Harvey B. Gantt: Tale Of A Trailblazer

Trailblazer Harvey B. Gantt was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1943, attended public schools and graduated second in his class from Burke High School. He received a merit scholarship and enrolled at Iowa State University. In 1963, Gantt was admitted to Clemson University where he earned an architectural degree with honors in 1965. In 1970 he received a Masters of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Since creating his own architectural firm in the mid-1970s in the center of Charlotte's business district, Harvey B. Gantt has distinguished himself as a designer of structures and a builder of communities. Gantt-Huberman Architects has won numerous local, regional and national design awards, including the 2006 "North Caroilna Firm of the Year" from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Over the years Gantt has served on numerous civic, business and cultural boards and continues to lead many community initiatives and philanthropic causes. The importance of a solid education and the value of the arts have long been special passions for his family. How fitting that as the AACC celebrates its 35 year anniversary and that Harvey Gantt also marks more than 35 years in Charlotte, which he has worked tirelessly to make a great place for people of all backgrounds to live, work and to raise a family. He has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other great Charlotte leaders in creating a "New South City", a city of equal opportunity and unlimited possibilities.

The theme of the Harvey B. Gantt Center is where you belong. This captures the original vision of the community leaders who created the vision for the Afro-American Cultural Center, the foundation of Harvey B. Gantt's community service, and the essence of what the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture will symbolizes today, for all visitors.