The next name on my Memorial List is Guichard Parris, another Amherst College Phi Beta Kappa, who later became the long time (40+ year) Public Relations Director for the National Urban League. For his service to the National Urban League, Mr. Parris received the Whitney Young Medallion. His New York Times obituary follows.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
September 20, 2024
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Guichard Parris, 87, Urban League Officer
Nov. 16, 1990
Credit...The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from
November 16, 1990,
Section B, Page 8
Buy ReprintsTimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.
About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
Guichard Parris, a former officer of the National Urban League, died on Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 87 years old.
He died of a heart attack, a spokeswoman for the league said.
Mr. Parris, an adviser to two former league executive directors, Lester Granger and Whitney Young, joined the organization in 1944. In 1946, he started the league's public relations program. At his retirement in 1988, he had built it into a department employing 16 people who produced and distributed three million pieces of literature yearly, in addition to films for schools, television and civic organizations.
With Lester Brooks, he put together a book, "Blacks in the City," in 1950, commemorating the league's 40th anniversary.
He was born on the island of Guadeloupe in the French West Indies, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He graduated from Amherst College, magna cum laude, and received an M.A. from Columbia University. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
He is survived by his wife, the former Willie Ferron; two daughters, Mary Jacobs and Louise Manley, and a son Frederick, all of Manhattan; three grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
----- Forwarded Message -----
Before continuing onto the next name on my Memorial List, I pause to reflect on the wonder of one African American family that not only left an Amherst legacy but also a monumental American legacy. The African American family that I am referring to is the Gregory family.
We all know that the astronaut Frederick Drew Gregory (Class of 1962) was the nephew of Charles Drew (Class of 1926). And that alone would be a significant connection. However, it is arguable that the more prominent name is the name Gregory. Indeed, one of the iconic photos from the 1800s is a photo of the 1898 Amherst College Baseball Team which had one black player. That black player appears to have been the only black student at Amherst College during his college years, but he left his mark for being named the captain of the Amherst College baseball team, the first African American to be so named for any eastern college. The name of this exemplary individual is James Francis Gregory, Class of 1898. James Francis Gregory is the grandfather of the astronaut Frederick Drew Gregory.
The accomplishments of James Francis Gregory are notable. He went on to become a Presbyterian minister and the Vice Principal at the Bordentown School.
However, exceeding the accomplishments of James Francis Gregory are the accomplishments of Frederick Drew Gregory's great grandfather James Monroe Gregory
the Howard University Dean who was one of the leading Civil Rights activists during the 1880s. And then there is Frederick Drew Gregory's grand uncle, Thomas Montgomery Gregory
the Howard University drama professor who was instrumental in the National Negro Theater Movement.
And as a side bit of history is the affiliated history of Frederick Drew Gregory's cousin, the actress and comedian Aisha Tyler
whose own colorful genealogy was profiled in an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?"
and included an unexpected addition
to the Gregory family history.
The Gregorys ... an amazing American story ... an amazing American family.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975
Comments
Post a Comment