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Before Congress, Clay was already active in the civil rights movement. Elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen at just 28, he supported protests against segregation in local businesses. Reflecting on that era, he once said, “St. Louis was no different from any of the cities in the South… We had strict segregation — not mandated by law, but by societal norms.” His early leadership helped Black residents gain political power after the Civil Rights Act era.
