Arthur Ravenel Jr. (March 29, 1927 – January 16, 2023) was an American businessman and a Republican politician from Charleston, South Carolina.

[1] During the waning days of World War II, the Charleston-born Ravenel enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving from 1945 to 1946.

He served until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. Congress from the Charleston-based 1st District that became open when incumbent Tommy Hartnett ran for Lt.

[6] He provoked controversy in response to a reporter's question in 2000 when he referred to the NAACP as the "National Association for Retarded People".

[2] Ravenel once said that his fellow white congressional committee members operated on "black time", which he characterized as meaning "fashionably late".

[8] In August 2020, several episodes of the reality television series Southern Charm, including one which featured Ravenel, were removed from streaming and VOD services over "racially charged moments within them".

In the episode featuring Ravenel, he leaves a $5 tip at a restaurant and tells his son, Thomas, that he "[likes] to get rid" of $5 bills because Abraham Lincoln is on the front; he then looks at the camera and smiles "wryly".