Former Rep. Bill Clay Sr. (D-Mo.), one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus and an icon in Missouri’s civil rights movement, died this week, the CBC said.
“Congressman Clay helped build the CBC into a force for equity and accountability in American Democracy,” caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said Thursday in a press statement. “As a member of Congress, he was a fierce defender of labor rights, education and social justice.”
Clay was 94.
Clay became Missouri’s first Black congressman when St. Louis voters elected him in 1968. He entered the House alongside two other Black lawmakers, former Reps. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) and Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) The trio helped launch the Congressional Black Caucus several years later in 1971.
Clay spent his entire 32-year career in the House serving on the Education and Labor Committee, where he championed efforts to reform the Hatch Act and promoted the Family and Medical Leave Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
When Clay left public office, he was succeeded by his son, William Lacy Clay Jr., who served in Congress until 2021.
“His work laid the foundation for future generations of Black leadership in public service,” Clarke wrote. “May he rest in power and everlasting peace.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated New York Rep. Yvette Clarke’s state affiliation.