Civil rights attorney Fred Gray receives the nation’s highest honor

| July 8, 2022 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2022/07/Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-scaled.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:7:{s:5:"width";i:2560;s:6:"height";i:1706;s:4:"file";s:40:"2022/07/Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-scaled.jpg";s:8:"filesize";i:356085;s:5:"sizes";a:13:{s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-336x224.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:224;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:22545;}s:5:"large";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-771x514.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:514;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:54143;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:14804;}s:12:"medium_large";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-768x512.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:512;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:53491;}s:9:"1536x1536";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-1536x1024.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:1024;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:142267;}s:9:"2048x2048";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:35:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-2048x1365.jpg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:1365;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:230700;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:11985;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-800x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:51150;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:54099;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-467x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:467;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:30719;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-398x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:398;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:26363;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:14015;}s:13:"crp_thumbnail";a:5:{s:4:"file";s:33:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom-150x150.jpg";s:5:"width";i:150;s:6:"height";i:150;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";s:8:"filesize";i:15302;}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"4";s:6:"credit";s:12:"Getty Images";s:6:"camera";s:12:"Canon EOS R3";s:7:"caption";s:589:"WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 7: U.S. President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Fred Gray, one of the first Black members of the Alabama state legislate since Reconstruction, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House July 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 17 recipients. The award honors individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:10:"1657206011";s:9:"copyright";s:17:"2022 Getty Images";s:12:"focal_length";s:3:"280";s:3:"iso";s:4:"4000";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:5:"0.004";s:5:"title";s:73:"President Biden Awards The Presidential Medal Of Freedom To 17 Recipients";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"1";s:8:"keywords";a:2:{i:0;s:10:"washington";i:1;s:11:"white house";}}s:14:"original_image";s:25:"Gray_Medal_of_Freedom.jpg";}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:14:{s:4:"full";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:356085;s:14:"optimized_size";i:87543;s:7:"percent";d:75.42;}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:120:"The size medium is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:5:"large";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:119:"The size large is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:14804;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3426;s:7:"percent";d:76.86;}s:12:"medium_large";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:126:"The size medium_large is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:123:"The size 1536x1536 is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:123:"The size 2048x2048 is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:11985;s:14:"optimized_size";i:1752;s:7:"percent";d:85.38;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:51150;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21550;s:7:"percent";d:57.87;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:54099;s:14:"optimized_size";i:23012;s:7:"percent";d:57.46;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:132:"The size wbhm-featured-home is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:136:"The size wbhm-featured-carousel is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:13:"original_size";i:14015;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3158;s:7:"percent";d:77.47;}s:13:"crp_thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:127:"The size crp_thumbnail is not authorized to be optimized. Update your Imagify settings if you want to optimize it.";}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:502138;s:14:"optimized_size";i:140441;s:7:"percent";d:72.03;}}
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1657316625:26
        )

    [_wp_attachment_image_alt] => Array
        (
            [0] => President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to civil rights attorney Fred Gray
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Alex Wong
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => Getty Images
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_edit_last] => Array
        (
            [0] => 26
        )

)
1667608992 
1657298947

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.

 

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.

‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat

Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.

Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers

While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home? 

Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting

The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.

Breaking down Alabama’s CHOOSE Act

It’s been a year since Alabama legislators passed the CHOOSE Act allowing families to apply for state funds to use towards homeschool expenses and tuition for participating private schools. The Alabama Daily News’ education reporter Trisha Powell Crain has been diving into how the funds are being used. WBHM’s Andrew Gelderman sat down with her to talk about what we’re seeing so far.

More Front Page Coverage