William H. Gremley (1913-1992), civil rights activist, sociologist and human relations official, was born on November 16, 1913. After serving in World War II, Gremley moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1952 after accepting the position of Executive Secretary for the newly established Kansas City Commission on Human Relations. Throughout the 1950s, Gremley also taught sociology classes at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and continued publishing articles on intergroup relations and civil rights. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Kansas City in 1959. Later that year, Gremley resigned from his position in Kansas City to take the Executive Director position for the Community Relations Board in Cleveland, Ohio. After two years in Cleveland, Gremley resigned from that position and worked briefly for the Peace Corps administration office in Washington, D.C.
From 1963 until he retired in 1981, Gremley served as a contract compliance officer for the United States Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce, working to enforce federal equal employment regulations. After retirement, Gremley began his own contract compliance consulting business in Seattle. Gremley died in Seattle, Washington on December 18, 1992.
From the description of William H. Gremley papers, 1941-1988. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 213099368
