Curtis Graves, one of the first African Americans to serve in the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction, is being remembered as a political pioneer and civil rights activist. He died in Atlanta at the age of 84.
Graves represented Houston in the State Legislature from 1967 to 1973. He championed such issues as raising the minimum wage, eliminating food tax and incentivizing adoption of minority and disabled children.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a former Texas state senator, admired Graves’ determination to make a difference.
“As a high school student, I remember reading about Representative Curtis Graves jumping on his table on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives when the speaker refused to acknowledge him. I was immediately inspired, so much so that I remember being threatened with expulsion for wearing a ‘Vote Curtis Graves’ button at school,” Ellis said.
“From marching alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to his service in the Legislature, Curtis Graves showed a generation of young politicians and activists that no one will give you a platform to fight for your beliefs; you have to take it. Texas is a better place because of his service and his spirit.”
Graves, a native of New Orleans, attended Xavier University before transferring to Texas Southern University. He found his voice as an activist at TSU, where he participated in sit-ins and marches, and helped found the Progressive Youth Association, which advocated for desegregation in Houston.
After serving three terms in the Texas House, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor and for the Texas Senate. He worked for George McGovern’s campaign and later moved to Washington, D.C. He landed a job with NASA, where he served as director of Educational Programs and director of Public Affairs. He retired from NASA in 2003 and moved to Tucker, Ga.
Survivors include his wife, Kay, three children and six grandchildren. His daughter Gizelle Bryant stars on “The Real Housewives of Potomac.”