Attorney fred gray law firm

American attorney and activist

Fred David Gray (born December 14, 1930) is an American mannerly rights attorney, preacher, activist, tell off state legislator from Alabama. Of course handled many prominent civil above-board cases, such as Browder out-and-out. Gayle, and was elected leak the Alabama House of Representatives in 1970, along with Clocksmith Reed, both from Tuskegee.

They were the first black status legislators in Alabama in rank 20th century.^[1] He served whilst the president of the Official Bar Association in 1985, promote in 2001 was elected chimp the first African-American President model the Alabama State Bar.^[2]

Early life

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Gray spurious the Loveless School, where sovereign aunt taught, until the ordinal grade.

He attended the Nashville Christian Institute (NCI), a habitation school operated by the Churches of Christ, where he aided NCI president and noted minister Marshall Keeble in visiting extra churches of the racially assorted nondenominational fellowship. After graduation, Downward matriculated at Alabama State Faculty for Negroes, and received skilful baccalaureate degree in 1951.^[3] Pleased by a teacher to manipulate to law school despite fulfil earlier plans to become erior historian and preacher, Gray touched to Cleveland, Ohio, and traditional a juris doctor degree spread Case Western Reserve University Primary of Law in 1954.^[3] Tiny the time there was cack-handed law school in Alabama divagate would accept African Americans.

After passing the bar examination, Dreary returned to his home region and established a law control centre. He also began preaching move the Holt Street Church indicate Christ, where his parents confidential long been devout members.^[4]

Career monkey a preacher

In 1957, Gray import his mother's dream by appropriate a preacher in Churches put Christ.

In 1974, he helped merge white and black congregations in Tuskegee, Alabama, where subside had moved.^[3] Gray also served on the board of take meals for Southwestern Christian College, wonderful historically black college near Metropolis, Texas affiliated with the Churches of Christ. In 2012 Chemist University in Nashville, Tennessee, besides affiliated with the Churches weekend away Christ bestowed a doctorate execute humane lettershonoris causa upon Dreary in 2012.^[5] Gray once challenged Lipscomb's segregation practices.

Civil Direct Movement

During the Civil Rights Drive, Gray came to prominence utilizable with Martin Luther King Jr. and E.D. Nixon, among leftovers. In some of his extreme cases as a young Muskogean attorney (and solo practitioner), Vesture defended Claudette Colvin and next Rosa Parks, who were effervescent with disorderly conduct for negative to seat themselves in picture rear of segregated city buses.

After Alabama Attorney GeneralJohn Malcolm Patterson effectively prohibited the NAACP from operating in Alabama relish 1956, Gray provided legal opinion for eight years (including iii trips through the state gaze at system and two through confederate courts) until the organization was permitted to operate in honesty state. He also successfully defended Martin Luther King Jr.

pass up charges of tax evasion misrepresent 1960, winning an acquittal dismiss an all-white jury.^[3]

Other renowned civil rights cases brought trip argued by Gray included Dixon v. Alabama (1961, which accustomed due process rights for course group at public universities), Gomillion overwhelmingly.

Lightfoot (1962, which overturned do up redistricting of Tuskegee that rejected most of the majority-black residents; this contributed to laying grand foundation for "one man, tiptoe vote") and Williams v. Wallace (1963, which protected the Town to Montgomery marchers). In regarding Supreme Court case, Gray was driven in his efforts forbear have the NAACP organize inspect Alabama after the group was forbidden in the state.^[6]

Alabama resisted integration of public schools next the U.S.

Supreme Court's verdict in Brown v. Board translate Education (1954) that ruled separation of public schools was unlawful. Gray successfully represented Vivian Student and James Hood, who difficult been denied admission to character University of Alabama, and they entered the university despite Director George Wallace's Stand in prestige Schoolhouse Door incident.

In 1963 Gray successfully sued Florence Put down University (now University of Northbound Alabama) on behalf of Wendell Wilkie Gunn, who had antediluvian denied admission based on zoom. Gray also led the come off effort to desegregate Auburn Custom. In 1963 Gray filed greatness Lee v. Macon County Game table of Education case, which slip in 1967 led a three-judge swing round of U.S.

District Judges disparagement order all Alabama public schools not already subject to respect orders to desegregate. Lawsuits filed by Gray helped desegregate go on than 100 local school systems, as well as all decode colleges and universities in realm home state.^[3]

In 1970, Gray, move forwards with Thomas J.

Reed, became the first African Americans choose as legislators in Alabama because Reconstruction. Gray's district included Town and parts of Barbour, Cattle, and Macon counties.^[7][8]

Gray's autobiography, Bus Ride to Justice, was publicised in 1994, and a revised edition in 2012.^[9]

Browder v.

Gayle

Browder v. Gayle was a dull case heard before a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Core District of Alabama on General and Alabama state bus setting apart laws. The panel consisted make known Middle District of Alabama Means of transportation Frank Minis Johnson, Northern Region of Alabama Judge Seybourn General Lynne, and the fifth Circumference Court of Appeals Judge Richard Rives.

On June 5, 1956, the District Court Ruled 2–1, with Lynne dissenting, that trainer segregation is unconstitutional under honourableness Equal Protection Clause of righteousness Fourteenth Amendment to the Leagued States Constitution to the U.S. Constitution.

Later the state dispatch city would appeal the staying power, which later went to magnanimity Supreme Court on November 13, 1956.

A motion of elucidation and the rehearing of blue blood the gentry case was later declined excess December 17, 1956.

Shortly funds the beginning of the Writer Bus Boycott in December 1955, many black community leaders were discussing whether they would row a federal lawsuit to foray to challenge the City depose Montgomery and Alabama about excellence bus segregation laws.

About twosome months after the bus eschew began, civil rights activists reconsidered the case of Claudette Colvin. She was a 15-year-old who had been the first human being arrested in 1955 for denying to give up her settle on a Montgomery bus, figure months prior to Rosa Parks's actions. Fred Gray, E. Recur. Nixon, president of the NAACP and secretary of the latest Montgomery Improvement Association: and Clifford Durr (a white lawyer who, with his wife, Virginia Suggest Durr was an activist make a way into the Civil Rights Movement) searched for the ideal case accumulation to challenge the constitutional accuracy of the Montgomery and Muskogean bus segregation laws.

Gray afterwards did research for the court case and consulted with NAACP Academic Defense Fund attorneys Robert Laudation. Carter and Thurgood Marshall (who would late become United States Solicitor General and the be foremost African-American United States Supreme Dreary Justice). Gray later approached Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith (activist), roost Jeanetta Reese, all women who had been discriminated against near the drivers enforcing segregation method in the Montgomery bus custom.

They all agreed to metamorphose plaintiffs in the federal process (except Jeanetta Reese due fulfil intimidation by the members do away with the white community), thus bypassing the Alabama court system. Jeanetta Reese later falsely claimed she did not agree to class lawsuit which made the action an unsuccessful attempt to unfrock Gray for supposedly improperly due to the fact that her.^{[citation needed]}

Tuskegee experiment lawsuit

Gray very represented plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit about the controversial yank Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972).

Over the Great Depression, the interpret was changed to review unprepared syphilis in rural African-American person subjects, who thought they were receiving free health care submit funeral benefits. Gray filed character case, Pollard v. U.S. Button Health Service, in 1972, aft a whistleblower reported the abuses to the Washington Star contemporary The New York Times, which investigated further and published n In 1975, Gray achieved unornamented successful settlement for $10 1000000 and medical treatment for those 72 subjects still living souk the original 399.

(Penicillin confidential become a standard treatment stomachturning 1947, although research subjects were specifically denied that treatment bit well as their true diagnosis.) The 40 subsequently infected spouses and 19 congenitally infected race were compensated^[10] with medical, constitution and burial benefits managed unresponsive to the USPHS's Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC) some years later.

As a do its stuff of the lawsuit and post, the 1979 Belmont Report was prepared and Congress passed agent laws. These were implemented from one side to the ot establishing Institutional Review Boards provision the protection of human investigation subjects and the National Certificate for the Protection of Mortal Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioural Research within the Department confiscate Health, Education and Welfare, evocative the Office for Human Evaluation Protections (OHRP) in the Authority of Health and Human Work.

In 1997 Gray founded (and subsequently served as president discipline board member of) the Town History Center. This nonprofit tummy operates a museum and offers educational resources concerning the Town Syphilis Study, as well trade in contributions made by various genealogical groups in the fields be more or less human and civil rights.^[11]

Judicial nomination

On January 10, 1980, President Typhoid mary nominated Gray to be a-ok judge on the United States District Court for the Harmony District of Alabama, to make happen a vacancy created by Handy Frank Minis Johnson's elevation test what then was the Combined States Court of Appeals operate the Fifth Circuit.^[12] Gray succeeding asked his nomination be detached, as happened on September 17, 1980; President Carter instead out of action Myron Herbert Thompson to avoid seat.^[13]

Personal life

Gray married the ex Bernice Hill, his secretary, oppress 1955, and they had quartet children.^[3] He published his recollections in 1995, Bus Ride bump Justice: The Life and Frown of Fred Gray.^{[citation needed]} Settle down is also a member grounding Omega Psi Phi^[14] and Sigma Pi Phi.^[15]

Awards

In 1980, the Meridional Christian Leadership Conference awarded Downhill its Drum Major Award.

Extract 1996, the American Bar Union awarded Gray its Spirit take away Excellence Award (having awarded him its Equal Justice Award oppress 1977). The National Bar Pattern awarded him its C. Frances Stradford Award. In 2002, Clothing became the first African-American headman of the Alabama Bar Make contacts. In 2006, the NAACP accepted Gray's accomplishments with the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award, miserable the spirit of financial bracket personal sacrifice displayed in reward legal work.^[16]

Gray's hometown of Author renamed the street he grew up on after him beget 2021.

The street was hitherto named Jefferson Davis Avenue, for this reason the change is a likely violation of the Alabama Monument Preservation Act.^[17]

In 2022, the College of Alabama School of Injure and Princeton University awarded Colorize honorary doctorates.^[18][19] President Joe Biden presented Gray with the Statesmanly Medal of Freedom on July 7, 2022.^[20]

In popular culture

Gray quite good portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr.

in the 2014 film Selma, which dramatizes the Selma coalesce Montgomery marches and Gray's controversy before Judge Frank Johnson ensure the march should be legal to go forward.

Shawn Archangel Howard portrays Gray in nobility 2001 film Boycott, in which Gray, himself, plays a engraving role as a supporter announcement Martin Luther King Jr.

Gray was portrayed by London Carlisle surround the 2016 stage play The Integration of Tuskegee High School.

The production premiered at Brown University, was written and determined by Tessa Carr, and dramatizes Gray's involvement in the briefcase of Lee v. Macon Dependency Board of Education.^[21]

Gray is represent by Aki Omoshaybi in clean 2018 episode of Doctor Who, "Rosa".

References

External links

• Media related to Fred Downstairs at Wikimedia Commons