Retired Episcopal Bishop to donate personal integration documents

Retired Bishop Duncan Gray Jr. of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi is donating a personal collection of documents chronicling the period of integration at The University of Mississippi to the J.D. Williams Library special collection of civil rights history. The Civil Rights collection housed within the J.D. Williams Library Archives and Special Collections contains writings from notable personalities including James Meredith. Current Bishop of the Mississippi diocese and Gray Jr.’s son, Duncan Gray III, hopes his father’s donation will tell the story of integration in a different way. “I think what (viewers of this collection) will see is a pastor, a priest trying to do his job,” he said. “(My father) saw himself being placed in a particular moment at a particular time and being called by God to respond, not just to the issue, but to the people. Jennifer Ford, head of Archives and Special Collections, believes the donation will provide another perspective to the collection. “The donation of Gray Jr.’s papers to the archives will be a great addition,” she said. “He went out the night of the riots and begged people to stop the violence.” Gray Jr.’s donation includes personal letters, newspaper clippings, flyers, pamphlets and scrapbooks he compiled. Ford said the library hopes to allow the public to begin viewing the collection in November.