Gregory used his humour to break racial barriers in the 1960s and even ran for president in 1968 Dick Gregory, the black comedian who broke down racial barriers in the 1960s and used humour to spread messages of social justice, has died. He was 84. Gregorys son, Christian, said his father died late on Saturday in Washington, DC after having been hospitalised for about a week. He had suffered a severe bacterial infection. The family posted a message on his Twitter account saying it was with enormous sadness that they confirmed the death of their father, a comedic legend. Dick Gregory (@IAmDickGregory) It is with enormous sadness that the Gregory family confirms that their father, comedic legend August 20, 2017 Gregory was one of the first black comedians to find mainstream success with white audiences in the early 1960s. He rose from an impoverished childhood in St. Louis to become a celebrated satirist who deftly commented upon racial divisions at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Where else in the world but America, he joked, could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a