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Harvey B. Gantt

Influential African-Americans In Our Community

Harvey B. Gantt (born 1943 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an architect and politician. In 1963, he was the first black American to be admitted to Clemson University in South Carolina, the last State to hold out to racial integration. He received a degree in architecture with Honors from Clemson and a Master's degree in City Planning from MIT.

From 1974 until 1983, Gantt served on the Charlotte City Council. He was then elected and re-elected as the first black mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, serving in that position from 1983 - 1987. He staged two unsuccessful U.S. Senatorial campaigns against Jesse Helms in 1990 and in 1996.

Harvey Gantt manages a successful architectural practice, Gantt Huberman Architects and remains active in politics, serving on the North Carolina Executive Council and Democratic National Committee.


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