Harvey Gantt | |
|---|---|
.png) Gantt as a Clemson student c. 1964 | |
| 50thMayor of Charlotte | |
| In office 1983–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Eddie Knox |
| Succeeded by | Sue Myrick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harvey Bernard Gantt (1943-01-14)January 14, 1943 (age 82) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lucinda Brawley |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Iowa State University Clemson University (BArch) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MUP) |
Harvey Bernard Gantt (born January 14, 1943)[1] is anAmericanarchitect andDemocraticpolitician active inNorth Carolina.[2] The firstAfrican-American student admitted toClemson University after attendingIowa State University, Gantt graduated with honors in architecture, earned a master's atMIT, and established an architectural practice inCharlotte with a partner.
Gantt entered local politics, where he was elected to thecity council, serving from 1974 to 1983. He was elected to two terms as the first blackMayor of Charlotte from 1983 to 1987. In1990 and1996, Gantt was the Democratic nominee for theU.S. Senate, losing to incumbent RepublicanJesse Helms both times.
Gantt was born inCharleston, South Carolina, to Wilhelminia and Christopher C. Gantt, ashipyard worker. He started to participate incivil rightsactivism inhigh school. In 1963, he was the firstAfrican American to be admitted toClemson University in South Carolina.[3] when he transferred from Iowa State University.[4] He received a degree inarchitecture with honors from Clemson[5] and amaster's degree incity planning fromMIT.[6]
From 1974 until 1983, Gantt served on theCharlotte City Council. He was elected to two terms as the first African-Americanmayor ofCharlotte, North Carolina,[5] serving in that position from 1983 to 1987. He was defeated for a third term as mayor in 1987 bySue Myrick. He was Charlotte's last Democratic mayor untilAnthony Foxx was elected in 2009.
In 1990, Gantt ran for a Senate seat inNorth Carolina as aDemocrat against the incumbent,RepublicanJesse Helms. Gantt avoided the issue of race, instead attacking Helms's record on jobs, education and health care.[7] With one and a half weeks to go, Gantt was ahead in the polls, but Helms aired a number of television commercials emphasizing Gantt's color. One, which attacked Gantt's pro-choice stance, repeatedly rewound and replayed a soundbite from Gantt, with the image changing from color to black and white, and Gantt's face appearing darker at the end.[8]
Another advertisement, known as theWhite Hands ad, showed a close-up of the hands of a white person reading, then crumpling a letter, while a voice-over said "You needed that job, and you were the best qualified. But they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is that really fair?" It accused Gantt of supporting "Ted Kennedy's racial quota law".[9] Gantt lost the election by 47% to 53%.[10] Gantt ran against Helms again in1996, but he lost again with 46% of the vote.[5]
Gantt manages a successful architectural practice, Gantt Huberman Architects, and remains active in politics. He served on theNorth Carolina Democratic Party Executive Council, theDemocratic National Committee, and was appointed as chair of theNational Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC.[5]
In 2009, the Afro-American Cultural Center and the City of Charlotte honored Gantt by building theHarvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, recognizing his contributions to the civil rights movement and as the city's first black mayor. The four-story, 46,500-square-foot building was built for $18.6 million, and is part the Levine Center for the Arts.[11]
In 2016,PBS Charlotte andUNC-TV featured Gantt in their online series, Biographical Conversations. In this series, Gantt recalls his life experiences, ranging from his attendance atClemson University to his inauguration as Mayor ofCharlotte, North Carolina.[12]
Gantt and his wife Lucinda (Brawley) Gantt, the second black student to attend Clemson, have four children: Sonja, Erika, Angela and Adam.[5] Their daughter, Sonja Gantt, is a former news anchor atWCNC-TV in Charlotte.[13]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Charlotte 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromNorth Carolina (Class 2) 1990,1996 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
