Former Democrat Representative of Missouri William (Bill) Lacy Clay Sr. has passed away. Rep. Clay died on Wednesday at the age of 94. Clay served 16 terms in the House and during his tenure he was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Politico had more details to share on Rep. Clay: Former Rep. Bill Clay Sr. (D-Mo.), one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus and an icon in Missouri’s civil rights movement, died this week, the CBC said. “Congressman Clay helped build the CBC into a force for equity and accountability in American Democracy,” caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said Thursday in a press statement. “As a member of Congress, he was a fierce defender of labor rights, education and social justice.” Clay was 94. Clay became Missouri’s first Black congressman when St. Louis voters elected him in 1968. He entered the House alongside two other Black lawmakers, former Reps. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) and Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) The trio helped launch the Congressional Black Caucus several years later in 1971. Former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., a St. Louis powerbroker who became Missouri’s first elected Black member of Congress and went on to serve 16 terms in the House, died at the age of 94. https://t.co/ghFNKn01Hu pic.twitter.com/zFIYKKP56d — Roll Call (@rollcall) July 18, 2025 Roll Call reported more on Clay’s legacy: Former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., a St. Louis powerbroker who became Missouri’s first elected Black member of Congress and went on to serve 16 terms in the House, died Wednesday at the age of 94. First elected in 1968, the Democrat was succeeded in the House by his son, former Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., who himself served for 10 terms. The elder Clay, born April 30, 1931, in St. Louis, was a fixture in his home town’s politics for more than six decades. When he first came to Congress, Clay was labeled a Black militant. He gradually adjusted his political focus and rhetoric to match his slightly less Black and more conservative district, but his voting record remained decidedly liberal. A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Clay supported abortion rights and opposed amending the Constitution to permit laws to ban the burning of the flag. He voted against prohibiting the use of federal funds for needle distribution and against Republican proposals to permit states to use federal funds for school vouchers. Over his 32-year tenure, Clay enjoyed some notable legislative successes, including the enactment in the first year of the Clinton administration of two measures he had long pushed for — the Family and Medical Leave Act and changes to the Hatch Act, which limits political activities of federal workers.