Dick Gregory, 1932 – 2017

The pioneering civil right activist and comedian Dick Gregory passed away on August 19, 2017 at the age of 84. He was in Washington DC being treated for heart failure when he died.

Sonali Kolhatkar interviewed Gregory in 2010 on her former show, Uprising. Click the above link to listen to that interview.

Dick Gregory was an entertainer, political comedian, writer, and even a spokesperson for health issues. He came to prominence in the 1960s after a profile in Time magazine and a television appearance on “The Jack Paar Show.” He then began regularly hitting the comedy circuit on television, in nightclubs, and in concerts, addressing issues of racism, poverty, and segregation. He marched often in civil rights demonstrations, and was arrested several times. Gregory also ran for mayor of Chicago in 1966 and for president of the United States in 1968. He wrote several books, the most controversial of which was his 1964 autobiography whose title he chose as the N-word. He even issued a music CD called “21st Century State of the Union.”