."

One of the first speakers from the group against the DEI report was Jeff Groh of Fletcher, who at one point was interrupted during his speech by those in the crowd in favor of the study.

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"I am here to ask the city to cancel the Ahkirah DEI contract and use the approximately $90,000 for real problems in Hendersonville and not imagined problems. Furthermore, disband the DEI committee," he said. "It is not wanted and not needed. While I live in Fletcher, I am vested in Hendersonville and have no desire to see the same Marxist ideology that has destroyed Asheville and other cities be implemented here. DEI is full of wonderful sounding words and sentiments, but the stated goal is a lie.

"Consider this: Ms. Greer is a principal strategist for another DEI consultancy, The Winters Group. In her bio she states: “I am the vibrant and dynamic daughter of a Black Panther Mother and a Nation of Islam Father. I am a sovereign for justice and a solicitor of peace.” That’s ironic. The Black Panther Party was a Marxist-Leninist political organization. Louis Farrakhan, and The Nation of Islam is well known for stirring up racial and religious hatred, and has been called a hate group by even civil rights groups like the NAACP.  So what about her bias? And you expect (Mrs. Greer) to come in and lecture us about tolerance? Is this the kind of ideology that you are proud to bring to Hendersonville?"

After both groups had the opportunity to speak, Mayor Barbara Volk noted that the May 4 agenda had nothing about discussing the DEI report.

"This is something internal that we all have to look through ourselves to determine what we will do with it," she said.

With that, the room mostly cleared as the meeting continued with its regular agenda, highlighted by a rezoning request for a 1.8-acre lot at 1208 Stanwood Lane, which intersects with Drake Street, a street that's property is a part of the city's 100-year floodplain. With the rezoning, the property's owners, Michael and Ginger Murphy, could have as many as 10 units on the property. In its April 13 meeting, the Hendersonville Planning Board voted 5-1 in favor of the rezoning from R-15 to R-10.

Public comments were allowed, and one resident on Drake Street, Michael Redden, urged the City Council to vote against the rezoning request.

"There is no need to be spot zoning. You're not going to be able to expel gas without your neighbors knowing. The floodplain needs to stay," Redden said. "There is no reason for that many houses to be put on that lot. There is no r-R-10 anywhere in the area. My family has resided there since 1986. My family settled here in the 1700s. I'm sure my ancestors are rolling over in their graves with how this town is turning out. R-15 is perfectly fine for that area."

Councilman Jerry Smith got clarification from one of the presenters and noted that there was no petition for annexation involved with the project and that any development that takes place will come back to the city's planning department to be approved.

A vote was taken, and the rezoning request was unanimously approved by the Council.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: DEI protestors, advocates speak out; Stanwood Lane rezoning approved