Gregory, Dick (1932–)

Born Richard Claxton Gregory, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dick Gregory is an African American activist and nationally known comedian, whose satirical style of social commentary defied traditional black comedic roles and mocked stereotypes in the heart of the civil rights era. After beginning his career playing poorly paying, smaller African American clubs, Gregory was thrust into the national comedy scene in 1961 at the Playboy Club in Chicago—one of the first “realist” black comedians to play to predominantly white audiences. Through his career as a headline performer with several popular comedy albums, film, television, and radio appearances to his credit, Gregory came to be known as the “Black Mort Sahl”—in recognition of his similar irreverent social satire. Gregory's controversially titled autobiography, Nigger (from 1963, with Robert Lipsyte), has sold more than 7 million copies and was a number-one bestseller after its publication.

Throughout the civil rights era, Gregory used his celebrity to raise awareness on issues that negatively affected the African American community, such as segregation, lack of political voice, and limited economic opportunities. An active supporter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Gregory participated in sit-ins protesting segregation, and backed drives to mobilize the African American vote—including chartering a plane to carry out food drops when federal food surplus distribution was halted in areas where the SNCC was encouraging voter registration among poor blacks. Gregory continued to maintain a high profile as a social activist through fasts and participation in numerous marches in opposition to the Vietnam War, world hunger, apartheid, drugs, and other social justice issues. His strong commitment to envisioning the political structure of the United States spurred him to run for mayor in Chicago's 1966 mayoral election, opposing Richard Daley, and to enter himself as a write-in candidate for the Freedom and Peace Party in the 1968 presidential election, against Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon. Many have alleged that the 1.5 million votes Gregory received significantly altered the outcome of that election.

Since that time, Gregory's activist efforts have continued, both nationally and globally. He carried out an unsuccessful, but highly publicized, fast for the release of hostages during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, and in the 1990s, was arrested for his protests at CIA headquarters in response to allegations that the agency had ignited the crack epidemic by supplying [Page 651]cocaine to predominantly African American communities in Los Angeles. In 1992, he also launched the Campaign for Human Dignity, to address crime in St. Louis neighborhoods.

In addition to releasing several audio productions of comedy and political satire, Gregory has authored numerous books, including an updated autobiography, Callous on My Soul: A Memoir (from 2000, with Sheila Moses), No More Lies of 1993, Dick Gregory's Political Primer of 1972, Code Name Zorro: The Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. (from 1977, with Mark Lane, rereleased in 1993 as Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King), From the Back of the Bus of 1962, Dick Gregory's Bible Tales, with Commentary (from 1974, with James McGraw), Write Me In! of 1968, and in 2001, he issued his “21st Century State of the Union” address to African Americans live on the Internet.

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