A town in North Carolina is doubling down on its earlier commitment to provide hurricane relief to local business owners based on race and sex.
Asheville, a town in western North Carolina that was devastated by Hurricane Helene, said in its 2024 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery action plan, released this month, that the plan’s Small Business Support Program would “prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the polices and procedures.”
In January, the Western North Carolina Citizens for Equality filed a complaint with the Treasury Department after Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, would “focus” on hurricane relief for “BIPOC” and “women” owned businesses damaged in the hurricane, The Daily Wire reported at the time.
“In this situation, there is no doubt that Buncombe…
