Homegrown heroes

Montgomery embraces changes to honor Fred Gray, Claudette Colvin

Brad Harper

Montgomery Advertiser/USA TODAY NETWORK

Montgomery leaders honored two homegrown civil rights heroes Tuesday by defying a state law to name a street for attorney Fred Gray and then backing a push to expunge the court record of one of his former clients, Claudette Colvin.

Gray grew up on the former Jefferson Davis Avenue and went on to represent Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and others in cases that helped topple segregation and reshape the nation. On Tuesday, he rode down what he called “memory lane” and talked about the people in the community who allowed him to represent them over the years.

Standing at a street corner in his old neighborhood, Gray pulled a cord to reveal the new name for the road: Fred D. Gray Avenue. The change appears to violate a state law enacted in 2017 amid a push to protect Confederate monuments, but city leaders gave their unanimous support for Fred D. Gray Avenue after a year-long process that included changing the laws that detail how streets are renamed.

Two hours later and a few blocks away, the 90-year-old Gray stood beside Colvin as she continued her own fight.

Colvin was arrested at age 15 and sentenced to indefinite probation after refusing to surrender her seat on a segregated Montgomery city bus nine months before Rosa Parks became known for doing the same. Now 82, Colvin filed a petition in juvenile court to expunge that record.

“I guess you can say that now I’m no longer a juvenile delinquent,” Colvin laughed.

Mayor Steven Reed and Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey both said they support the expungement, and state Rep. Merika Coleman said she’ll file a resolution during the upcoming special session urging the expungement and “tell her we’re sorry for putting her family through what they’ve gone through.”

At the filing, Gray urged local leaders to look at other Civil Rights-era convictions, including those of former clients Parks and King.

Gray was an attorney for several of the Civil Rights era’s most prominent figures. He still practices law with his Tuskegee-based firm, with an office in Montgomery. Reed said Gray’s connection with the community where he grew up led the 90-year-old attorney to suggest the street renaming as an appropriate way to honor his legacy.

“He didn’t ask for the municipal courthouse to be named in his honor,” Reed said. “He didn’t ask for the law library to be named in his honor. He asked for this street because of what it means.”

Gray said the renaming ceremony comes “during the sun setting during my career,” a career that has spanned six decades. But he issued a call to action for those following in his wake.

“The struggle for equal justice has not ended,” he said. “We are still living in a society that has two basic problems: racism and inequality. They are still there. We still have a responsibility… Don’t wait on somebody to tell you what to do. Make up your mind. See what these problems are, and get out to solve the problem.”