Curtis M. Graves (August 26, 1938 – July 26, 2023) was an American civil rights activist and politician in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He was one of the first African Americans to serve in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

since the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

Early life

Curtis Matthew Graves was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

on August 26, 1938, to Fregelio Joseph Graves and Mable Haydel Graves. He grew up in a creole family, his father and uncle owned Butsy and Buddy's, the only black-owned Esso stations in Louisiana at the time. Graves attended

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

, before transferring to

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

, where he joined

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

and graduated in 1963 with a degree in business administration. Graves participated in sit-ins, marches, and helped found the Progressive Youth Association which played a major role in the desegregation of Houston.

Career

Graves was a member of the

from 1967 to 1973 as a Democrat. Along with

Barbara Jordan Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-A ...

and

Joe Lockridge Joseph Edwin Lockridge (July 15, 1932 – May 3, 1968) was one of the first African Americans to serve in the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction, representing the 33rd District in Dallas County. He was elected alongside State Sen ...

, he was one of three African-American members elected in 1966, the first ones since 1896. Graves was a major force in the Civil Rights Movement during which he worked with Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 196 ...

. A businessman, he was an alumnus of

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. He also worked for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's academic affairs division and as Director for Civil Affairs. Graves was an artistic photographer.

Personal life

Curtis Graves was married to Joanne Graves, with whom he had three children. One of his children is

Gizelle Bryant Gizelle Annette Bryant (née Graves; born September 9, 1970) is a American model, television personality and author. She was the First Lady of Empowerment Temple AME. She has appeared on the reality TV series '' The Real Housewives of Potomac' ...

, star of

The Real Housewives of Potomac ''The Real Housewives of Potomac'' (abbreviated ''RHOP'') is an American reality television series that premiered on January 17, 2016, on Bravo. It has aired six seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women living ...

and former wife of megachurch pastor

Jamal Bryant Jamal Harrison Bryant (born May 21, 1971) is an American minister, author and former political candidate. He is the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and of Duke University. He received h ...

. Graves was married to Kay Bryant and resided in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

.https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tucker-ga/curtis-graves-11386916 Curtis Graves died on July 26, 2023, at the age of 84.

References

1938 births 2023 deaths Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives African-American politicians African-American people in Texas politics Louisiana Creole people People from New Orleans Activists from Houston Politicians from Houston Photographers from Texas Politicians from New Orleans Princeton University alumni Texas Southern University alumni {{Texas-politician-stub