Richard Gay
, Jr.
Richard Gay, Jr. was born in Albany, Georgia where he later attended Albany State College. It was during that time that he became involved in the Albany Civil Rights Movement. He demonstrated and was arrested with the rest of his classmates, but this was not the end of the movement for him just because the media declared Albany a failure in late 1962. He followed Dr. Martin Luther King across the nation. He was in St. Augustine, Florida when the swimming pool was desegregated; he went to jail in Sylvester, Georgia; he was in the March on Washington as well as in Memphis, Tennessee when King was assassinated. Gay was also in Washington D.C. with the setting up of “Tent City.” He was everywhere he felt there was a need for activists to push for equality. Once the Civil Rights Movement cooled down, Gay finished his degree at Albany State College and continued to be involved in SCLC. He has now passed off the scene but is clearly remembered for his spirit of helping others in need (1941-2004).