John Foster Potts, Sr. papers, 1885-2005 (bulk 1935-1991).

ArchivalResource

John Foster Potts, Sr. papers, 1885-2005 (bulk 1935-1991).

1885-2005

The papers are divided into numerous series. Biographical papers include an unpublished autobiography and material re Potts's service as a U.S. navy recruiter. Family papers include Potts's narrative history of the family, with some correspondence, clippings, ephemera and related matter. Materials re Potts's wife Muriel's family and their children include data on the Logan family, including notes re dismissing Dr. William Miller Logan from military service (c. 1917) for being African American; sheet music autographed by Langston Hughes and school and other papers re her teaching career, along with report cards, programs, etc. of the children; and some personal correspondence that includes thank you notes from Elizabeth Avery Waring. Potts family property papers detail ownership and use of land in East Flat Rock, N.C., putting it into the U.S. Soil Bank program and a tree conservation program. Also included is Potts's history of early black families in East Flat Rock, and his history of The Society of Necessity, a mutual aid society for African Americans, and The Kingdom of Happy Land, a community established by emancipated slaves from Mississippi, as well as papers re his service as a historian at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Charleston, S.C. real estate papers document Potts's ownership and sale of two properties, one being 54 Montagu St., sold to Palmer College. Writings of Potts include speeches and articles on various educational, civil rights, religious and other topics, with many commencement speeches. Longer works include a draft of his master's thesis (1937) re growth of African American population in Gary, Ind., and drafts of his history of the Palmetto Education Association, along with notes on that organization and date re the Palmetto State Teacher Association, as well. School materials document Potts's education and teaching in secondary schools in Gary, Ind., Columbia, S.C., and Charleston, S.C. There is material, as well, re his directorship of Avery Institute, and his presidency of Voorhees School and Junior College (later Voorhees College), with some information on student unrest there (ca. 1969), employment of his wife Muriel, and loan of Edwin Augustus Harleston paintings. Other papers document his affiliation with the Triangle Association of Colleges of South Carolina and Georgia, the Moton College Service Bureau, and the Technical Assistance Consortium to Improve College Services (TACTICS), and other agencies for whom Potts consulted. Civic and social organization papers include materials re Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Wolverine Social Club of Flat Rock, N.C. and some card clubs. Miscellaneous materials include plaques, awards, some photographs, newspapers, and printed matter.

4.5 linear ft.

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There are 25 Entities related to this resource.

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http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jb5j7w (family)

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http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m950gp (corporateBody)

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John Foster Potts, Sr., African American educator and author, was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 18, 1908 to Leila Snead and John Moultrie Potts. In 1916, the family relocated to their ancestral home in East Flat Rock, North Carolina. Potts attended Lincoln Academy, Kings Mountain, N.C., and Benedict College's high school division, Columbia, S.C. He received a college degree from Benedict in 1930. Potts began substitute teaching, eventually becoming assistant principal at Columbia's Book...

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