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Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2003 10:32 PM
Subject: [unioNews] USATODAY.com - Bill Gray exits stage after life of public service
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Posted 10/7/2003 9:07 PM
Bill Gray exits stage after life of public service
DeWayne Wickham
Bill Gray is about to leave the stage. For nearly a quarter century, he has had a prominent position where people in public life dwell. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1978, he served in that body for 12 years before leaving to head the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
As a Democratic member of Congress representing Philadelphia, Gray ? who also is a Baptist minister ? made history in 1989. He became the first African-American to rise to the position of majority whip, the third highest post in House leadership. As head of the organization that works to strengthen the 39 private, historically black colleges and universities, he has led a fundraising effort that has raised $1.54 billion. That's slightly more than 75% of the $2 billion that has flowed into UNCF coffers since its founding in 1944.
Most people who spend that much time in the national spotlight have to be pushed or dragged away, but not Gray. He announced last week that he'd retire in March from his UNCF position because he thinks it's time for him to go.
"I always believed that you leave somewhere when folks say, 'We'll miss you,' rather than 'Thank God,' " he said. "I believe, just as I did in my congressional career, that I've reached a point where the time is right for me to leave."
It's risky business for a columnist to heap praise on public figures. Too often it turns out to be undeserved. Gray, I'm sure, is not without foibles or detractors. But I single him out because of his significant achievements and his penchant for quitting while he's ahead.
He left Congress while his star was still rising. Three years later, Gray made a brief return to the political arena when he agreed to serve as President Clinton's special adviser on Haiti. At the time, Jean-Bertrand Aristide ? the country's first democratically elect ed president ? was languishing in exile in Washington, and Haiti was a basket case of economic distress and political violence. Thousands of Haitian refugees were taking to sea in rickety boats to escape the turmoil that wracked their country. Gray helped fashion a policy that ended the refugee crisis and restored Haiti's fledgling democracy.
He also helped repair Clinton's strained relationship with a broad cross section of blacks. They were outraged when shortly after he took office the president reneged on a campaign promise to give refuge to Haiti's refugees. When the Haitian crisis ended, the Clinton administration offered him a permanent, high-ranking position, Gray said. He turned down the offer and returned to UNCF.
"I was on a sales mission to convince America that these schools (the nation's black colleges and universities) are valuable institutions that have a valuable mission and are worthy of support," Gray said. "They are not black community treas ures. They are national treasures."
He succeeded in a big way.
In 1999, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would give UNCF $1 billion over 20 years to fund scholarships for black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American college students. The grant was the largest private gift to higher education in U.S. history.
"I think this is a new beginning for me. I just want to spend more time with my family and work on my church ministry," Gray, who will be 63 when he retires, said of his decision. That makes sense.
Gray has given much of himself to this nation. He has been a trailblazer for black elected officials and those who believe that education is the key to bridging the gap of understanding and opportunity in this country. But in serving this country well, he cut his family short. Time spent in public service was time taken away from his wife and kids.
Gray intends to do some catching up when he retires. "I'm going to go home and make my wife sick," he said, jokingly. "I don't have any other plans right now."
The public stage won't be the same.
***
DeWayne Wickham writes weekly for USA TODAY.
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