Birthday of Dick Gregory US Civil Rights activist and celebrated comedian

On this day in 1932, Dick Gregory was born in St. Louis, Missouri. A successful comedian who broke many barriers for Black comedians, he used his platform and influence to raise awareness on political issues from civil rights to Native sovereignty. He was an ally and friend of Medgar Evers and of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who described his contributions to the civil rights struggle as “so dedicated and significant” that the movement would “always remain indebted to [him].” Gregory also toured to raise funds for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s 1964 Freedom Summer and participated in a 1965 freedom rally on the last night of the Selma to Montgomery March. He was influential in the struggle against the Vietnam war and remembered as a celebrity who not only put his money and reputation on the line, but put his body on the line, being arrested many times alongside the people he struggled with. In 1966 he was arrested for assisting the Nisqually in asserting their treaty rights to fish, for which he was sentenced to 6 months unlike another celebrity, Marlon Brando. Although best remembered for his civil rights work, Gregory understood intersectionality and put himself on the line for myriad causes including anti-nuclear work, against Apartheid South Africa, and prison reform. He was married for more than 50 years and had 10 children.