Civil rights attorney Fred Gray honored in Montgomery
The life and work of civil rights attorney Fred Gray is being honored in Montgomery.
He was honored at Montgomery’s Civil Rights Interpretive Center on the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
It was signed on August 6th, 1965.
Gray was the attorney for Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has dedicated his life for civil rights.
Not only was he presented with an award for his service, he gave the keynote address, speaking about the state of civil rights and voting rights today.
“I humbly accept this award on behalf of those clients who, doing the past almost 70 years, trusted me to have their legal cases. I particularly accept the tribute on behalf of those unknown clients, and one that has become a little more known in recent years, like Claudette Colvin.”
At age 15, Colvin was arrested on March 2, 1955, in Montgomery for violating bus segregation ordinances — nine months before Rosa Parks.
Gray also presented a tie he wore during the the civil rights era to the interpretive center, which is on the campus of Alabama State University.
“I accept this historic artifact, and it will be displayed as part of our permanent exhibits once we get them here in the center. The significance of this tie holds a direct connection to the many pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement that you made possible, Mr. Gray,” Barbara Tagger, the acting superintendent at the National Park Service, said.
Gray is 93 years old and still practices law in Tuskegee.
