William Lacy Clay, Sr.

Congressman William L. Clay Sr., the first African American elected to Congress from Missouri, one of our nation’s most powerful and consequential champions for civil rights, workers’ rights and lifting up millions of unheard and underserved Americans has died at the age of 94.

Bill Clay was born in the depths of the Great Depression and under the shadow of overt racism and segregation in St. Louis on April 30, 1931, to Irving and Luella Clay. He was the fourth oldest of seven children.

Bill started delivering newspapers at the age of eight. By the time he was thirteen, he started working at the Good Luck store in downtown St. Louis.

In 1949, at the age of eighteen, Bill Clay was arrested and wrongly accused of committing the murder of a white couple. A St. Louis Police Department Detective tried to “beat” a confession out of him. Bill was

saved by his Aunt, who worked at the home of a member of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners. That incident taught him a lasting lesson as he later described it: “Survival and political influence are inseparable in American society”.

In 1953, Bill Clay graduated from Saint Louis University, one of the first African Americans to earn a degree from that historic Jesuit institution.

On October 10, 1953, he married the love of his life. Carol Ann Johnson. They forged a life of love, laughter, family, and service that endured for 71-years. Mrs. Clay preceded the Congressman in death five months ago.

Clay was drafted into the United States Army in 1953 and assigned to Fort McClellan, Alabama where he

organized a successful campaign to protest segregated policies on the base. As a punishment for his courage, Clay was threatened with court-martial and was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

Congressman Clay’s career in public service began with his election as the Alderman from St. Louis’ 26th Ward in 1959, where he championed the landmark Public Accommodations Act of 1961, which outlawed segregation in public places. He was then elected as the Democratic Committeeman from the 26th Ward in 1964.

Bill Clay was also at the center of numerous sit-ins in the 1950s and '60s that desegregated St. Louis fixtures such as White Castle, Howard Johnson’s, the Fairgrounds Park swimming pool, and the Fox Theatre.

In August of 1963, after conducting research that proved patterns of persistent segregated employment in St. Louis, Alderman Bill Clay, and his colleagues from the St. Louis Chapter of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, launched the historic sit-ins and protests at the Jefferson Bank and Trust Company in downtown St. Louis.

That protest, which included his unjust arrest and enduring 118 days in jail, resulted in a historic victory for equality which broke the back of segregation in St. Louis. Bill Clay had made history, and it was just the beginning.

Bill Clay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, representing Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. He was the first African American elected to Congress from Missouri.

In 1971, Congressman Clay and twelve other colleagues founded the Congressional Black Caucus, which has continuously stood as the conscience of the Congress and the nation for 54 years.

Congressman Clay served for 32 years, sponsoring more than three hundred major pieces of legislation.

From 1991 to 1995, he chaired the powerful House

Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service. Clay also served on the Education and Labor Committee throughout his career where he was a fearless champion for organized labor and working people.

In 1993, Congressman Clay authored, and helped pass H.R. 1, the Family & Medical Leave Act, which was the first bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

In 1996, Congressman Clay led the successful effort to raise the Federal Minimum Wage.

Upon his retirement in 2001, he was the fourth most senior member of the U.S. House. He was succeeded by his son, Congressman Lacy Clay, who served for ten terms.

Bill Clay also founded the William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund which has provided more than three hundred deserving students with a free college education.

Congressman Bill Clay was honored by the establishment of the William L. Clay Center for Nanoscience at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the William L. Clay, Sr. Early Childhood Development Center at Harris-Stowe State University, and the William L. Clay, Sr. Institute of Civic Engagement and Economic Justice at his alma mater, Saint Louis University.

He was the acclaimed author of six books and received numerous awards and twelve honorary degrees.

Congressman Bill Clay is survived by his children Vicki (Michael Jackson); Lacy (Patricia); Michelle (Henry Rorie), and his sister, Ms. Flora Everett. He was beloved by five grandchildren: Angela Thomas (Juan); Anthony Alexis, Jr.; H. Clay Rorie; Carol Bennett (Lance) and William Clay, III; as well as two great grandchildren, Ryan and Anthony Alexis, III. He was also loved by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends.

Millions of Americans who never knew him, know his good work. And their lives are better because of his fearless advocacy for those who had no voice. Real heroes are rare. Bill Clay was one of them.

The family would appreciate memorials being directed to the William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund, wlcsrf.org.

Following his burial at Arlington National Cemetery with full military and congressional honors, Congressman Bill Clay’s life and legacy will be celebrated at a public memorial service in St. Louis, Missouri. That date will be shared when confirmed.