Charlotte City Council unanimously decided to rename several city streets previously named for confederate soldiers, slaveowners, and segregationists on February 8, 2021. This includes Stonewall Street, which travels from Bank of America Stadium to the intersection of Kenilworth and Charlottetown, and is named for confederate general Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson.

Please sign this petition if you support renaming the road Harvey B. Gantt Street after Charlotte's first Black mayor. A civil rights trailblazer, Mr. Gantt was the first person to integrate Clemson University in South Carolina. His wife, Lucinda (Cindy, as he calls her), was the second African-American attendee later that year. Their daughter, Sonja, continues their legacy of philanthropy as the Executive Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Foundation.

Harvey Gantt has left his physical stamp on Charlotte, as well. His architecture firm is responsible for many iconic buildings in the city, including the Charlotte Transportation Center, TransAmerica Square, ImaginOn, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, and the Johnson C. Smith University Science Center.

In 2009, the new 4-story uptown home of the Afro-American Cultural Center was named the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. The south side of the building runs along what is currently Stonewall Street. Renaming the road that touches the entire length of this notable facility would be an outstanding tribute to a leader who stands for the opposite of everything that the confederacy advocated: equality, collaboration and unity.

Each and every signature is evidence that Charlotte City Council members can use to assess their constituents' interest in changing the name of this important thoroughfare to Harvey B. Gantt Street. That is why adding your name to this petition is so important and so appreciated. Thank you!