Gantt lost the election by 47% to 53%. Gantt ran against Helms again in 1996, but he lost again with 46% of the vote. Post-political career Gantt manages a successful architectural practice, Gantt Huberman Architects, and remains active in politics. He served on the North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Council, the Democratic National Committee, and was appointed as chair of the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC. In 2009, the Afro-American Cultural Center and the City of Charlotte honored 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. The four-story, 46,500-square-foot building was built for $18.6 million, and is part the Levine Center for the Arts. In 2016, PBS Charlotte and UNC-TV featured Gantt in their online series, Biographical Conversations. In this series, Gantt recalls his life experiences, ranging from his attendance at Clemson University to his inauguration as Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Personal life Gantt and his wife Lucinda (Brawley) Gantt, the second black student to attend Clemson, have four children: Sonja, Erika, Angela and Adam. Their daughter, Sonja Gantt, is a former news anchor at WCNC-TV in Charlotte. See also African-American architects References External links "Harvey Gantt" City of Charlotte biography SC African American History Harvey Gantt and the Desegregation of Clemson University, Clemson website "Interview with Harvey B. Gantt", at Oral Histories of the American South, University of North Carolina Harvey Gantt Papers: J Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte |- 1943 births African-American architects African-American history of South Carolina African-American mayors in North Carolina Architects from North Carolina Artists from Charleston, South Carolina Candidates in the 1990 United States elections Candidates in the 1996 United States elections Charlotte, North Carolina City Council members Clemson University alumni Iowa State University alumni Living people MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina North Carolina Democrats Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina School desegregation pioneers African-American city council members in North Carolina 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics 20th-century American politicians 21st-century African-American people