Fred Gray (attorney) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fred Gray
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Gray speaking at Emporia State University on September 15, 2016
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| Member of the Alabama House of Representatives | |
| In office 1971–2015 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Fred David Gray
December 14, 1930 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Bernice Hill
(m. 1955) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Alabama State College (BA) Case Western Reserve University (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Awards | .svg){kind=small} Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022) |
Fred David Gray (born December 14, 1930) is an American lawyer, preacher, and activist. He played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement. He worked on many important civil rights cases. He also served as a state legislator in Alabama.
In 1970, he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. He and Thomas Reed were the first black state legislators in Alabama in the 20th century. Gray also led the National Bar Association in 1985. In 2001, he became the first African-American President of the Alabama State Bar.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Fred Gray was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He went to the Loveless School for his early education. Later, he attended the Nashville Christian Institute, a boarding school. There, he helped a famous preacher named Marshall Keeble.
After high school, Gray went to Alabama State College for Negroes. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1951. A teacher encouraged him to study law. At that time, no law school in Alabama accepted African Americans. So, Gray moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1954.
After passing his law exam, Gray returned to Montgomery. He opened his own law office. He also began preaching at the Holt Street Church of Christ.
Career as a Preacher
In 1957, Fred Gray became a preacher in the Churches of Christ. This was a dream of his mother's. In 1974, he helped bring together white and black church groups in Tuskegee, Alabama. He had moved there earlier.
Gray also served on the board of Southwestern Christian College. This is a college for black students near Dallas, Texas. In 2012, Lipscomb University gave Gray an honorary doctorate degree. Gray had once challenged this university's old rules about segregation.
Fighting for Civil Rights
During the Civil Rights Movement, Fred Gray became well-known. He worked with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and E.D. Nixon. As a young lawyer, Gray defended Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks. Both were arrested for refusing to give up their seats on segregated buses.
In 1956, the NAACP was stopped from operating in Alabama. Gray worked for eight years to get the organization allowed back. He also successfully defended Martin Luther King Jr. in a tax case in 1960. He won, even with an all-white jury.
Gray handled many other important civil rights cases:
- Dixon v. Alabama (1961): This case helped ensure fair treatment for students at public universities.
- Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1962): This case stopped a plan that tried to exclude black residents from voting in Tuskegee. It helped set the stage for "one person, one vote."
- Williams v. Wallace (1963): This case protected the marchers in the Selma to Montgomery marches.
After the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Alabama resisted integrating public schools. Gray successfully represented Vivian Malone and James Hood. They were denied entry to the University of Alabama. They were able to enter despite Governor George Wallace's famous Stand in the Schoolhouse Door protest.
In 1963, Gray also helped Wendell Wilkie Gunn get into Florence State University. He also led the effort to desegregate Auburn University. In 1963, Gray filed the Lee v. Macon County Board of Education case. This case led to a court order in 1967 for all Alabama public schools to desegregate. Gray's lawsuits helped desegregate over 100 school systems and all public colleges in Alabama.
In 1970, Gray and Thomas J. Reed became the first African Americans elected as legislators in Alabama since the Reconstruction period. Gray's district included Tuskegee and parts of other counties.
Gray wrote his autobiography, Bus Ride to Justice, which was published in 1994.
Browder v. Gayle Case
The Browder v. Gayle case was a very important court case. It challenged the laws that separated people on buses in Montgomery and Alabama. A special court ruled on June 5, 1956, that bus segregation was against the U.S. Constitution. This was a big win for civil rights.
The state and city tried to appeal this decision. But the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling on November 13, 1956. This meant bus segregation was officially illegal.
This case started after the Montgomery Bus Boycott began in December 1955. Civil rights leaders wanted to file a federal lawsuit. They wanted to challenge the segregation laws.
About two months after the boycott started, activists looked at the case of Claudette Colvin. She was a 15-year-old who had been arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus. This happened nine months before Rosa Parks's famous act. Fred Gray, E. D. Nixon, and Clifford Durr searched for the best way to challenge the bus segregation laws.
Gray did a lot of research for the lawsuit. He worked with lawyers like Robert L. Carter and Thurgood Marshall. Marshall later became the first African-American United States Supreme Court Justice. Gray then asked Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith (activist) to join the lawsuit. They had all faced unfair treatment on the buses. They agreed to be plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit. This helped bypass the state court system.
Tuskegee Experiment Lawsuit
Fred Gray filed a lawsuit called Pollard v. U.S. Public Health Service in 1972. This happened after someone reported serious issues to newspapers. The lawsuit was about a study where men were not given proper medical care.
In 1975, Gray reached a successful agreement. The settlement provided $10 million and medical treatment for the people still living from the study. It also helped their spouses and children who were affected.
Because of this lawsuit, new federal laws were created. These laws set up rules to protect people who participate in research studies. This ensures that everyone is treated fairly and safely in medical research.
In 1997, Gray founded the Tuskegee History Center. He served as its president and a board member.
Judicial Nomination
On January 10, 1980, President Carter wanted to make Fred Gray a judge. He nominated Gray for a position on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. However, Gray later asked for his nomination to be withdrawn.
Personal Life
Fred Gray married Bernice Hill, who was his secretary, in 1955. They had four children together. He published his autobiography, Bus Ride to Justice: The Life and Works of Fred Gray, in 1995. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.
Awards and Recognition
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Fred Gray has received many awards for his work.
- In 1980, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference gave him its Drum Major Award.
- In 1996, the American Bar Association gave him its Spirit of Excellence Award.
- The National Bar Association gave him the C. Frances Stradford Award.
- In 2002, Gray became the first African-American president of the Alabama Bar Association.
- In 2006, the NAACP honored Gray with the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award.
In 2021, his hometown of Montgomery renamed the street he grew up on after him. The street was previously named Jefferson Davis Avenue.
In 2022, the University of Alabama School of Law and Princeton University gave Gray honorary doctorates. On July 7, 2022, President Joe Biden presented Gray with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest civilian awards in the United States.
