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Former African-American congressional leader endorses Clinton

By Scott Shepard | Tuesday, September 25, 2007, 11:42 AM

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has lined up some of the country’s most influential and best known black leaders in his bid to become the country’s first African-American president. But today, he lost an important endorsement to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign.

William Gray, a one-time high ranking member of Congress from Pennsylvania and the former head of the United Negro College Fund, said there is no candidate in the Democratic field with Clinton’s experience.

Moreover, “I believe she has the strength, wisdom and compassion to be our next president,” Gray said in a statement released by the Clinton campaign.

Gray served 13 years in Congress, becoming the first African-American to chair the House Budget Committee and the Democratic Caucus and to serve as House Majority Whip.

Gray is also influential in the African-American church community. An ordained minister, he was pastor of the Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia for 35 years.

During Bill Clinton’s presidency, Gray served as a special adviser for Haitian Affairs.

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