Civil rights attorney Fred Gray receives the nation’s highest honor
Fred Gray, an attorney behind major legal cases of the civil rights era, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday, the nation’s highest civilian award.
“From the very beginning, I’ve known that there is no one more deserving of our nation’s highest civilian honor than Attorney Gray whose trailblazing work helped end segregation and advance a more equitable future,” said Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell.
Sewell has been advocating for Gray to receive the award.
Fred Gray was born in Montgomery and dedicated his life to seeking justice for Black people in the courtroom. He’s most known for representing Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, NAACP and victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis study.
At age 91, Gray is still practicing law.
Among the 16 other recipients of the medal was civil rights activist Diane Nash. Nash was born in Chicago and is most known for co-founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Through her leadership in SNCC, she helped lead the Freedom Rides, Selma Voting Rights Movement and lunch counter sit-ins.
King described her as “the driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters.”
“Unshakeable courage and leadership, Diane Nash, shapes some of the most important civil rights efforts in American history,” said President Biden during the ceremony.
It wasn’t until years after the civil rights era that Nash received recognition for her work.
Nash continues to be an advocate for nonviolent movements.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
