CLEVELAND — Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called him the "chief counsel for the protest movement."
Fred D. Gray, an alumnus of the Case Western Reserve School of Law 1954 Class, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest honors bestowed on United States civilians who have "made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
“This award means a great deal to me, an African American civil rights lawyer who was born in the ghettos of Montgomery, Alabama,” Gray said in a statement. “It speaks volumes to civil rights workers who have devoted their talents and resources toward improving the quality of life of Americans in this country, and it speaks directly to African Americans in general.”
Case Western Reserve School of Law co-dean Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf nominated Gray for the prestigious award in March. He will receive the award from President Joe Biden at a White House ceremony on July 7.
“We cannot think of an individual more fitting to receive the country’s highest civilian honor,” Berg wrote to President Biden. “We respectfully submit that his life’s work demonstrates that he is a leading defender of human rights and freedom.
Gray was instrumental in the civil rights movement, representing King, Rosa Parks and John Lewis. He successfully litigated four civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. As a litigator, he defended countless sit-in demonstrators, freedom riders, and victims of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
At 91, Gray is still practicing law in his home state of Alabama.
Other recipients of the award according to the release will be Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in history; Megan Rapinoe, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion; Denzel Washington, an actor, director and producer; and posthumous awards to Steve Jobs, co-founder, chief executive and chair of Apple; and John McCain, a lifelong public servant, awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, who also served the nation as a member of the House of Representative and the U.S. Senate.
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