Harvey Gantt reflects on being admitted to Clemson University 60 years later

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt was celebrated for blazing a newfound trail at his college alma mater.

Clemson University gave him a big thank you at a special gala this past Saturday evening for his unflinching courage that came 60 years ago.

“It’s far more than what I ever imagined as a 20-year-old kid. I just wanted to get a degree in architecture and practice somewhere in the South,” Gantt said.

In the 1960′s, the Gantt family stood strong during a contentious legal fight for fairness as he attempted to become Clemson University’s first African American student.

The federal courts initially denied his request but reversed its decision on appeal turning Tillman Hall into a global stage on January 28, 1963.

Reflecting on his first day at the South Carolina campus, Gantt recalls keeping his emotions in check.

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“Just feeling pretty calm and that I would stay calm,” he said. “Calm enough to sign my name on the dotted line that would register me as a student at Clemson.”

Months before Gantt arrived at the South Carolina college, two people died at the University of Mississippi as James Meredith became its first black student.

In Tuscaloosa, Governor George Wallace stood at the doors of the University of Alabama protesting the admission of three black students in the same year Harvey Gantt was admitted to Clemson.

Historian David Goldfield believes Gantt walked into a different atmosphere.

“At Clemson, one of the surprises there were no riots, and the students said come on. We’re now in the 20th century and it’s time to integrate,” Goldfield said.

Civil rights photographer Cecil Williams covered the event for Jet Magazine and found a unique spot in the pack of journalists.

One compelling image details dozens of members of the media who were assigned to the story.

The photo remains seared in his psyche.

Williams said, “Here was a moment of history that was happening in front of my eyes, and there were picture opportunities everywhere.”

Graduating with honors in 1965 led to a master’s degree from M-I-T, and another groundbreaking moment came for the Charleston native in his adopted hometown of Charlotte.

Elected in 1983 as the Queen City’s first African American mayor 20 years after breaking new ground at Clemson, 2009 brought the opening of Charlotte’s Harvey B. Gantt Center.

Other tributes come at places like Tillman Hall, and his college alma mater now operates the Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center focusing on diversity and inclusion.

His wife Lucinda is known to many as Cindy.

“The school has been good to me. It is where I met my wife who was the second African American student on this campus,” Gantt said.

Bringing attention to this diamond anniversary also resulted in an on-campus gallery exhibit showcasing his life and times.

He’s now 80 years old and embracing success means taking time to inhale the Roses.

Gantt said, “I’m retired. I hoped that I would be off the stage. You’ve got to come out of hiding so to speak and see what 60 years have done.”

Over the years, such an important legacy has been examined through the lenses of both magnifying glass and microscope.

Clemson University officials take pride in one important theme connected to his admission.

It’s been characterized as integration with dignity.

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