The Tragedy of Attorney Fred Gray

As I sat in Phoenix, Az., on July 20 after returning from an extended trip to Africa and the Middle East where I participated as a delegate on Minister Farrakhan�s Peace Initiative, I returned to another tragic accident that has directly affected my family.

My daughter, Maryum Aziz-Karbo, was seriously injured in a SUV rollover, which resulted from tire separation. I arrived from Cairo just in time for her second surgery and at the writing of this article, we are preparing for a third. The reconstructive surgeries and skin graft are necessary to prevent a possible amputation of her arm.

The following morning I came across a human-interest story in the Arizona Republic newspaper that would have made most Black Americans very proud. The article was a tribute to the first Black to serve as president of the Alabama Bar. It featured the life and accomplishments of Fred Gray of Tuskegee, Ala., a 71-year-old Black attorney who defended the fighters of our civil rights movement in the South. He served on the legal team for Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and boldly took on the case of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Boycott. He also litigated in the infamous Tuskegee syphilis case where Black men were used as guinea pigs to study the long-term effects of syphilis on human beings.

I must mention here for the sake of history that at that time White doctors backed by the United States government did not consider these men human. They were viewed as animals to use for their experiments. In a strange and unusual turn of events, Attorney Gray decided to defend Bridgestone/Firestone Tire Company in the death case of Earl T. Shinhoster, former executive director of the NAACP.

For obvious reasons I have resisted writing this article about Attorney Gray, but my reason for being in Phoenix compelled me to do what my heart, mind and consciousness told me I must do. At the bedside of my daughter who is riddled with pain from her injuries, I could not help but think of my dear brother and friend Earl Shinhoster who lost his life two years ago in the same type of SUV rollover accident.

I thought of my daughter Samimah, a passenger in the same vehicle, who within the next few months must decide whether to amputate her foot, which could not be repaired after four surgical attempts. I thought of my brother, Ademah Hackshaw, the driver who is living with his injuries and anguish over the accident.

Both accidents are examples of corporate greed and unwillingness on their part to put consumer safety first or to inform the public when their products (tires) are not safe. The tragedy of this tale is to see a gifted, talented attorney who lived his life in commitment of service to Blacks, now make choices to defend corporations where they are indefensible.

Earl Shinhoster died in a Ford Explorer equipped with Firestone tires. It is not theoretical speculation that the tires separated, but a proven fact. How at 71 years old, in the sunset of his life, could attorney Gray accept an assignment from Bridgestone/Firestone against a man who lived and died in service to our community? How do you justify and defend corporations who kill and maim people with their products? How do you justify and defend corporations who refuse or delay just compensation to its victims?

I must tell this story in hopes that Attorney Fred Gray would think about his position and how history will judge and remember him. Certainly this is more important than the money Firestone offered him. Now it�s about principle, character, and consumer rights. Firestone has been slow to apologize, slow to compensate, and slow in bringing closure to a terrible tragedy.

My message to Attorney Fred Gray�how we end the race of life is more important than how we begin it.