Norma Gray resigns as Rock Hill NAACP president, but her work in York County isn’t done
A leader of a prominent local civil rights organization has stepped away.
Norma Gray, the president of the Rock Hill branch of the NAACP for one year, resigned from her post this week. She’s done so to pursue other social justice endeavors and, simultaneously, to fulfill a near-lifelong dream.
“I’ve been a social activist for over 50 years,” Gray told The Herald Thursday. “With that in mind, having my own social activism network has always been a goal of mine.”
Gray will still be a member of the organization’s Rock Hill branch, a membership of approximately 300 people. But stepping away from this position of leadership, she said, will give her the chance to build an organization she’s calling “Get Clear: Social Justice Network” and also the freedom, at times, to “speak as Norma Gray,” not solely as the Rock Hill NAACP president.
Gray has been involved with the local NAACP chapter for over 10 years. When she took the leadership role, she became a leading voice in her community.
She became president in January 2021, not long after the killing of George Floyd. The incident — where Floyd, a Black man, was suffocated by the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer — was caught on video and sparked protests and conversations about race relations nationwide.
In response, Gray helped organize multiple local peaceful protests at Fountain Park in downtown Rock Hill, including one that gathered a crowd of over 1,000 people. As part of the same effort, she spearheaded the push for the city to implement a citizen’s review board — an entity formed to give residents more of a voice in how the Rock Hill police department interacts with the public and, generally, to promote trust between law enforcement and the public. The board, established in September 2020, was the first of its kind in York County.
Gray’s influence extended as her tenure did.
She continued to speak out on community-wide issues on behalf of the NAACP — having a voice in the Rock Hill School District’s decision to redistrict its elementary schools last year, setting up discussions and forums for the public to air community problems, and advocating for gun safety and gun-violence accountability.
Last summer, she worked with the Rock Hill police chief and the Rock Hill mayor after Travis Price, a Black man, was physically confronted and arrested by a Rock Hill police officer Jonathan Moreno. The incident that was caught on Facebook Live and led to days of protests against police brutality.
Gray was instrumental in the release of Moreno’s bodycam video in June, which led to Moreno’s firing and public apology. She followed the case through Moreno’s trial that ended Wednesday with an acquittal — a verdict she said proves “there is still room for racism for Rock Hill” and that her work is not done in York County.
“My takeaway is Travis did not get justice, and no other person should get faced with that,” Gray said. She added that the instance has inspired her to produce legislation — the “Travis Law,” she’s calling it — focused on limiting use of force by policemen in South Carolina.
Carol Harvey-Hughes, formerly the first vice president, has replaced Gray as the branch’s president.
“It was hard to type that letter (of resignation),” Gray said. “I’m proud knowing that (in my tenure) I seized every moment to embrace the mission and vision of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated when Gray began acting as president of the Rock Hill branch of the NAACP. Her tenure began in Jan. 2021, not Jan. 2020.
