Jack W. Gravely was the definition of outspoken. He never hesitated to speak his mind about issues affecting the African-American community.

The son of a coal miner, he led the charge for civil rights during two separate stints as executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP, most recently in the past year.

He also used his robust voice to build a wide audience as a Richmond radio talk show host, first on WRVA, 1140 AM from 1996 to 2001 and most recently on WREJ, Rejoice 990 AM (formerly WLEE), where his show has aired since 2008.

To his listeners, he became known for strong, thoughtful, independent opinions and informed conversations on current events and civic affairs with local and national opinion makers, educators and political figures.

He once said the greatest compliment was having someone say, “I don’t agree with a thing you say, but I’m going to listen tomorrow.”

His bold voice was stilled on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016.

“His heart gave out,” said Rodney Thomas, a friend and former state NAACP lobbyist who worked closely with Mr. Gravely during the past year.

Mr. Thomas said Mr. Gravely died of cardiac arrest about 12:45 p.m. at VCU Medical Center, where he had been taken for a medical procedure. He was 72.

Mr. Gravely had been battling a form of intestinal cancer in recent months, Mr. Thomas said, as he continued his daily radio show and dealt with a stressful end to his executive leadership of the state NAACP. He had been hospitalized since late July, Mr. Thomas said.

His funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Good Shepherd Baptist Church, 2223 S. Crater Road in Petersburg, where he served as a deacon.

The family will hold a wake from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at the church.

Like many, state NAACP President Linda Thomas expressed shock and sadness at Mr. Gravely’s death. She praised his work for the NAACP “as nothing short of legendary.”

“He was a larger than life presence with a passion for civil rights advocacy,” Ms. Thomas stated Tuesday, with an ability “to articulate the ideology and goals of the organization to a broad spectrum of people. He was as comfortable speaking with high-ranking government officials as he was with the grassroots community organizers.”

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder described Mr. Gravely “as a great friend and a strong supporter for many of the things I fought for” while serving as a senator in the General Assembly. That included his effort to eliminate “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” as the state song and his push to replace at-large districts with single-member districts for General Assembly members, leading to an increase in the number of African-American legislators.

“Richmond has lost a true freedom fighter with the passing of Jack Gravely,” Mayor Dwight C. Jones stated.

“As a seasoned broadcaster, he worked to lift the consciousness of the public on many important matters,” the mayor stated. “He was a person who had a true heart for all people, and the public policy arena has lost a sturdy rudder.”

Mr. Gravely “devoted his life to trying to make Richmond and Virginia a better place to live,” stated U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-3rd, who first met Mr. Gravely while serving as president of the Newport News Branch of the NAACP in the 1970s.

To Congressman Scott, Mr. Gravely was best known “for his savvy political analysis and sometimes heated back-and-forth with politicians and community leaders on his talk show. Jack’s booming voice has been a staple … and I will greatly miss talking politics and public policy with him.”

Taking a break from the campaign trail, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine offered his reflections on a man he described as “an incredibly influential voice in Richmond and communities throughout our commonwealth for decades.”

“As someone who had the pleasure of knowing Jack for years,” Sen. Kaine stated, “I can tell you that he was as genuine as it gets, was extremely passionate about the important issues of our time and possessed a truly admirable work ethic. I know he will be remembered for those qualities and for his phenomenal work as executive director of the state NAACP, where he sought diligently to improve the communities he loved so dearly.”

To U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, “Jack Gravely was a steady presence, urging constructive dialogue and fighting for fairness and positive change. He always lent his strong voice to important issues that were commonly ignored.”

Mr. Gravely’s road to civil rights leadership and the broadcast microphone began in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

The seventh of 12 children, Mr. Gravely grew up in the Tazewell County town of Pocahontas. After his father was killed in a coal mine explosion in 1957, his mother, who cleaned homes, worked to ensure that all of her children stayed out of the mines.

In an interview, Mr. Gravely recalled that listening to radio was a big part of his growing up, along with school and church, though he also remembered shining shoes and running moonshine for gamblers to earn pocket money as a child.

After high school, he went to Fayetteville State University where he played football and took part in successful student protests during the Civil Rights Movement to end segregated seating in movie theaters and restaurants.

Drafted after graduation, he served in an Army combat support unit in Vietnam and then earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1972.

Avoiding big law firms, he came to Richmond to serve as a lawyer for the poor with the Legal Aid Society.

Four years later, he sought and won the job of the state NAACP executive director after learning that W. Lester Banks was retiring.

From 1976 to 1984, he sought to boost the visibility of the state civil rights group. He led voter drives and protests against at-large voting districts at the state and local levels that blocked African-Americans from winning representation.

He left the state NAACP office in 1984, but later would serve two two-year terms as president of the state NAACP’s Board of Directors. A life member of the civil rights organization, he also spent two years at the NAACP national headquarters in the early 1990s as a special assistant to then executive director Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks.

In April 2015, Mr. Gravely agreed to step in as interim executive director of the state NAACP to help turn around the organization that had become rudderless following the dismissal a year earlier of Executive Director King Salim Khalfani.

Mr. Thomas credits Mr. Gravely with rebuilding frayed ties with local branches, backing Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s expanded push to restore voting rights for felons and pressing for U.S. Justice Department probes of African-Americans who died in police or jail custody in Northern Virginia and South Boston.

Mr. Gravely resigned last month following a dispute with the board over his independence.

Mr. Gravely spent much of his career in the Washington area, where he was involved in promoting diversity in employment, first as a special assistant for the county manager in Arlington County and then at National Public Radio.

In 1995, he became the first diversity specialist for the Federal Communications Commission, a job he held until he retired in 2008.

A man of high energy, he also handled his WRVA radio talk show for five years until April 2001, when the station’s new owners booted him and other local radio personalities in favor of syndicated shows.

Mr. Gravely and his wife of 21 years, Barbara Gravely, a retired schoolteacher, resided in Petersburg. He was the father of four children.