Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
D.C.
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Mass.
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
N.Carolina
N.Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
S.Carolina
S.Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
W.Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Law Firm Website Design Companies : The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Fred Gray Sr. Speaks of Progress, Challenges

  Law Firm News  -   POSTED: 2008/01/05 18:05

Civil rights pioneer attorney Fred Gray Sr. says black youth in the United States are at a crisis.

"The future of our next generation, while influenced by the past, must be defined by the actions of the present," Gray said. "... The time is now and the need is now. And we need to say young African-American children are at a crisis. And it's the truth and it's a fact."

Gray, 77, was speaking to a crowd of 300 Friday at the 33rd Annual NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. In a rousing 45-minute speech, the attorney recounted some of the landmark legal cases that were the backbone of successes won during the 1950s, '60s and '70s, but struck a cautionary tone that there are battles to be fought and victories to be won in the 21st century.

"I saw then a need to make a difference," Gray said, speaking of the days of the Montgomery bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man. Just 24 years old and fresh out of Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Gray represented Parks in her case and appeal with the aid of the NAACP Legal Defense team.

"The fight then was for civil rights for a people, a deserving people," he said. "Now the fight is for human rights, social justice and the salvation of a dying people and yet a great people."

Gray described the plight of poor blacks as a "cradle to prison superhighway" and read the statistics that show prison populations have a disproportionate number of blacks to the number in the population of the United States. He said it was up to the older community to show youth that being good citizens and following a path away from crime is good and proper.

"As we enter this new year, one of our missions should be developing young people into positive, prepared and productive citizens," he said.

Gray is senior partner at the law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray & Nathanson based in Tuskegee, Ala., and Montgomery, Ala. In a career that has spanned more than a half-century, Gray has been the leading legal figure in actions that integrated the buses in Montgomery; desegregated the schools of Alabama; and initiated the move for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

At Gray's urging, then-President Clinton made an official apology in 1997 to the men who were participants in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and was the moving force behind the establishment of the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center in Tuskegee, Ala.

Gray is currently president of the center, which will be reopening with new exhibits on black history in May. Named the first black president of the Alabama Bar Association, Gray has been honored nationwide and is the recipient of the American Bar Association's Spirit of Excellence Award and National Bar Association's C. Frances Stradford Award.

Legal News | Breaking News | Terms & Conditions | Privacy

ⓒ Breaking Legal News. All Rights Reserved.

The content contained on the web site has been prepared by BLN as a service to the internet community and is not intended to constitute legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case. Affordable law firm web design company
   More Legal News
   Legal Spotlight
   Exclusive Commentaries
   Attorney & Blog - Blog Watch
   Law Firm News  1  2  3  4  5  6 
   Lawyer & Law Firm Links
Car Accident Lawyers
Sunnyvale, CA Personal Injury Attorney
www.esrajunglaw.com
Family Law in East Greenwich, RI
Divorce Lawyer, Erica S. Janton
www.jantonfamilylaw.com
Oregon DUI Law Attorney
Eugene DUI Lawyer. Criminal Defense Law
www.mjmlawoffice.com
New York Surrogacy Lawyers
New York Adoption Lawyers
Adoption Pre-Certification
www.lawrsm.com
Chicago, Naperville IL Workers' Compensation Lawyers
Chicago Workplace Injury Attorneys
www.krol-law.com
Raleigh, NC Business Lawyer
www.rothlawgroup.com
Lorain Elyria Divorce Lawyer
www.loraindivorceattorney.com
Connecticut Special Education Lawyer
www.fortelawgroup.com
Employer Defense Attorney
Gardena Labor Law Defense Lawyers
www.aclawfirm.net
   More Legal News  1  2  3  4  5  6
   Legal News Links
  Click The Law
  Daily Bar News
  The Legal Report
  Legal News Post
  Crisis Legal News
  Legal News Journal
  Korean Web Agency
  Law Firm Directory