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 ''The Albany Herald'' is the daily newspaper for metro Albany in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is distributed in metro Albany and in southwest Georgia. The newspaper was founded in 1891. Offices for the paper were previously housed in the hist ...

'' and the mayor of

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

Early life

Gray was born in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and also studied at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. He was a member of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and trained at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

near

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

before moving to Albany, Georgia in 1946.

Businessman and politician

In 1946, Gray founded Gray Communications Systems, Inc., and became editor and publisher of ''

'', an evening and Sunday paper he purchased in Albany, Georgia. In 1954, Gray launched

WALB-TV WALB (channel 10) is a television station in Albany, Georgia, United States, serving Southwestern Georgia as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power CW+ affiliate WGCW-LD (channel 36). The two stations shar ...

, one of the oldest television stations in the state outside

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 1960, Gray was named state chairman for the

Democratic Party of Georgia The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), formally known as the Union Democratic Republican Party, commonly shortened to the Union Party (UP), until 1840, is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. Since its founding, it ...

. During the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

, Gray led a movement to replace

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

as the Democratic Vice President nominee. He also read the

Segregationists Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people ...

' Minority Report in opposition to a proposed civil rights platform. When asked to participate in a televised debate with

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his a ...

regarding

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

demonstrations, James Gray refused asserting that King had "openly defied Georgia laws." He further opposed the

Albany Movement The Albany Movement was a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961. This movement was founded by local black leaders and ministers, as well as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commi ...

led by King by purchasing a public swimming pool in order to prevent its use by

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

. 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 Ellis Gibbs Arnall (March 20, 1907 – December 13, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 69th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947. A liberal Democrat, he helped lead efforts to abolish the poll tax and to reduce Georgia's votin ...

, state senator

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, and fellow segregationist and the eventual winner

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist, when ...

. Gray finished ahead of former

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Garland T. Byrd. 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 Albany James H. Gray Sr. Civic Center (''Albany Civic Center'' for short) is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Albany, Georgia on the west bank of the Flint River. Opened in 1983, the arena is the only one of its kind in Southwest Geo ...

'', 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.

Death

Gray died of a heart attack on September 19, 1986, at the

New England Medical Center Tufts Medical Center (until 2008 Tufts-New England Medical Center), a 15-building campus located in Boston, Massachusetts, is a downtown Boston hospital midway between Chinatown and the Boston Theater District. The hospital is a community-base ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, James H. Sr. 1916 births 1986 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state) American segregationists People from Westfield, Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts Dartmouth College alumni Heidelberg University alumni Gray Media Editors of Georgia (U.S. state) newspapers Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats Mayors of Albany, Georgia State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state)

Early life

Businessman and politician

Death

See also

References