Meet Harvey Keye
Harvey Keye
Civil Rights Activist, Former State Representative, and Community Leader
About
From growing up in a high-poverty neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, to changing the course of New Hampshire history, Harvey Keye’s life is a masterclass in resilience, leadership, and community building.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Harvey broke barriers early on as the first person in his neighborhood to graduate from college, earning a degree in Biology before later completing his MBA at Rivier University.
His journey took him from the frontlines of the Southern Civil Rights Movement—where he was once arrested for integrating a Woolworth’s lunch counter—into a highly successful 25-year corporate sales executive career.
Eventually, his path led him to public service, serving two terms as a New Hampshire State Representative.
Harvey’s enduring legacy is forever etched into NH history: on June 17, 1999, he delivered an impassioned, definitive speech on the House floor that galvanized lawmakers and successfully passed the bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day an official state holiday—the final state in the nation to do so.
Today, Harvey continues to amplify local voices and uplift the community as the creator and host of the talk program Nashua Strong, and through his dedicated board leadership with organizations like the Nashua Soup Kitchen and the NH Prostate Cancer Coalition.