Faulkner University President Mitch Henry and Faulkner leadership conferred an Honorary Doctor of Ministry to Dr. Fred Gray during the university’s spring commencement ceremony on May 4, 2024.
This year’s annual Faulkner University graduation ceremony was not only a celebration for students, but it was a special way to recognize Gray for his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement and for his work in growing the kingdom.
“Our speaker today has overcome many challenges. His greatest accomplishment however, was when he gave his soul to Jesus Christ when he was a young man and preached his first sermon when he was 12 years old,” Henry stated. “And through the years his accomplishments as a minister of Jesus Christ has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of people coming to the Lord and gaining the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. There is nothing greater that we can do than simply share our faith and he is a vocational ministry. He has made his career a ministry of service to other people.”
The Tine Davis Gym on Faulkner’s campus was filled on Saturday with nearly 2,000 family members and Faulkner Eagles, faculty and staff for the 1 p.m. ceremony.
Following a processional and introduction of the university’s faculty, and remarks from Henry, Board of Trustees Chair Dale Kirkland bestowed the Honorary Doctor of Ministry to Gray.
“Thank you, President Henry, and thank you also to what you are doing for Faulkner university in this short period of time you have served as president,” Gray said. “I am honored and appreciative for the privilege of serving as your commencement speaker. On this special occasion of graduation of 2024, it is special because you have attained another goal in your lives. I am appreciative of the history I have with Faulkner dating back to its beginnings on Ann Street.”
The Honorary Doctor of Ministry is the second honorary degree Gray has received from the university. The first was an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.
Gray, nationally recognized civil rights attorney and minister, was born in Montgomery, Ala. and served as an attorney for Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. In July 2022, he received one of the highest civilian honors attainable, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, at the White House.
A celebrated lecturer, successful author, church of Christ preacher and former legislator, Gray litigated several major cases in Alabama that set precedent including Browder vs. Gayle, which integrated buses in Montgomery in 1956, and took NAACP vs. State of Alabama to the U.S. Supreme Court, winning the right of the NAACP to do business in the state.
Elected to the House of Representatives in 1970, he was one of the first African Americans to serve in the Alabama Legislature. Currently a resident of Tuskegee, Gray is the senior partner in the law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray & Nathanson.
He also served as the President of the National Bar Association in 1985, and in 2001 was elected as the first African-American President of the Alabama State Bar. He served on the Board of Trustees at Faulkner University and continues to serve Faulkner as a Trustee Emeriti. He is regularly honored by Faulkner Law through the Fred Gray Civil Rights Symposium.
