In the early morning of June 11, 2016, our beloved brother and son Adrian Potts was shot and killed near the University of North Carolina, Charlotte Campus. Adrian was a 20-year old student at North Carolina Central University, an ambitious, fun-loving and tenacious person who was full of life and big plans. He had been at a party and was trying to act as a peacemaker in breaking up a fight.
DeAndre’ and Adrian were best friends, sharing a powerful bond full of love and appreciation for the other. Adrian was studying to be a lawyer, and one day wanted to be the mayor of Charlotte. Adrian would frequently visit DeAndre’ at St. Joseph’s University and celebrated his brother’s accomplishments. He was going to be sitting alongside DeAndre’ to watch the NBA draft the next week and had planned the draft party together with their mother, Essence.
Adrian’s death served as the catalyst for DeAndre’ to develop and launch the AP World Foundation, an organization that supports grieving families of survivors and is helping to break the cycle of violence. AP World is one of the ways that we remember Adrian every day and work towards the legacy of change he wanted to see in our world.