FILE – In this July 21, 2012 file photo, comedian and activist Dick Gregory poses for a portrait during the PBS TCA Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. Gregory, the comedian and activist and who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84. Gregory died late Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week, his son Christian Gregory told The Associated Press. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.
(Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File
FILE – In this Jan. 20, 2016 file photo, long time civil rights activist, writer, social critic, and comedian Dick Gregory, talks to the crowd at the 16th annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival, MLK Leadership Luncheon, at the University Area Community Development Center, in Tampa, Fla. Gregory, the comedian and activist and who broke racial barriers in the 1960s and used his humor to spread messages of social justice and nutritional health, has died. He was 84. Gregory died late Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, in Washington, D.C. after being hospitalized for about a week, his son Christian Gregory told The Associated Press. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection.
(Scott Keeler /Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Scott Keeler /Tampa Bay Times via AP
Comedians Dick Gregory (left) and Dave Chappelle are also among the new faces in the Ben’s Chili Bowl mural.
(WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WTOP/Kate Ryan
Dick Gregory attended the Oct. 18, 2015 event honoring Eddie Murphy with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
(Courtesy Shannon Finney, www.shannonfinneyphotography.com)
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Friends and family of Dick Gregory have gathered at a Maryland church in the suburbs of the nation’s capital to celebrate the life of the comedian and activist.
The service was held Saturday at City of Praise Family Ministries in Landover, Maryland.
Reena Evers-Everette, the daughter of slain Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers, says they gathered “to hear about the funny man, the straight man, who impacted our minds and impacted our hearts.”
Gregory, who broke racial barriers in the 1960s, used his humor to spread messages of social justice. His commentary led him into civil rights activism. His talent as a comedian helped bring national attention to efforts at integration and social equality for black people.
He died in Washington, D.C., last month at the age of 84.
