Longtime Charlotte educator, community leader dies at 93

CHARLOTTE — A local leader of the Charlotte community has died at 93.

Dr. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey was a longtime educator and community leader known for co-founding the Afro-American Cultural Center 50 years ago. It has since been renamed the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture.

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She graduated from Johnson C. Smith University before becoming one of the first African American principals at a predominantly white elementary school in Charlotte.

Maxwell-Roddey then started working in higher education, where she became the founding director of the Department of Africana Studies at UNC Charlotte.

Her family is still finalizing funeral arrangements.

(WATCH BELOW: Black History Month Spotlight: Dr. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey)