Ron Potts grew up in Smithville, a historic Black section of Cornelius, North Carolina. Cornelius is a town north of Charlotte, they share the same county. For decades Smithville was not incorporated into the mostly white town. Right now, it is the largest - still in tact - historic Black community in Mecklenburg County, NC.
Potts went off to college, worked in other parts of the country and even served in the Vietnam war. He came back home and has been an active community activist and organizer.
In this interview he talks about how the last 4 years of life in America felt like no progress was really being made and how he has continued to be active and engaged.
Find more about the Smithville community here:
https://oldtowncornelius.com/smithville-cornelius-nc-history-redevelopment/?fbclid=IwAR3meTewjqxIwL8vamJMnZmcsdZXW0Q3Enqismum46G2wLMsLAkyiXIvGl4
https://www.corneliustoday.com/smithville-community/
https://www.lakenormanpublications.com/articles/celebrating-smithvilles-history/
https://www.corneliustoday.com/wayland-whisnant-potts/
Ron Potts cannot find definitive proof that his people were enslaved at the nearby Potts Plantation, but such a conclusion would be reasonable by most historians’ standard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potts_Plantation
The famous Nannie Potts of Cornelius was Ron Potts’ sister in law
https://www.wfae.org/local-news/2018-11-16/remembering-nannie-potts-1st-female-and-only-black-mayor-of-cornelius
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