Alabama State University historian talks about legacy of Fred Gray

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Montgomery native and civil rights legal professional Fred Grey will obtain the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Nominated by Congresswoman Terri Sewell, this medal is among the many highest civilian awards within the nation.

At 91 years previous, Grey is the mind behind a number of courtroom instances that formed the trendy civil rights motion. He’s nonetheless training legislation, nevertheless it’s his lifetime of dedication to human rights that makes him deserving of this medal.

Grey credit his work as a civil rights legal professional to his alma mater Alabama State College.

“Generally we do have somebody who’s native, and also you don’t actually perceive the national-international affect that lives have had,” stated Howard Robinson, a college archivist.

And that somebody is Grey.

“He was in his mid-20s arguing instances at , on the highest stage within the federal courtroom system,” stated Robinson.

After graduating from legislation college, Grey returned to Alabama to start out his historic profession because the authorized thoughts behind a number of pivotal civil rights instances.

“Circumstances that led to the desegregation of, of all colleges within the state of Alabama. And he made he argued instances coping with Tuskegee syphilis, examine, argued instances coping with simply only a entire myriad of actually vital social points,” stated Robinson.

Robinson says Grey is amongst heroes resembling Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis. At 91, Grey is the one nonetheless alive and Robinson tells me it’s a mirrored image of how not way back their activism befell.

“The individuals who push this nation in the direction of that realization, , walked previous his stroll amongst us, and within the occasion of Fred Grey, nonetheless stroll amongst us,” stated Robinson.

Grey and the state can nonetheless see the fruits of his labor.

“You stroll by means of this neighborhood and go to the general public library, or take your little one to highschool, or attend college your self, or once you go to your job to be a civil service job, or a job in a personal sector,” stated Robinson.

Robinson says when folks do these issues and even take a look at a paved avenue in a Black neighborhood, they need to consider civil rights leaders like Grey

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