Briahna Joy Gray

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. Prior to joining the campaign, Gray was a contributing editor for Current Affairs, as well as a senior politics editor for The Intercept.[1][2][3]

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

Early life and education

Gray was born August 15, 1985 in Howard University Hospital, Washington, D.C..[4][5][6] Both of her parents were teachers.[7] Gray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.[8]

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.[9] Gray was hired by The Intercept in 2018, and has also written columns for Rolling Stone, Current Affairs, The Guardian, and New York Magazine.

She was a supporter of the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and joined his 2020 campaign as his National Press Secretary.[10] Gray has stated that she voted for Jill Stein in the 2016 presidential election.[11][12]

After joining the Sanders campaign in March 2019, Gray became the host of Hear the Bern, a podcast sponsored by the campaign that features interviews with progressive celebrities, journalists, and political figures.[13] Gray has also been featured on CBS News, MSNBC, Bloomberg News, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, The Michael Brooks Show, and Rising on The Hill TV.[14][15][16][17][18] Gray appeared as a guest speaker at the Harvard Law Review Forum.[19] In 2020, Gray was included in Fortune magazine's '40 Under 40' listing under the "Government and Politics" category.[20]

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.[21] In response, Bernie Sanders distanced himself from her saying that “She is my former press secretary — not on the payroll.”[22] Sanders also stated that it would be "irresponsible" not to vote for Joe Biden.[23]

Since the conclusion of Bernie Sanders' 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Gray has returned to her role as contributing editor at Current Affairs in addition to co-hosting the Bad Faith podcast with Chapo Trap House co-host Virgil Texas. One of the podcast's most discussed episodes was an October 2020 debate with Noam Chomsky, who implored listeners to vote for Joe Biden as a second Trump presidency would be more detrimental to the left. Conversely, Gray and Texas argued that progressives should only be willing to vote for one of the major parties if certain standards are met.[24][25]

Gray is a contributor to The Gravel Institute.[26] She has appeared as a guest on The West Wing Thing podcast.[27] She is also a frequent guest on the progressive web series, Rising with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti.

References
  1. "Briahna Gray". The Intercept. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  2. Fang, Marina (2019-03-19). "Bernie Sanders Hires 2 Journalists For Presidential Campaign". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  3. Calderone, Michael. "Sanders campaign: Media 'find Bernie annoying, discount his seriousness'". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  4. @briebriejoy (14 August 2020). "My birthday is tomorrow!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. @briebriejoy (10 June 2020). "I am 34. Dont want to be 35. Certainly don't want to be 36. Easy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. @briebriejoy (3 March 2019). "Here it is. The new "white adjacent" is "you're not a real black person because you're not ADOS." Except I am. It kills these folks that they can't dismiss me for identity reasons. Born to two black Bisons in Howard University hospital" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. Gray, Briahna Joy (2019-03-13). "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 2020-02-21.
  8. Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (2019-03-20). "Briahna Joy Gray, Bernie Sanders' Press Secretary: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  9. "The Intercept Adds an Editor Who'll Cover the Democrats' Future | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  10. "Bernie Sanders' Messenger: Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray Keeps Fighting the Good Fight". The Root. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  11. "Regarding Briahna Joy Gray, the national press secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign". Daily Kos. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  12. Briahna Joy Gray [@briebriejoy] (21 July 2017). "I voted for Jill Stein. Feel free to hear my explanation re why on an early ep of @SWOTIpodcast" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. "Podcast". Bernie Sanders - Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  14. "National press secretary for Sanders 2020 campaign on diversity of supporters". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  15. Bernie Sanders raises $25 million; press secretary discusses campaign strategy, retrieved 2020-02-21
  16. Sheffield, Matthew (2019-04-01). "Sanders spokeswoman Briahna Joy Gray discusses healthcare and 2020 Democratic race". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  17. "The Majority Report". The Majority Report. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  18. Bernie Sanders National Press Secretary on Resonating With Voters, retrieved 2020-02-21
  19. Policing Identity Politics in Trump's America: Briahna Joy Gray at The Harvard Law Forum, retrieved 2020-02-21
  20. "Briahna Joy Gray | 2020 40 under 40 in Government and Politics". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  21. "Sanders campaign spokeswoman: 'I don't endorse Joe Biden'". The Hill. 13 April 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  22. "AP Interview: Sanders says opposing Biden is 'irresponsible'". AP. 14 April 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  23. "AP Interview: Sanders says opposing Biden is irresponsible". Associated Press. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  24. Robinson, Nathan (2020-10-16). "The Chomsky position on voting". Current Affairs. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  25. Burgis, Ben; McManus, Matt (2020-10-28). "Why the socialist left should vote for Biden". Areo. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  26. H. Jon Benjamin & The Gravel Institute (28 September 2020). "How to Defeat PragerU: Introducing the Gravel Institute". YouTube. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  27. "The West Wing Thing: Game On w/Special Guest Briahna Joy Gray". westwingthing.libsyn.com.
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