Title

Interview with Ron Potts, 2016 September 21.

Description

Interview with Ron Potts, conducted by Jan Blodgett on September 21, 2016.

Ron Potts is a member of the Smithville Community Coalition and in this interview they make a passionate case for the preservation of Smithville, a historical African American community that they believe is being encroached on by the larger surrounding town of Cornelius. Potts can trace their ancestry in the area back to the 1860s, when the area was originally settled by people who had been recently freed from enslavement. Potts explains how the legacy of these original settlers continues in Smithville, best exemplified by the circle of original houses at the center of town having been passed down through generations of families. Potts also describes the schools that they attended in the area, including the then newly opened Ada Jenkins school, and how their own educational options differed from those that were available for Potts’ older siblings and parents. Potts speaks about their family history of community engagement, including their father’s membership in a Smithville civic group and their cousin, Nancy Potts, serving as mayor of Cornelius. Potts goes on to describe how their familial ties to the area brought them back to Smithville after previously moving around the nation for various professions. They conclude the interview by offering interviewer Jan Blodgett a tour of the town to show the deterioration of Smithville’s historic neighborhood.

Date

09/21/2016

Format

PDF (transcript) /
MP3 (audio)

Language

English

Publisher

Davidson College

Subject

Personal life; history of Mecklenburg County; social history

interviewer

Jan Blodgett

interviewee

Ron Potts

Location

Cornelius, NC.

Duration

1:04:14