Capital Region News

Prominent Albany attorney dead at 95

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published January 18, 2022 at 4:57 PM EST

A prominent Albany attorney and civil rights trailblazer has died.

According to the Capital District Black and Hispanic Bar Association, Peter Pryor was the first African American to graduate from Albany Law School since Reconstruction.

As an attorney, he was known for representing victims of discrimination and poor clients.

He took on the Democratic machine in voter and housing discrimination cases and founded the Albany Urban League. The Georgia native was 95.

In a statement, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said “Albany has lost a legend." No date has been set for his funeral.

Capital Region News

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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