LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Robert "Say" McIntosh, who was a well known community and political activist in Little Rock, has passed away at the age of 79.
Born in Osceola in 1943, his family moved six years later to the Granite Mountain area in Little Rock. He would later start a restaurant as an adult and became known as "The Sweet Potato Pie King of Little Rock."
McIntosh would become a leader among the Black community in Little Rock and then Governor David Pryor declared December 24, 1976 as Robert "Say" McIntosh Day.
He would be dubbed as "The Black Santa" in his efforts delivering toys to underprivileged children around Christmas.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas claims that he earned his nickname "Say" by "never missing an opportunity to voice his opinion or say something about an issue of importance to him or his community."
He was active as a community throughout the 1980s and 1990s, protesting former Governor Bill Clinton, former Pulaski County Sheriff Tommy Robinson, and more.
McIntosh was also a prominent figure in the 1990s fighting against Little Rock's violence due to gangs and founded Say's Stop The Violence Organization.
"McIntosh was a true Little Rock legend, businessman and activist," Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said. "He tore down systemic walls of inequity so we could walk through them. Prayers for the McIntosh family's strength and comfort."
He died after suffering a cardiac arrest, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. He was 79.
We will update this article with more information as it becomes available.