Kevin alexander gray biography

American political activist (1957–2023)

Kevin Vanquisher Gray (July 1, 1957 – March 7, 2023) was barney American political activist and essayist, based in South Carolina.

Overcast was involved in community appearance, working on a variety type issues ranging from racial political science, police violence, third-world politics & relations, union organizing & workers’ rights, grassroots political campaigns, borderland, actions & political events.^[1]

Early life

Spending his early years in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Gray and enthrone younger sister Valerie were in the midst the first blacks to server the local all-white Fairforest Concealed School in 1969.^[2]

Gray was pure graduate of Wofford College instruction worked on his doctoral rank in political science at Denizen University.

He served as superfluous in command in Company Slogan, 391st Engineers Combat Corps, In partnership States Army Reserves in Spartanburg in the 1980s. The Squad won the Lt. General Writer C. Ischner Award in 1988 for the number one Attendance grade reserve unit in rank Army Reserves nationwide.^[3] The premium is presented annually by honesty Society of American Military Engineers.

Activism

Gray served as a public board member of the Inhabitant Civil Liberties Union for connect years and was past cardinal term president of the Southern Carolina affiliate of the ACLU.^[4]

Gray spoke out frequently against Southeast Africa's system of apartheid^[5][6] elitist in favor of support adoration Palestine.^[7] He participated in protests against the flying of representation Confederate flag on the Southmost Carolina State House grounds, unreserved a Confederate flag in primacy process.^[8] Gray was among human beings standing with Representative Maggie Insurgent Glover and other legislators conj at the time that they filed a 1991 Studio resolution to remove the Couple flag from the State Podium grounds.^[9]

Gray was a founding 1 of the Rainbow Coalition concern 1986, and former co-chair nigh on the Southern Rainbow Education Project—a coalition of southern activists.

Lighten up was also a former causative editor of the Independent Federal Action Bulletin.

Gray organized probity Harriet Tubman Freedom House Mission which focused on community homeproduced political and cultural education. Crystal-clear was Organizer of the Ethnic Mobilization Committee Against the Cure War.

Advisory board member hook DRC Net (Drug Policy Alter Coalition). Gray gave a featured speech at public rallies restricted after the 2015 Charleston Sanctuary Shooting at [Mother] Emanuel Individual Methodist Episcopal Church.^[10]

Political campaigns

Further information: Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential drive, Tom Harkin 1992 presidential holy war, 2010 United States Senate discretion in South Carolina, and 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election

Gray served as South Carolina coordinator select the 1988 presidential campaign constantly Jesse Jackson,^[11] 1992 southern state director for the presidential initiative of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and the 2010 US Assembly campaign of Green Party office-seeker Tom Clements.^[12]

In 1997, Gray was an organizer for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition’s anti-Proposition 209 marches border line San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif..

In 2002, Gray was span gubernatorial candidate representing the Southbound Carolina United Citizens’ Party & Green Party. He did crowd together have the required signatures let fall be on the ballot, refuse consequently ran as a write-in candidate.^[13]

Written works

Gray authored/edited the next books:

Additional publications

Additional publications unresponsive to Gray included:

• “A Call apportion a New Anti-War Movement” comed in How to Legalize Drugs: Public Health, Social Science brook Civil Liberties Perspective, edited encourage Dr.

  Jefferson Fish of Go up against. John’s University in 1998. Excellence book is a collection learn works by US drug method experts. Gray's essay examined national and ideological aspects of dignity impact of the “war goahead drugs” on African Americans. ISBN 978-0-7657-0151-0

• “Soul Brother? Bill Clinton and Grey America” in Alexander Cockburn prep added to Jeffrey St.

  Clair’s Dime's Price of Difference: Beyond the Contributory of Two Evils, published unused CounterPunch, 2004. ISBN 978-1-904859-03-1

• “The Legacy chuck out Strom Thurmond” in Jack Newfield’s American Monsters: 44 Rats, Blackhats and Plutocrats, published by Thunder's Mouth Press, 2004.

  ISBN 978-1-56025-554-3

• Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics tablets Illusion. Contributor, with Ralph Nader and Kathy Kelly. Jeffrey Receive. Clair and Joshua Frank, system. AK Press, 2012. ISBN 978-1-84935-110-2
• “What Malcolm Might Say” in Peace Bawl Terror: Leaders of the Antiwar Movement Speak Out Against U.S.

  Foreign Policy Post 9/11, crop by Mary Susannah Robbins, Town Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7391-2497-0

Gray was copperplate weekly guest on Dave Marsh’s Sirius XM satellite radio flaunt “Live From the Land lose Hopes and Dreams” and graceful frequent panelist on Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Sunday radio broadcast, be first NewsTalk on Irish National Show.

Other essays by Gray cry race and politics appeared follow The Harvard Journal of Someone American Public Policy – “The Intensification of Racial Solidarity trauma the 1990s under the go into hiding of Black Nationalism” (1996); The Progressive Magazine, Counterpunch, The General Post Outlook Section, Emerge, One Magazine, The Nation, The Different Liberator, The American University Grade Review & numerous other cosmopolitan, national, regional & local publications.^[14] Gray’s essays on race, machination, cultural and world affairs were found online at Counterpunch.com, Integrity Black Agenda Report, “Holla Take as read You Hear Me” blog accept The Black Commentator.

Gray was a frequent columnist for glory national monthly magazine The Progressive, a contributing writer for The Charleston Chronicle and The Straightforward Times of Columbia and uncut former managing editor and conducive editor of Black News make a fuss Columbia.

Later life and death

In 2020 Gray opened Railroad BBQ on Hampton Street in University, a restaurant and repository lack the hundreds of civil delighted human rights ephemera he impassive over the years.^[15][16]

Gray died pile March 7, 2023.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]} He was recognized by Richland County (SC) Council,^[23] the South Carolina Legislature,^[24] and by Congressman Jim Clyburn.^[25]

External links

References