Briahna Joy Gray
upright=Briahna Joy Gray SXSW 2019
Gray in 2019
Born (1985-08-15) August 15, 1985
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA, JD)

Briahna Joy Gray (born August 15, 1985) is an American political commentator, lawyer, and political consultant who served as the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Gray is a contributing editor for Current Affairs, and was a senior politics editor for The Intercept.[1][2][3] She hosts her own podcast, Bad Faith, and co-hosts The Hill's web series Rising.[4][5]

Early life and education

Briahna Joy Gray was born on August 15, 1985, in Washington, D.C., to Reuben Gray and Leslie Fair-Gray, both of whom were teachers.[6] Although initially raised in North Carolina, Gray spent time in Saudi Arabia and Kenya while her parents taught at international schools in those countries.[7] In February 2001, while driving in Nairobi, Gray's father sustained fatal injuries in a car accident involving an American diplomat.[8]

Gray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.[4][9]

Career

After graduating from law school, Gray worked as a corporate litigator in New York City for Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. She was also the host of Someone’s Wrong on the Internet, a podcast that covers politics and pop culture.[10] Gray was hired by The Intercept in 2018, and has also written columns for Rolling Stone, Current Affairs, The Guardian, and New York Magazine. Gray supported Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and joined his 2020 campaign as his National Press Secretary.[4][11] Gray has stated that she voted for Jill Stein in the 2016 presidential election.[4][12][13]

In 2020, Gray was included in Fortune magazine's '40 Under 40' listing under the "Government and Politics" category.[14] On April 13, 2020, after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary, Gray stated on Twitter that she did not endorse the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.[15] In response, Bernie Sanders distanced himself from her saying that "She is my former press secretary — not on the payroll."

Since Sanders' 2020 Democratic primary campaign ended, Gray returned to her role as contributing editor at Current Affairs in addition to hosting the Bad Faith podcast, co-founded with Virgil Texas from Chapo Trap House.[4][16] As of 2023, she is a co-host on the YouTube program Rising from The Hill.

References

  1. ↑ Fang, Marina (March 19, 2019). "Bernie Sanders Hires 2 Journalists For Presidential Campaign". HuffPost. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ Calderone, Michael (July 15, 2019). "Sanders campaign: Media 'find Bernie annoying, discount his seriousness'". POLITICO. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Briahna Gray". The Intercept. February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kludt, Tom (February 18, 2021). "Briahna Joy Gray Wants to Upend Democrats' Political Strategy". Vanity Fair. Conde Nast. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Briahna Joy Gray | The Hill | Page 1". The Hill. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  6. ↑ Gray, Briahna Joy (March 13, 2019). "My parents were so committed to getting us a quality education (which we weren't getting in NC public schools) that they literally became teachers in the international school circuit so that we could have a better education for free. (Tuition was free for teacher's kids)". @briebriejoy. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ Starr, Terrell Jermaine (March 20, 2020). "Bernie Sanders' Messenger: Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray Keeps Fighting the Good Fight". The Root. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  8. ↑ Crossed Paths in Africa. Haygood, Wil. The Washington Post. 23 December 2002. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (March 20, 2019). "Briahna Joy Gray, Bernie Sanders' Press Secretary: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  10. ↑ "The Intercept Adds an Editor Who'll Cover the Democrats' Future | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. April 26, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Bernie Sanders' Messenger: Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray Keeps Fighting the Good Fight". The Root. March 20, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Regarding Briahna Joy Gray, the national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign". Daily Kos. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Briahna Joy Gray [@briebriejoy] (July 22, 2017). "I voted for Jill Stein. Feel free to hear my explanation re why on an early ep of @SWOTIpodcast" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ "Briahna Joy Gray | 2020 40 under 40 in Government and Politics". Fortune. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Sanders campaign spokeswoman: 'I don't endorse Joe Biden'". The Hill. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  16. ↑ Robinson, Nathan (October 16, 2020). "The Chomsky position on voting". Current Affairs. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
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