Washington, D.C., Aug. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The following is a statement from Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) President & CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams:
My colleagues and I at Thurgood Marshall College Fund mourn the loss of former board member and trailblazer for Black Americans in the military, Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg. He was a longtime supporter of TMCF and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Gen. Gregg retired as the highest-ranking Black officer in the U.S. military in 1981 and his impact still reverberates, as a fort named after a Confederate general was recently renamed in his honor (Fort Gregg-Adams in Virginia). He bore witness to desegregation in the military, which was slow to non-existent at the start in 1948. Despite having to give up his interest in medical science because of limitations imposed on Black soldiers, Gen. Gregg found a new niche and became the first Black brigadier general in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in 1972. He later became the first Black lieutenant general in the Army.
Gen. Gregg was also present for a pivotal time in TMCF’s history: when it merged with Opportunity Funding Corporation in 2013. He has been a fixture at TMCF and held a deep commitment to the HBCU community.
We share in our grief with his family and friends and honor his legacy of service, dedication and making new paths for Black Americans in the military.
