tHE LIFE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF dr. JEROME a. GRAY

BY Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson aka "Wilkie Clark's Daughter"

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Now 85 years young, Dr. Jerome A. Gray hails from Evergreen, Alabama, and is probably one of the LEAST known, LEAST recognized, LEAST celebrated, BLACK ALABAMA POLITICAL GIANTS of our time.   In addition to being a life-long proponent of Civil and Human Rights, I also consider him to be a personal friend; and I would dare say that   any black citizen of Alabama, who truly cherishes and appreciates the right to vote — and doesn't know who Jerome Gray is, literally ought to be ashamed of themselves.

I don't know if Jerome has attended any post-graduate University and earned a Doctoral Degree or not.  But, I really don't care, because even if he's not a PhD, I declare he ought to be — in light of everything he has done to advance Voting Rights in the State of Alabama. 

Through his work as the State Field Director for the Alabama Democratic Conference (ADC), Jerome devoted an entire lifetime to pursuing Civil Rights and Political Empowerment for black citizens in Alabama, and is unquestionably the most knowledgeable, and most politically astute black man alive today.

Aside from having authored many books; Jerome has written law reviews; help to craft numerous voting rights lawsuits; meticulously and carefully engineered and developed the strategic plan of action to bring to fruition, black citizens' desire to have equal representation across the board, in municipal, county, and state offices; and even as I attempt to write this summary of his life and contributions, he is yet working on other publications that will no doubt prove valuable for those who remain behind, to take up the mantle of Freedom, Justice and Equality.

The chronology that follows is but a mere seedling from a much larger tree of amazing and awesome achievements engineered and brought to fruition through the meticulous efforts of Dr. Gray.   It is comprised of only bits and pieces of information that I have collected about him — where without a doubt, his many achievements could fill libraries.

I have talked about him extensively at  this link:   But, I have chosen to dedicate this page to him and his contributions, because there is SO VERY LITTLE information available about him; and contemporary blacks who profess to be involved in Civil and Political advancement for blacks in Alabama, are woefully uninformed about the past history and heroic efforts that have already been put forth by so many in our state.   They think they need to RE-INVENT the wheel...when the wheel has already been invented and been turning for years. 
Important links related to Jerome Gray
What follows is an article written for our Inaugural Edition of  The People's Voice by Jerome A. Gray, who was at that time serving as the State Field Director of The Alabama Democratic Conference.  He could ALWAYS be counted on to further the interest of black communities.  In this article, he stressed the importance of Celebrating the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Picture2005-July 22-The Peoples Voice Weekly News. "A Time To Celebrate" by Jerome A Gray
1984-4-22 (The Anniston Star p1 Cont'd on p10A) "At Large Voting Under Fire Again"
1984-4-22-(The Anniston Star p10A Cont'd from p1) "At Large Voting Under Fire Again"
1984-4-22__the_anniston_star_p1_contd_on_p10a__at_large_voting_under_fire_again.pdf
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1984-4-22_[the_anniston_star]_contd_on_p103__at_large_voting_under_fire.pdf
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1992-4-04 (The Prattville Progress p1 cont'd on p3) ADC Threatens BOE with Lawsuit.
1992-4-04__the_prattville_progress_contd_on_p3__adc_threatens_boe_with_lawsuit..pdf
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 Jerome A. Gray.  Winning Fair Representation in At Large Elections: Cumulative Voting and Limited Voting in Alabama Local Elections,  (Copyright 1999, Southern Regional Council)
1999-jerome-gray-pamphlet__winning_fair_representatino_in_at_large_elections_.pdf
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2004-10-29 - jerome Gray Faxed me this copy of his original manuscript to be included in my biography of my father, Wilkie Clark.

2004-10-29_jerome_gray_manuscript.pdf
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2007-1-11  Tom Gordon.  The Birmingham News.  
"Voting rights powerhouse, Gray lays aside quiet work”
2007-1-11-the_birmingham_news_[voting_rights_powerhouse_gray_lays_aside_quiet_work].pdf
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2007-02-02-(The People's Voice p1) ALABAMA SPOTLIGHT: Jerome A. Gray Will God Down in Alabama History as "Voting Rights Powerhouse"
tpv2.02.07.pdf
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2013-3-8 (FairVote.org) The Voting Rights Act, Jerome Gray and Fair Voting In Alabama.  https://www.fairvote.org/the-voting-rights-act-jerome-gray-and-fair-voting-in-alabama.  (March 8, 2013).
2013-2-17 (The New York Times) Voting Rights Act Is Challenged as Cure the South Has Outgrown. The New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/us/politics/supreme-court-to-hear-alabama-countys-challenge-to-voting-rights-act.html  (2-17-2013)
Gray, Jerome A. History Of The Alabama State Teachers Association
https://www.amazon.com/History-Alabama-State-Teachers-Association/dp/B0006ENNHM
Product details

    ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0006ENNHM
    Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Education Association of the United States (January 1, 1987)
    Language ‏ : ‎ English
    Unknown Binding ‏ : ‎ 311 pages
    Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds

    Best Sellers Rank: #15,062,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
        #188,518 in U.S. State & Local History
2009-2-3 (readMedia.com) Obama Campaign Supporter Jerome Gray To Speak on Feb. 12 at College
2009-2-3__readmedia.com__obama_campaign_supporter_jerome_gray_to_speak_on_feb._12_at_college.png
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2013-2-20 12:36 pm   Glen Browder.  (The Huffington Post) "Unsung Hero Speaks To America About Voting Rights Act"
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jerome-gray_b_2725198
2013-3-8 (FairVot.org) "The Voting Rights Act, Jerome Gray and Fair Voting in Alabama"
https://www.fairvote.org/the-voting-rights-act-jerome-gray-and-fair-voting-in-alabama
2014-1-14 (The New York Times) Judge Reinstates Some Federal Oversight Of Voting Practices For An Alabama City
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/judge-reinstates-federal-oversight-of-voting-practices-for-alabama-city.html
2016-5-24   Jerome A. Gray and James U. Blacksher, the Civil Rights Attorney who filed the Dillard Cases, published
a paper entitled: "THE DILLARD CASES AND GRASSROOTS BLACK POLITICAL POWER" which is a 38 page article that provides great detail about the legal strategies, and approaches utilized to achieve these legal victories.    It can be found in THE CUMBERLAND LAW REVIEW.  
https://cumberlandlawreview.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/the-dillard-cases-and-grassroots-black-political-power.pdf
2017-6-20 (The Green County Democrat) Candidates for U. S. Senate and Alabama Governor address Alabama New South Coalition z
​https://greenecodemocrat.com/2017/06/20/candidates-for-u-s-senate-and-alabama-governor-address-alabama-new-south-coalition/