Collections
Frank Bray Collection
In 1980, Bray was elected, along with John Knight, Jr., to serve on the Montgomery County Commission. Bray and Knight were the first-ever Blacks to serve in this capacity.
Biography
Frank A. Bray, Sr. (1920-1997) was born in Montgomery County, Alabama. Immediately after his World War II services with the U. S. Navy, Bray joined forces with Rufus A. Lewis, the "Father of Montgomery and Central Alabama’s Voting Rights Movement." Bray was a founding member of the Civic League of Montgomery. When the Alabama Democratic Conference, the Black caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party, was founded in 1960, Bray served as a key organizer for the 2nd Congressional District of Alabama. In 1980, Bray was elected, along with John Knight, Jr., to serve on the Montgomery County Commission. Bray and Knight were the first-ever Blacks to serve in this capacity.
Bray served the U.S. Postal Service for 31 years. During his years of service, he became representative and served on the Executive Board for the Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee District of the Black postal union, National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees. The Alliance, as a result of Bray’s influence, was the first organization of national scope to send money from all of its locals to support the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott Movement.*
Bray served as Superintendent of Sunday School for 19 years and as Chairman of the Trustee Board for 19 years at Beulah Baptist Church in Montgomery.
Bray’s life-long dream was to establish a senior-citizen resident and recreational facility in the Black community. His efforts for this endeavor began in 1962. In 1990, his dream became a reality with the establishment of St. Jude Apartments for Senior Citizens, where he served as marketing director until his death in 1997.
*Seay, Solomon S. Sr. I Was There By The Grace of God. Montgomery, AL: The S. S. Seay, Sr. Education Foundation Inc., 1990. p. 133.
H. Councill Trenholm State Community College
Processed by Dr. Gwendolyn M. Patton
Date Completed: January 2002
Copyright 1995
H. Councill Trenholm State Community College Archives. All rights reserved.
Frank A. Bray, Sr. Collection
Compiled by: Dr. Gwen Paton, TSTC Archivist
Index
- Beulah Baptist Church
- Emancipation Proclamation Observances
- Alvin Holmes
- Camilla Bray-Johnson
- John Knight, Jr.
- Montgomery Improvement Association
- Montgomery County Democratic Conference of Women
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Montgomery Chapter
Container List
#402987—Souvenir Booklets from Emancipation Proclamation Observers (1962), Montgomery Improvement Association and Beulah Baptist Church; NAACP program leaflets and 1 financial report of Montgomery Chapter; Correspondences re: establishing a Nursing Home for Black senior citizens in Montgomery and related legal documents; news articles covering politics, education, racism, church responsibilities; Montgomery County Commission press coverages; political campaign paraphernalia; obituary and related news articles on Bray’s death.
Table of Contents
Frank A. Bray Sr. Papers, 1956-1997
Descriptive Summary Administrative Information Scope and Content Note
Index Biography
Descriptive Summary
Title: Frank A. Bray, Sr. Papers, 1956-1997
Collection Number: Barcode # 402987
Creator: Frank A. Bray, Sr.
.15 cu ft
Repository: H. Councill Trenholm State Community College
Administrative Information Provenance
Gift of Frank A. Bray, Sr.
Scope and Content Note
The Frank A. Bray, Sr. papers is an eclectic arrangement of materials that document his involvement in the Civil/Voting Rights Movement; his Political activities, organizational affiliations and campaigns, including his election as one of the two first Blacks to be elected to the Montgomery County Commission; his Church involvement; and related News Articles.