• By Bsrat Mezghebe
• February 07, 2022

Celebrating Former NCPC Chairman Harvey B. Gantt

In celebration of Black History Month, we’re excited to honor Harvey B. Gantt, NCPC’s first African American Chairman. Mr. Gantt is also a celebrated architect and politician, with a distinguished record of public service.

Mr. Gantt began his activism in the civil rights movement as a high school student in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating, he sued to enter the racially segregated Clemson University, and in 1963, the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered Clemson to admit Mr. Gantt as its first African American student. He graduated with a degree in architecture with honors and there met his wife Lucinda Brawley, the second African American student to attend Clemson. He earned his M.A. in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After working for various architectural firms in Charlotte, North Carolina, Mr. Gantt founded his own firm, Gantt Huberman Architects, which designed some of Charlotte’s most striking buildings. He launched his political career by being elected in 1974 to serve on the Charlotte City Council for nine years. There he encouraged voting among Black communities and reformed the process for electing council members. In 1983, Mr. Gantt was elected as the city’s first African American mayor and served for two terms.

Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Mr. Gantt served as NCPC Chairman from 1995 to 2000, where he led the review of several significant plans and projects that impacted the National Capital Region. This included development of Extending the Legacy: Planning America’s Capital for the 21st Century (1997), a visionary planning document for the city’s growth that aimed to direct future federal development throughout the city, reclaim Washington’s waterfront for public enjoyment, and protect the National Mall’s open space. Much of the work that informed NCPC’s Memorial and Museums Master Plan (2001) was also done under his leadership. This plan which provides guidance for ensuring that future generations have an abundant supply of sites for new memorials and museums. Additionally, Mr. Gantt’s tenure as Chairman witnessed the approval of plans for the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, a new downtown arena, and other projects that transformed the city.

NCPC Policy & Research Division Director Michael Sherman, who is a fellow MIT alumnus and joined the agency during Mr. Gantt’s tenure, had long been inspired by Mr. Gantt’s life and career, and said, “I will always appreciate his calm demeanor, attention to detail, intellect, and keen design sense."

In 2009, Charlotte’s Afro-American Cultural Center and the City of Charlotte honored Mr. Gantt by building the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, recognizing his contributions to the civil rights movement and as the city's first Black mayor.



Harvey B. Gantt Center PBS Documentary