Longtime House Democrat Passes Away

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“St. Louis was no different from any of the cities in the South,” Clay said in a 1998 profile. “We had rigid segregation — not by law, but by custom.”

Civil rights trailblazer and Congressional Black Caucus co-founder Bill Clay Sr. leaves behind a powerful legacy of advocacy. https://t.co/UhtBVSI8J8

— Black Enterprise (@blackenterprise) July 18, 2025

Louis Democrats who came of age under Clay’s shadow paid tribute to him on Friday.

Louis Mayor Cara Spencer told SLNPR that Clay’s “courageous legacy of public service to St. Louis and the country is etched in his historic legislative battles for the poor, underrepresented and disenfranchised.”

“Millions have him to thank for the Family and Medical Leave Act and raising the minimum wage,” Spencer said. “Generations of Black congressional leaders have followed in his footsteps as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he co-founded in 1971

We thank him for his generous service to a city he cared deeply for.” Advertisement Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO) called Clay a ”giant — not just for St. Louis, not just for Missouri, but for the entirety of our country.”

“I counted Mr. Clay as a grand mentor, as a trailblazer, and as a dear friend,” Bell said in a statement. “But more than that, I carry his example with me every time I walk onto the House Floor.”