Jean Graetz with hustband, Rev. Robert Graetz Photo by David Campbell/ASU The family of Jean Graetz, a nationally-known civil rights pioneer, held a virtual memorial service for her Sunday. Graetz died last month at her home in Montgomery at the age of 90. The service can be seen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PHQ2oJfaJ2g The service was held at Montgomery’s historic First Baptist…
Alabama News Network is sad to report the death of longtime civil rights supporter Jeannie Graetz. She and her husband Rev. Robert Graetz were among the few white people who openly supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. Mrs. Graetz died at her home in Montgomery this morning at the age of 90. She had recently been diagnosed with lung…
2020 marks the 65th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the most important events of the modern civil rights movement in Alabama and the nation. A new documentary premiered at Paterson Field in downtown Montgomery Saturday, called “382: Organizing for the Future,” which explores the link between activists past and present. The documentary included remarks from Vice President-elect…
On Tuesday, Maxwell Air Force Base held a memorial unveiling ceremony in honor of Rosa Parks, to kick off the 65th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Many city and military leaders including Mayor Steven Reed, Air Force Secretary Barbara Bennett, and many others all spoke at the unveiling. Parks, who once worked on base, said in her memoir, “You…
The family of Rev. Robert S. Graetz, Jr. has announced the details of a memorial service to be held in Montgomery on Sunday. Graetz will be remembered as a champion for civil rights in Montgomery and a key figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He died Sunday, September 20, at the age of 92. Rev. Graetz and his wife Jean…
Sunday, December 1st marks 64 years since Rosa Parks’ arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Events celebrating her legacy continued Sunday night with a church service in Montgomery. The service was held at what Park’s home church: St. Paul AME Church. The service brought people of different religions, backgrounds, and races together with the message of unity. Different pastors and…
Juanita Abernathy, who wrote the business plan for the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and took other influential steps in helping to build the American civil rights movement, has died. She was 88. Family spokesman James Peterson confirmed Abernathy died Thursday at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta following complications from a stroke. In a statement, Peterson says Abernathy died surrounded by her…
Alabama inched closer to setting aside a day to honor civil rights icon Rosa Parks. An Alabama Senate committee on Tuesday approved legislation to name Dec. 1 as Rosa Parks Day. The bill now moves to the full Senate. Parks was arrested Dec. 1, 1955 in Montgomery for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. Her…
