When Harvey Gantt takes the stage tonight at the Democratic National Convention he will be more than a symbol of the civil rights movement as the former student who integrated Clemson University and as the former and first African-American mayor of the host city. Mr. Gantt will also be a reminder of the racially coded campaign tactics of the Republican Party. On the path to a victory over then North Carolina Senator and Dixie legend Jesse Helms in 1990, the former mayor was on the receiving end of one of the most racist political ads in electoral history. Playing to the fears of white North Carolinians, Senator Jesse Helms’ campaign ran an ad that explicitly suggested the election of Harvey Gantt would take jobs away from white residents and give them to Black residents. It is why the current Republican counteroffensive in Charlotte this week against President Obama under the theme “He isn’t Working” has its roots in Jesse Helms’ 1990 campaign. The attacks against President Obama from the right are taken straight out of the Jesse Helms playbook but with greater intensity due to social media that did not exist when Gantt was defeated.