MLK Day 2025: Designing the Future

MLK Day 2025: Designing the Future invites all to creatively envision a more equitable and sustainable future, drawing inspiration from the legacy of Floyd McKissick, Sr., and his ambitious vision for Soul City, NC. McKissick, a North Carolina native, attorney, and civil rights leader, sought to create a thriving, self-sustaining community that would provide equal opportunity for Black Americans during the 1970s. This year's MLK Day celebration honors the themes of this home-state hero’s visionary work and explores its impact through a series of art workshops, performances, thought-provoking discussions, and more.

Image courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Central to the celebration is a panel featuring our namesake Harvey Gantt, Charlotte's first Black mayor, an early co-designer of Soul City, and law professor Thomas Healy, author of Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia. The day's celebration will include other local and regional thought leaders who innovatively push equity forward. Together we will examine the project's history, the lessons it holds for today, and how we can continue McKissick's work in our own communities.

Through this celebration, we encourage reflection on the past and foster collective input on how to forge a more just and inclusive society. By engaging with the insights of scholars and living historical figures, the event provides an opportunity to critically analyze the patterns of inequality while also laying the blueprint for a future shaped by creativity, community, and collaboration. The Gantt is proud to host this important exploration through art, dialogue, and public engagement, in which all are welcome.

Our partners for this celebration include professor and journalist Amy Carleton (co-creator), the UNC-Charlotte Chorale, CrossRoads Corporation for Affordable Housing and Community Development, Inc., Mixed Metaphors Productions, and others.

Stay tuned for day's full celebration schedule.