The Gantt Center Mourns the Loss of Charlotte Civil Rights Pioneer and Beacon of the Community, Sarah Stevenson

Stevenson's legacy will live on through her unrelenting fight for civil rights, community impact through dialogue and action, mentorship, and the blueprint she left of a successful servant leader.

The Gantt joins the community in mourning the passing of Sarah Stevenson on September 26, 2023, she was 97. Born in Heath Springs, SC, Stevenson moved to Charlotte for education and opportunity. A former seamstress, she worked diligently to improve the community, becoming a local civil rights leader and pioneer.

In the 1970s, Stevenson was a leading voice helping to improve school conditions and desegregating Charlotte Mecklenburg public schools, and in 1980, she was the first Black woman elected to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.

She also co-founded the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum in 1980, where her leadership and welcoming spirit set the tone for focused and productive civil discussions – even of divisive public issues. Stevenson was instrumental in bringing multiple sides together to create dialogue and solutions that benefitted the Charlotte community. In 2022, the group changed its name to Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum.

Stevenson was the recipient of many awards and accolades, including the Gantt's Spirit of the Center Award for Philanthropy & Community, Johnson C. Smith University's Arch of Triumph Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award, and Woman of the Year. Generations of Charlotteans have benefitted from her trailblazing accomplishments. Her legacy will live on.