Going Deeper Interview with Ray Elliot, Part One, October, 2014. I interviewed Ray Elliot when he was 91 years old. A prominent African American leader in Amherst, Ray co-founded a group called Citizens For Racial Amity Now (CRAN) and worked to have proclaimed a National Day of Racial Amity in Amherst. Born in Cambridge, MA, a Bahai, and a chemist, Ray has many deep and important stories to tell.