LDF Seeks to Reverse Parade Conviction of Ala. Minister

Press Release
August 5, 1969

LDF Seeks to Reverse Parade Conviction of Ala. Minister preview

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  • Press Releases, Volume 6. LDF Seeks to Reverse Parade Conviction of Ala. Minister, 1969. d84501a8-b992-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/d80bfe9a-1f4c-476e-a25b-81294f5e622f/ldf-seeks-to-reverse-parade-conviction-of-ala-minister. Accessed August 19, 2025.

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    President 
Hon. Francis E. Rivers 

PRESS RELEASE Director-Counsel 
egal efense und Inck Gesoabere 

Director, Public Relations 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. Jesse DeVore, Jr. 

10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 » JUdson 6-8397 NIGHT NUMBER 212-749-8487 

FOR RELEASE 
TUESDAY 
August 5, 1969 

LDF SEEKS TO REVERSE PARADE 
CONVICTION OF ALA. MINISTER 

WASHINGTON,D.C.---In the first case of its kind (parading without a 

permit) to go to the Supreme Court since Shuttlesworth v. City of 

Birmingham, a Negro minister in Prichard, Alabama, has filed a 

petition in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking reversal of his conviction 

for allegedly parading without a permit. 

The petition, being filed by NAACP Legal Defense and Educational 

Fund, Inc. (LDF) attorneys, states that the Reverend A. Robert Ray, 

a minister active in the Mobile County Civil Rights Movement, was 

unjustly convicted for conducting a civil rights march for equal 

employment opportunity on June 12, 1968 in Prichard, Alabama. 

Rev. Ray testified that he applied for a parade permit in ample 

time for it to be considered and approved. But at the last minute, 

without warning, the Mayor and the City Council cancelled the permit 

for no apparent reason. Only during Rev. Ray's trial were some 

reasons given. 

According to Rev. Ray's attorneys, the City Council's final 

denial on June 10 of the Movement's application for a parade permit 

abridged the right of assembly of Rev. Ray and other members of the 

Movement. 

They further state that the Court must act to prevent state and 

city officials from breaching their public trust to keep open streets 

and parks for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between 

citizens, and discussing public questions in the future. 

=30= 

NOTE: The LDF is a completely separate and distinct organization 

even though we were established by the NAACP and those initials are 

retained in our name. Our correct designation is NAACP Legal Defense 

and Educational Fund, Inc., frequently shortened to LDF.

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