SJR37ENROLLED Page 0 SJR37 HGG2Z33-2 By Senators Beasley, Albritton, Allen, Barfoot, Bell, Butler, Carnley, Chambliss, Chesteen, Coleman, Coleman-Madison, Elliott, Figures, Givhan, Gudger, Hatcher, Hovey, Jones, Kelley, Kitchens, Livingston, Melson, Orr, Price, Roberts, Sessions, Shelnutt, Singleton, Smitherman, Stewart, Stutts, Waggoner, Weaver, Williams RFD: Rules First Read: 06-Mar-25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SJR37 Enrolled Page 1 First Read: 06-Mar-25 Enrolled, An Act, SJR___ COMMENDING PIONEER CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, FRED D. GRAY, FOR PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WHEREAS, with great pride and special pleasure, highest commendations are conveyed to former Alabama State Representative Fred D. Gray for his many professional achievements and his work in the Civil Rights Movement; and WHEREAS, Fred D. Gray is the Senior Partner of the firm, Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray, Gray, & Nathanson, P.C.; at 94 years of age, Mr. Gray continues to practice law and specializes in civil rights litigation, a career mission of 70 years; and WHEREAS, since 1956, Attorney Gray has worked with the NAACP and Legal Defense Fund, Incorporated, and has been involved in virtually every major legal battle during and since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s; during his career, he has represented both Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, which successfully resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that bus segregation is unconstitutional and an order to the City of Montgomery and the State of Alabama to desegregate; and WHEREAS, Attorney Gray has represented many civil rights icons, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis, and the Freedom Riders and Selma to Montgomery Marchers; he has represented organizations just a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 SJR37 Enrolled Page 2 Montgomery Marchers; he has represented organizations just a few of which include the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Congress of Racial Equality; and he also represented the victims of the horrific Tuskegee Syphilis Study; and WHEREAS, Attorney Gray has earned many awards and honorary degrees, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award a civilian can receive, bestowed upon him by President Joseph Biden; he also received the American Bar Association's Medal, the highest award given by that organization, and the Legal Defense Fund's Thurgood Marshall Award; and he has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution with the permanent installation of his portrait in the National Portrait Gallery; and WHEREAS, Fred Gray and his work is deserving of this recognition; his legacy is looking toward the future to continue to fight racism as the struggle for equal justice continues; the Fred D. Gray Institute for Human and Civil Rights is hosting its Inaugural National Symposium March 14-15 in Montgomery, Alabama, where national scholars, activists, and community leaders will come together to discuss ongoing civil rights issues and provide practical and actionable outcomes; now therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That former State Representative and pioneer civil rights attorney, Fred D. Gray, is highly commended for his many long-lasting contributions and achievements over the course of his 70-year career, and this 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 SJR37 Enrolled Page 3 achievements over the course of his 70-year career, and this resolution is offered to him as evidence of our high regard and appreciation for his service to the Civil Rights Movement, the State of Alabama, and our great Nation. 57 58 59 SJR37 Enrolled Page 4 Movement, the State of Alabama, and our great Nation. ________________________________________________ President and Presiding Officer of the Senate ________________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives SJR37 Senate 06-Mar-25 I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed the Senate. Patrick Harris, Secretary. House of Representatives Passed: 18-Mar-25 By: Senator Beasley 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92