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Univ. of Toronto
<martin.klein@utoronto.ca>
Lisa Anne McNee wrote:
Dear Martin,
If the obituary that you posted is for the Chris Gray I knew
as a fellow graduate student at Indiana University, I am
deeply shocked and saddened by the news of his death. Chris
was a deeply committed Africanist scholar and activist whose
work in the field and in the library did not stop when he
went home. He did a great deal for Amnesty International`s
efforts, and also helped many of our fellow graduate
students who were from Africa in a variety of ways.
Chris worked with Phyllis Martin on Gabon, but had a broad
background in African Studies. He was a Peace Corps
volunteer in Senegal and in Gabon, and his M.A. thesis from
SOAS (on Cheikh Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga) was
published as a book. Given this background, he actually was
a mentor for those of us who, like myself, had had fewer
chances to travel to the continent and work with specialists
in African Studies before attending Indiana.
Conversations with Chris were always lively and interesting,
yet never intimidating. He had a way of making everyone feel
at ease and at home. Perhaps this was so because he had his
own special style and personality, and allowed everyone else
to cultivate theirs as well. He was as humane a person as I
have yet to meet, and will be greatly missed. I wish to
express my profound condolences to his wife Kisanga and
their children.
Sincerely,
Lisa McNee
Queen`s University
 Humanities & Social Sciences Online 
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