MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Faulkner University will honor Dr. Fred David Gray during its annual Faulkner Bible Lectureship on Tuesday, Oct. 20, recognizing his decades of service as a Church of Christ preacher and elder and his commitment to racial unity within the church.
The recognition will take place at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall of University Church of Christ.
A nationally recognized civil rights attorney, Gray has devoted much of his life to both the practice of law and the preaching of the Gospel. He currently serves as an elder at Tuskegee Church of Christ.
Gray began preaching at Holt Street Church of Christ in Montgomery, where his parents were members. In 1957, he became a Gospel preacher, beginning a ministry that would continue alongside his legal career.
In 1974, Gray helped bring together the Black and white congregations of the Church of Christ in Tuskegee, Alabama. His efforts toward integration and reconciliation reflect his longstanding commitment to bringing people together through faith and fellowship.
Gray’s connection to the Churches of Christ began during his youth. He attended Nashville Christian Institute and assisted the school’s president in visiting white congregations. He later served on the board of trustees for Southwestern Christian College, a historically Black institution near Dallas, Texas.
In 2012, Lipscomb University awarded Gray an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
While Gray is widely known for representing civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, his work as a preacher has remained central to his life and service.
Gray was born in Montgomery and earned a bachelor’s degree from Alabama State College for Negroes in 1951 before receiving his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1954. He returned to Montgomery, established a law office and began preaching at Holt Street Church of Christ.
His legal career includes landmark civil rights cases such as Browder v. Gayle, which led to the desegregation of Montgomery’s bus system, and NAACP v. Alabama, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gray received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022 for his contributions to the civil rights movement. He has also served as a legislator, author and lecturer.
Gray continues to serve Faulkner University as a trustee emeritus and is regularly honored through the university’s Fred Gray Civil Rights Symposium.
The Bible Lectureship recognition will celebrate Gray’s enduring dedication to preaching the Gospel and church leadership within the Churches of Christ.
For more information on the Faulkner Bible Lectureship, visit -
https://www.faulkner.edu/faulkner-bible-lectureship/
