Ray is a former Adviser for Race Equality for Liverpool Local Education Authority and is a life-long activist in the cause of the education of black pupils.

After being educated at Granby Street School and the CF Mott Teachers’ Training College he taught in city schools, later being awarded a Master’s degree in education and a PhD from Liverpool University.

Ray has been involved with many radio and television programmes about the history of British black people and researched the CD Rom on the Slave Trade for use in Liverpool Schools for National Museums Liverpool. He is also a historical consultant for the International Slavery Museum, opened in August 2007.

Ray is the author of a number of publications concerned with providing role-figures for black children, one being “Black Liverpool: the Early History of Britain's Oldest Black Community 1730 -1918”, published in 2001 and "Liverpool Black Pioneers" published in 2007.