Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Thomas W. Gray Sr. (1924-2011)

Pioneering Civil Rights Activist/Businessman, Civil Rights Attorney, Judge

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 3, 2026

1. Thomas W. Gray Sr. (1924-2011) Marker

Inscription.
Pioneering Civil Rights Activist
Born in Montgomery in 1924, World War II Navy veteran Thomas Gray established himself as a civil rights leader by organizing a protest of police brutality in 1950 and by joining with Rosa Parks, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and other activists in 1955 to orchestrate the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Gray appealed to the city to prosecute the white policeman who shot and killed Hilliard Brooks, his childhood friend and fellow World War II veteran, after he tried to board a city bus. When they refused, Gray organized a veterans' protest march downtown during which dozens of demonstrators also registered to vote.

The protest helped set the stage for the 1955-56 effort to desegregate the city's buses, prompted by the arrest of Rosa Parks when she refused to relinquish her seat to a white passenger. Gray was a founding board. member of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which coordinated the daily activities of the boycott. He drove his own car to pick up Black passengers to ensure the boycott's success. Deputy sheriffs arrested Gray here at his home in February 1956 for

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allegedly violating an anti-boycott law. Also arrested were 88 other activists, including Parks, Rev. King, and Gray's younger brother Fred Gray, who was the MIA attorney. Only King was convicted and fined. The case was thrown out on appeal.

Businessman, Civil Rights Attorney, Judge
A graduate of Alabama State College for Negroes (now Alabama State University), Gray was a co-owner of Dozier's Radio, TV and Appliances, Sales and Service. Alongside his Mobile Heights neighbor and business partner William Singleton, he provided African American customers in Montgomery with some of their first television sets.

Blocked by segregation from pursuing a law degree in the state of his birth, Gray moved his wife, Juanita, and their three children to Cleveland, Ohio, after the boycott. He graduated from Cleveland Marshall College of Law (now Cleveland State University College of Law) in 1963. Gray remained in Cleveland for much of his legal career, fighting institutional racism in cases against redlining and other forms of housing discrimination. He was director of Lawyers for Housing, Law in Urban Affairs, and offices of

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 3, 2026

2. Thomas W. Gray Sr. (1924-2011) Marker

the Legal Aid Society and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Gray served as general counsel of the Cuyahoga Metro Housing Authority. He was a life-member of the NAACP.

Decades later, Gray returned to his hometown of Montgomery to accept an appointment as a federal administrative law judge. He retired from the bench in 1998. Thomas Gray died in Montgomery on April 17, 2011. Cleveland State University College of Law inducted Gray into its Hall of Fame on November 4, 2022.

Erected 2026 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1956.

Location. 32° 20.855′ N, 86° 19.973′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is at the intersection of Mobile Drive and East Tuskegee Circle, on the left when traveling south on Mobile Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3251 Mobile Dr, Montgomery AL 36108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Thomas W. Gray Sr. Marker near home. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 3, 2026

3. Thomas W. Gray Sr. Marker near home.

this marker is in the Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: City of St. Jude / The Selma to Montgomery March (approx. 0.4 miles away); A Refuge (approx. half a mile away); Heroes' Welcome (approx. half a mile away); Campsite 4 (approx. half a mile away); Marching to Montgomery (approx. half a mile away); Historic Sites Near Fairview Environmental Park (approx. 0.9 miles away); Rev. Richard C. Boone (approx. 0.9 miles away); Support: Local and Organizational (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Younger brother Fred Gray.

Also see . . . Historic Marker to Honor Judge Thomas W. Gray, Sr. (Alabama State University).

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 3, 2026

4. Thomas W. Gray Sr. (1924-2011) Marker

Looking north on Mobile Drive.

Civil Rights Pioneer and Montgomery Bus Boycott Leader (Submitted on November 3, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 3, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.