Much of this violence passed unnoticed by most Mississippians, but not so with the Grays. Gray was president of the Lauderdale County Head Start board and Ruthie Gray taught music in one of the Head Start centers that was bombed. Daughter Anne says, “Probably one of the most vivid memories I have of that time […]
Biography Excerpts – Chapter 11
He [Gray] concluded, “In short, as regrettable as the cause may be, the fact remains that the violent reaction precipitated by the COFO program [Congress of Federated Programs] among one element of white Mississippians has in turn produced the first signs of a creative and constructive approach on the part of many responsible whites to […]
Biography Excerpts – Chapter 10
More poignantly, Gray received letters from two Mississippians who thanked him for his willingness to speak out, but confessed their own lack of courage to do so. A businessman in Natchez wrote simply, “I wanted to speak out, but I was afraid.” A man in Starkville wrote, “I still cannot speak as I should. I […]