Noir Collective AVL: Bringing Black Back to The Block

For nearly a century after the Civil War, Black-owned businesses flourished in downtown Asheville along Eagle and South Market streets. This area, known as “The Block,” thrived as a cultural and commercial center for the Black community in the 1900s until urban renewal initiatives forced them out. Now, as part of a revitalization effort, Black-owned businesses are springing up on The Block, bringing the historic district back to its roots.

“Every inch of The Block had Black-owned businesses,” says alexandria monque ravenel, co-owner of one such business, Noir Collective AVL, a hybrid boutique, gallery, and bookstore occupying one of four retail spaces owned by the YMI Cultural Center. Founded in 2020 by alexandria’s youngest child, Ajax Ravenel, Noir Collective provides a platform for Black entrepreneurs to showcase their wares and build connections with like-minded artists, activists, and culture keepers in Asheville. “The timing of our opening was significant,” alexandria continues, reflecting on the protests and demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s murder in the summer of 2020. “We chose to launch on Juneteenth, a date that holds immense historical importance, and the community welcomed us with open arms.”

Founding a Community of Creative Activists

That community includes the YMI Cultural Center, one of the oldest Black cultural centers in the U.S. and the unofficial heart of The Block. Their business incubation program helped Noir Collective evolve from an idea into a multi-dimensional platform that centers on economic development, placemaking, and programs of social uplift for Asheville’s Black community.

The boutique's success is due in large part to its entrepreneurial mother-daughter co-owners, alexandria and Ajax. A photographer and former YMI employee, Ajax opened their first business by age six, hand-stamping T-shirts, selling lollipops, and showing their work publicly wherever possible. “Like most artists, Ajax always had a camera in their hand,” recalls alexandria, a native New Yorker who founded a Montessori school in South Carolina where Ajax learned to collaborate and build community with fellow students.

This nurturing environment laid the groundwork for Noir Collective, creating a seamless connection between Ajax and alexandria’s artistic pursuits and their role in fostering holistic development within Asheville’s Black community. While the gallery segment of Noir Collective supports regional vendors and artists like AI Afrofuturist Chastity Leake and fashion designer Sala Menaya, the boutique’s supplementary programming offers patrons a chance to engage with broader community issues.

“We're a pretty close-knit group,” says alexandria, explaining how Noir Collective’s artists and vendors also participate in the boutique’s book club and First Friday events. “We’ve got notices in the shop about who the artists are, their picture, and their bio,” she continues. “I can tell you about these artists, their children, where they work full-time, and why they got started as artists because we are a community.”

Join the (Book) Club

This sense of community extends far beyond the art showcased inside Noir Collective. Initiatives like The YMI Black Experience Book Club play a vital role in fostering connections through literature, with members gathering monthly in Noir Collective’s Market St. retail space to discuss titles like Angela Tucker’s You Should Be Grateful, N.K. Jemisin’s Fifth Season, Octavia Butler’s The Pattern of Theories, and Yaa Gyasi’s Homecoming. With books supplied by the East Asheville Library, participants explore a range of narratives and genres while reflecting on their own experiences, engaging in dialogue that promotes understanding across different backgrounds.

“We read Black authors and talk about our lived experiences with the story as a backdrop,” says alexandria, commenting on their book selection process. “We have cross-racial dialogue, which is really stimulating and infuriating. It's also enlightening and fun.”

In addition to these discussions, Noir Collective offers a separate gathering for people of color, providing a “sacred space” where participants can delve more deeply into issues raised in the readings. This flexible approach allows for open conversations about race, identity, and shared experiences, encouraging empathy and connection within the community. “I'm glad that we're doing this work because we think that the only way we're going to dismantle racism is if we talk about it,” says alexandria. “Just being in dialogue with one another makes us closer, [helps us] find our commonalities, and understand our differences better.”

The Future of The Block: The People’s Place

Building on their commitment to strengthen the Black community and revitalize The Block, Noir Collective throws a “block party” on the first Friday of every month. “It's open to everyone, but we wanted locals to understand that they can reclaim the space that used to belong to them,” says alexandria. “The Block is still heavily gentrified, as Asheville is gentrified. This is an opportunity for us to make it a welcoming space for everyone, particularly the local Black community.”

While Ajax and alexandria are busy nurturing hearts and minds at Noir Collective, their sister organization and most recent project promises another kind of nourishment—a dining experience that goes beyond just meals. Located at 58 Broadway, next to the Moog Museum in downtown Asheville, The People's Place emerged from the desire to create a welcoming space for anti-racist activists—one where they could come together, share experiences, and be rejuvenated through food and art. Recognizing the deep-rooted connections between food, community, and social justice, the folks behind The People’s Place aim to cultivate individual and collective growth through cooperative economic models. By focusing on collaborative efforts and mutual support, they aspire to reclaim communal spaces through the power of shared meals and artistic expression, reinforcing the rich cultural heritage of The Block.

“The People’s Place was really based on what we knew about The Block and what we know about most African-American or Black neighborhoods throughout the country that were demolished during urban renewal,” says alexandria. “Businesses promoted one another, and they kept the money in their community. Much of that is because they were segregated, so they had to, but the power of that meant thriving communities; they all cooperated. We're using that model to build something different.”

Noir Collective AVL: Website | Instagram

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos published with permission of Noir Collective AVL. Featured photo: Renato Rotolo.