James H. Gray, Sr.

James Harrison Gray, Sr., (May 17, 1916 - September 19, 1986) was a Georgia politician and Democratic chairman; he was the founder of Gray Communications Systems, Inc., the editor and publisher of The Albany Herald and mayor of Albany, Georgia.

Early life

Gray was born in Westfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College and also studied at the University of Heidelberg. He was a member of the United States Army and trained at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in World War II before moving to Albany, Georgia in 1946.^[2]

Businessman and politician

In 1946, Gray founded Gray Communications Systems, Inc. and became editor and publisher of The Albany Herald, an evening and Sunday paper he purchased in Albany, Georgia. In 1954, Gray launched WALB-TV, the second television station in the state of Georgia after WSB-TV in Atlanta.

In a time a social turmoil in the South, Gray was named state Democratic chairman in 1960. He quickly emerged as a leader in a movement that sought to replace Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as the Southern standard bearer at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. At the convention itself, Southern delegations staged a vain fight to keep the party from adopting its firmest civil rights platform up to then. Mr. Gray was called upon to read the Segregationists' Minority Report, astonishing fellow delegates with his unmistakable Northern accent. Toward the end of 1960, he refused a television debate on sit-in demonstrations with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., asserting that the black leader had "openly defied Georgia laws." He then thwarted an integration campaign by Dr. King in Albany and even bought a public swimming pool and reopened it for whites only.^[2]

Gray became a Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia in 1966. He came in fourth place in the five person Democratic primary race behind former governor Ellis Arnall, fellow segregationist and eventual winner Lester Maddox, and state senator Jimmy Carter. Gray finished ahead of former Lieutenant Governor Garland T. Byrd.^[3] Governor Maddox nominated Gray to another term as state Democratic party chairman.

Gray ran for and was elected Mayor of Albany, Georgia in 1973. During his tenure, improvements to every aspect of city services were realized. Shopping complexes and large industries came to town as Albany became the centerpiece of South Georgia and adopted the nickname "The Good Life City". With the opening of the Albany Mall in 1976, long-established firms closed their downtown stores. Gray led an effort to revitalize the downtown area by constructing the 10,240-seat Albany Civic Center, the second largest arena in the state at the time, and by razing an entire city block in the heart of downtown with plans to rebuild it.^[4] Over the years, Gray, the now former segregationist, allegedly had tempered his stand considerably. In fact, he began to seek allies among blacks and won support from them in his mayoral campaigns.^[2]

Gray died of a heart attack on September 19, 1986 at the New England Medical Center in Boston. He was 70 years old.^[5]

References