The North Carolina Supreme Court has taken up a case claiming discrimination against Black residents by the City of Kinston in property foreclosures and potential demolition.
At the center is the city's 2017 decision to condemn and mark for demolition three properties owned by residents Joseph Askew and Curtis Washington.
A lower court earlier chose not to rule on the merits of the case, but it did decide to dismiss the case, writing the plaintiffs had not "exhausted their administrative remedies" before filing a constitutional challenge.
Kinston denies the allegations of racial discrimination. The state Supreme Court heard arguments for the case last week and will release its decision later this year.
