And One Was a Priest: The Life and Times of Duncan M. Gray Jr.
Araminta Stone Johnston
Abstract
The story of the civil rights movement is not simply the history of its major players but is also the stories of a host of lesser-known individuals whose actions were essential to the movement’s successes. Duncan M. Gray Jr., an Episcopal priest who served various Mississippi parishes between 1953 and 1974, when he was elected bishop of Mississippi, is one of these individuals. This book is his story. From one perspective, Gray (b. 1926) would seem an unlikely spokesman for racial equality and reconciliation. He could have been content simply to become a member of the white, male Mississippi “ ... More
The story of the civil rights movement is not simply the history of its major players but is also the stories of a host of lesser-known individuals whose actions were essential to the movement’s successes. Duncan M. Gray Jr., an Episcopal priest who served various Mississippi parishes between 1953 and 1974, when he was elected bishop of Mississippi, is one of these individuals. This book is his story. From one perspective, Gray (b. 1926) would seem an unlikely spokesman for racial equality and reconciliation. He could have been content simply to become a member of the white, male Mississippi “club.” Gray could have embraced a comfortable life and ignored the burning realities around him. But he chose instead to use his priesthood to speak in unpopular but prophetic support of justice and equality for African Americans. From his student days at the seminary at the University of the South, to his first church in Cleveland, Mississippi, and most famously to St. Peter’s Parish in Oxford, where he confronted rioters in 1962, Gray steadfastly and fearlessly fought the status quo. He continued to work for racial reconciliation, inside and outside of the church, throughout his life. This biography tells not only Gray’s story, but also reveals the times and people that helped make him. The book’s question is “What makes a good person?” The book suggests there is much to learn from Gray’s choices and his struggle.
Keywords:
civil rights,
Episcopal priest,
Mississippi,
racial equality,
priesthood,
African Americans,
St Peter’s Parish,
rioters,
racial reconciliation,
Duncan M. Gray
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9781604738285 |
Published to University Press of Mississippi: March 2014 |
DOI:10.14325/mississippi/9781604738285.001.0001 |