[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1037-S1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM H. GRAY, III

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon to honor William H. 
Gray, III.
  As I have every year since my election to the Senate, starting back 
in January 2007, I have come to the floor at this time of the year in 
commemoration of Black History Month.
  This year we are privileged to honor a man whose outstanding 
accomplishments are of vital importance to African Americans as well as 
to all of America. For his entire life Bill Gray has been a minister 
and a shepherd for his congregation, his constituents, historically 
Black colleges and universities, and to all Americans in need of a 
stronger voice. I have known Bill Gray for a quarter of a century, and 
I know his life's work is a testament to a single principle, one that 
has infused all of his work at the Bright Hill Baptist Church in 
Philadelphia, as a Member and leader in Congress, and with the United 
Negro College Fund.
  Bill believes in the principle of a ``whole ministry,'' that the 
church must tend to all the needs of its entire congregation. Bill grew 
up learning that the ministry was not just something one did on Sunday 
morning but, rather, the action one took in the streets on issues 
ranging from housing to economic justice to excellence in education. 
Bill has called his position as pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist 
Church the most important job he has ever had, one that cultivated the 
skills and priorities that have shaped his life's work.
  Today, I am proud to share some of the achievements that have 
resulted from Bill Gray's dedication to a ``whole ministry.''
  Bill grew up in a family of educators and ministers who taught him 
the value of both professions to empower others. He was born in the 
State of Louisiana to parents who were both educators. His father was 
president of two historically Black colleges: Florida Normal and 
Industrial College and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical School. His 
mother was both a high school teacher and served as dean of Southern 
University in Baton Rouge, LA.
  When Bill was 8 years old, his grandfather passed away and the family 
moved from Louisiana back to Philadelphia, PA. There in Philadelphia, 
Bill's father assumed his own father's position as pastor of the Bright 
Hope Baptist Church in north Philadelphia, and Bill cemented his roots 
in that community. He has spoken of the powerful impact of those years, 
moving from a region where Jim Crow laws reigned to a large northern 
city where his family had strong ties to other clergy and community 
leaders. Because of de facto segregation in housing at the time, north 
Philadelphia was a neighborhood with African Americans from all walks 
of life, including many role models for the young Bill Gray.
  Hobson Reynolds across the street was the leader of the Elks. Cecil 
B. Moore, a future member of the city council and head of the NAACP of 
Philadelphia, lived two doors down from Bill's family at the time. 
Other neighbors included the renowned architect Frederick Messiah and 
Sadie Alexander, the first woman of any race to obtain a Ph.D. in 
economics in the United States of America.
  Of course, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a frequent visitor to Bill 
Gray's home at that time, as were Dr. King's parents who were close 
family friends of Bill Gray's family. Both the elder and younger Kings 
as well as other ministers influenced Bill's understanding of the 
``whole ministry'' and encouraged his education and career as a 
minister.
  Bill graduated from Simon Gratz High School and went on to Franklin 
and Marshall College. When Bill considered leaving Franklin and 
Marshall before graduation to join civil rights protests in the South, 
Dr. King encouraged him to stay in school and to hone the skills 
necessary to continue the struggle later in life. This idea of 
education as a key to African-American advancement would guide Bill for 
the rest of his life.
  Bill graduated from Franklin and Marshall, and in 1966 he obtained a 
master's degree in divinity at Drew Theological Seminary and in 1970 a 
master's degree in theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. While 
at Drew, Bill's talents were recognized by the prestigious Union 
Baptist Church in Montclair, NJ, and he was later chosen to be a pastor 
there as well. The King family presided over the installation ceremony.
  In his first parish, Bill Gray worked to serve the ``whole 
community,'' advocating aggressively for the needs of his congregation 
and the community's most vulnerable members. As the city of Montclair 
undertook urban renewal, he helped to form a development corporation to 
ensure that relocation resulted in safe, decent housing for his 
parishioners and their neighbors. This issue of housing hit Bill Gray 
personally when he tried to rent an apartment while studying at 
Princeton and was told the unit was unavailable. He sensed immediately 
that it was because of his race, and he found a friend who was White 
who volunteered to go look at the apartment, at which point the 
landlord said it was open.
  Bill filed a lawsuit and for the first time sought damages for the 
psychological impact of discrimination. While the monetary award was 
small, his victory in the suit set a precedent that those who 
discriminated based on race could be held liable for monetary damages.
  In 1971 Bill married Andrea Dash, with whom he has raised three sons, 
William IV, Justin, and Andrew. In 1972 Bill's father died unexpectedly 
and tragically, and the congregation of Bright Hope Baptist Church 
called on Bill to return home as the new pastor. Bill was reluctant to 
go back as the preacher's son, but two church elections finally 
convinced him to return. He became the third generation of his family 
to serve as pastor of Bright Hope. Under his leadership, the 
congregation quickly grew to over 4,000 souls.
  Bill also taught as a professor at Jersey City State College from 
1968 to 1969, St. Peter's College in Jersey City from 1970 to 1974, 
Montclair State College from 1970 to 1972, and Rutgers University in 
1971. He also continued his important advocacy on fair access to 
housing, and he cofounded the Philadelphia mortgage plan to help low-
income individuals obtain homes.
  This dedication to helping his community and concern about their 
welfare led him back to the political

[[Page S1038]]

world. In 1976 Bill ran an underdog campaign to challenge Congressman 
Robert N.C. Nix, a long-time congressional incumbent. Despite a close 
defeat in 1976, Bill launched another campaign in 1978 and successfully 
earned nomination and election to Congress.

  The U.S. House of Representatives provided another pulpit from which 
Bill could pursue his ``whole ministry,'' and he did not squander the 
opportunity. He said:

       If you can pastor a black Baptist Church, maneuvering in 
     Congress is easy. It's nothing compared to the choir, the 
     usher board, the deacon board. You run a volunteer 
     organization and you run it on persuasion.

  Despite his lack of previous formal political experience, after 
winning the 1978 primary election Bill started working to persuade 
other Members of Congress from his party to support him in committee 
elections. Through dogged determination, thoughtful strategy, and a 
clear explanation of his goals, Bill earned himself the freshman seat 
on the policy and steering committee which sets committee assignments 
for the party and influences policy. This established him as a rising 
star and a friend to many other incoming Members of Congress whom he 
helped land desirable committee spots.
  Bill obtained seats on the following committees: the District of 
Columbia Committee, the Budget Committee, the Foreign Affairs 
Committee, and later a seat on the Appropriations Committee, the Joint 
Committee on Deficit Reduction, and the House Administration Committee. 
Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus elected Bill Gray as its 
secretary, and in his second term he served as the vice chairman of the 
caucus.
  In Congress, he acquired a reputation as a thoughtful, honest, and 
effective leader in a diverse party, often building surprising 
alliances as he maintained his commitment to budgets that provided for 
the neediest Americans.
  Bill rose quickly through the ranks of leadership during his 12 years 
in Congress. In 1985 he assumed the chairmanship of the Budget 
Committee just 6 years after the time he was elected. Just a few years 
later, in 1988, he was elected to chair his party's House caucus, and 
then in 1999 he became the House majority whip, the third ranking 
leadership in the House of Representatives.
  While serving in Congress, Bill remained an active minister, tightly 
connected with his district in Philadelphia through his actions on the 
issues for which he fought. I just happened to be a constituent of 
Bill's in 1982 and 1983 when I was serving in the Jesuit Volunteer 
Corps in north Philadelphia, and I know at that time he returned to 
Bright Hope Baptist Church twice a month to preach, and in Congress he 
supported the programs upon which his constituents and his congregation 
relied.
  In a time of concern about fiscal discipline, Bill believed that 
compassionate spending was also critical and said:

       A balanced budget is good for the country, poor and the 
     affluent alike. I seek a budget that doesn't sacrifice 
     programs for the poor and minorities, one that is fair and 
     equitable.

  He produced budgets in line with his priorities, challenging 
opponents to produce spending cuts that did not hit the most 
vulnerable. On the Foreign Affairs Committee, Bill championed aid for 
Africa and sponsored a bill to provide aid to African villages as well 
as appropriations to ensure minority-owned business participation in 
African aid programs. Bill took a strong and early stand against the 
Ethiopian Government and its role in making the famine worse. He was 
also a prominent critic of the South African apartheid regime.
  In 1991 Bill Gray made a bold transition to minister in a new way on 
a topic of paramount importance to him, his family, and others. Of 
course, that topic was higher education.
  He said at the time, and I am quoting:

       Woodrow Wilson used to say, ``My constituency is the next 
     generation,'' and, you know, that's why I left Congress, 
     because my constituency, really, is the next generation.

  He accepted the position as president and CEO of the United Negro 
College Fund, the so-called UNCF, a philanthropic organization that 
helps more than 60,000 minority students each year to obtain a higher 
education. The United Negro College Fund not only manages 400 
scholarship and internship programs which benefit 10,000 students but 
also provides operating funds for 38 historically Black colleges and 
universities. Tuition at these colleges averages 30 percent less than 
tuition at similar universities.
  Bill Gray has said he wanted to support historically Black colleges 
and universities during a period when Black students were choosing to 
attend a wider range of colleges. During Bill's 12 years as president 
and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, his success in supporting 
these institutions was unprecedented--and that is an understatement. 
Bill sought innovative ways to attract new investment and increase 
existing funding. By the time he left the United Negro College Fund 12 
years later, Bill and his team had raised more than $1.54 billion. To 
put this in context, UNCF had raised a total of $3.3 billion in its 67-
year history.
  He found new ways to solicit donations, increase the amount of in-
kind contributions, and solicited from previously untapped foundations 
and individuals.
  In 1999, Bill Gray secured a $1 billion grant from the Bill and 
Melinda Gates Foundation to advance minority students' access to higher 
education in the science, math, engineering, and education fields. This 
grant created the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program and marked the 
largest philanthropic donation in the history of higher education in 
the United States of America. Bill's success at the United Negro 
College Fund put higher education within reach and ensured brighter 
futures for thousands of students across America.
  We know, and those who know him know, that Bill Gray has never rested 
and he is never satisfied with one job at a time. While leading the 
United Negro College Fund, he was asked by President Clinton in 1994 to 
lead the efforts to restore democracy in Haiti. His work there earned 
him the Medal of Honor from the President of Haiti.
  After leaving the Fund in the year 2004, Bill started Gray Global 
Strategies, Inc., and has served as director on multiple corporate 
boards including Dell, JPMorgan Chase, and Pfizer. He has also served 
as vice chairman for the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care and 
has served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He is 
currently the chairman of Gray Global Strategies, a worldwide business 
consulting and government affairs strategies firm.
  Bill Gray has said that he has ``always been taught by my folk, 
parents, grandparents, that service is a sort of the rent you pay for 
the space you occupy. And so, what I've tried to do is direct my life 
towards service based on faith and commitment and social justice.''
  Well said by a great leader, Bill Gray.
  In the Senate today we express our gratitude for the excellent work 
of Rev. Bill Gray, Congressman Bill Gray, and you could add a few other 
titles as well. We express that gratitude for the excellent work of his 
``whole ministry,'' a commitment that has touched literally millions of 
men, women, and children across the world. His vision and achievements 
have reached far beyond the walls of his church and the Capitol where 
we stand today. We honor him on behalf of the people of the Bright Hope 
Baptist Church, the U.S. Congress, historically Black colleges and 
universities, and many more people around the world. We commend Bill 
Gray today. I congratulate him. We look forward to seeing him with us 
today.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Tester). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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