Mary Norton Kratt oral history interview, 2012 March 22

Digital Record

Identifier: UA-KR0080

Staff Only

Digital Object (sound_recording_nonmusical)

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Dates

Creation: 2012-03-22

Summary

In this interview, Mary Norton Kratt, award-winning author and adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, recalls her knowledge of and interactions with Bonnie Cone from her high school years at Central High School when Miss Cone was director of Charlotte College to their time together serving as deacons at Myers Park Baptist Church in the 1970s. Mrs. Kratt discusses Miss Cone’s leadership style, especially as it relates to the context of her time, and reflects on Miss Cone’s significance for Charlotte, her apparent preference for working with men, and her capability of leading UNC Charlotte as chancellor, a position which was not granted to her. Other topics include controversial decisions of Myers Park Baptist Church and the perception of Baptists by the larger Charlotte community.

Biographical Note

Mary Norton Kratt was a 75-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Beckley, West Virginia in 1936. She was educated at Central High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, and at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was employed as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and as an author and poet.