Lubbock Christian University (LCU) hosted American civil rights icon Attorney Fred Gray in the Baker Conference Center, honoring his life and raising funds to benefit student scholarships for LCU’s Black Student Union (BSU) organization.
Fred Gray may not be as well-known as other giants of the civil rights movement—names like John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr.—but his legacy is no less vital. Considered one of the most important civil rights lawyers in the United States history, King once called Gray the “chief counsel” of the protest movement. Gray is often best known for representing Rosa Parks after she refused to give up her seat on the bus.
The room was packed for the lunch honoring Gray for his significant contributions in desegregating schools and securing voting rights. LCU President Dr. Scott McDowell and non-traditional LCU student Milton Lee, who also serves as President of the Lubbock chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), moderated a Q&A session with Attorney Gray. Gray shared much of his life’s story, including his upbringing in Montgomery, Alabama, his journey from a pastor to answering his calling of justice through the legal profession, and his prodigious career as the chief counsel for the Civil Rights movement.
Ruth Blayee, president of the LCU Black Student Union, provided a welcome to all of the luncheon guests on behalf of the LCU Student Body, and London Willis, VP of the LCU Black Student Union presented a gift to the Tuskegee History Center for $1,000 in honor of Attorney Fred Gray.
The program was presented by Mark Lanier and sponsored by Mullin, Hoard, & Brown; Underwood, Attorneys at Law; Vander-Plas LaFreniere; and Rhonda Rhodes, Attorney at Law, Denver, CO.