Attorney Fred D. Gray to Present Lunchtime Lecture at the ADAH on February 16 at 12:00 CT

02/10/23


Press Release - For Immediate Release


Media Contact: Georgia Ann Hudson


(334) 353-3312 or georgiaann.hudson@archives.alabama.gov



FOOD FOR THOUGHT LUNCHTIME LECTURE AT THE ARCHIVES ON 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16 AT 12:00 PM
ALABAMA V. KING: THE TRIAL THAT LAUNCHED THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
 PRESENTED BY FRED D. GRAY

Montgomery, AL (02/10/2023) – The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) will continue its 2023 Food For Thought lunchtime lecture series on Thursday, February 16, at 12:00 PM. Attorney Fred D. Gray will present Alabama v. King: The Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement. The program will be held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery. It will also be livestreamed through the ADAH’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Admission is FREE.

In 1956, Fred D. Gray was just twenty-four years old when he became the defense lawyer for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a young minister who had become the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In this presentation, Mr. Gray will take the audience behind the scenes of the landmark legal case Alabama v. King, providing a firsthand account of this pivotal moment in the long fight for equal rights. 

Born in Montgomery, Gray graduated from Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) and enrolled at Western Reserve University Law School in Ohio. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he represented Rosa Parks and served as legal advisor for the Montgomery Improvement Association and its president, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout his storied career, Gray has challenged inequality in dozens of cases, laying the legal groundwork for the nation’s most significant equal rights legislation. He continues to practice law today at the age of ninety-two.

On July 7, 2022, Pres. Joe Biden awarded Gray the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. The medal is currently on display at the ADAH through February 2023. Gray has been a Trustee of the ADAH since 2003. 

Gray is the co-author of the 2022 publication Alabama v. King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Criminal Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement. Copies are available for purchase in the ADAH’s Museum Store.

For additional information, call (334) 353-4689. A complete schedule of our 2023 lunchtime lecture series is available at archives.alabama.gov. Food for Thought 2023 is sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Alliance and the Friends of the Alabama Archives. 

The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364. 

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Alabama Department of Archives & History 
624 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36130
www.archives.alabama.gov


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