Add to ORKGReverend Joe Smith (born Joseph Henry Smith) is interviewed by Lorraine Crittenden on April 29, 1986 as a part of the Western North Carolina Tomorrow Black Oral History Project. Born in 1903, Smith’s parents died when he was young and he was raised by his grandparents in Jackson County. His grandfather had been a slave and when freed, he worked on the railroad helping to build the Cowee tunnel and farmed. Smith was a minister in Mars Hill and in Sylva for over 50 years. He also worked at the Mead Corporation and was involved in many community organizations. He shares his thoughts on civil rights, his observances of white and black relations, and integration