Alabama News
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 cancer.
She died less than three months after the death of her husband.
They had moved to Montgomery in 1955 when he came here to pastor a Black Lutheran congregation.
They were friends with Rosa Parks, but their support of the bus boycott led to their home being bombed twice. Later, they moved away from Montgomery, but returned in 2007.
Jean Graetz, early white civil rights activist who joined bus boycott, dies at 90
Jean Graetz, left, and the Rev. Robert Graetz at a memorial for Julian Bond in 2015.
(Albert Cesare / Associated Press)
Print
Jean Graetz, an early white supporter of equal rights for Black people in Alabama at the start of the civil rights movement, has died at her home in Georgia.
Recently diagnosed with lung cancer, Graetz died less than three months after the death of her husband, the Rev. Robert Graetz, the only white minister to openly support the Montgomery bus boycott, said Ken Mullinax, a friend who announced her death Wednesday on behalf of the family. She was 90.
Early civil rights supporter Jean Graetz dies in Alabama
By JAY REEVESDecember 16, 2020 GMT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Jean Graetz, an early white supporter of equal rights for Black people in Alabama at the start of the civil rights movement, died early Wednesday, a family spokesman said.
Recently diagnosed with lung cancer, Graetz died at home less than three months after the death of husband Robert Graetz, the only white minister to openly support the Montgomery bus boycott, said Ken Mullinax, a friend who announced her death on behalf of the family. She was 90.
“She was one of the finest people I ever knew,” Mullinax said. “I could just cry right now.”
Jean Graetz, Alabama civil rights supporter, dead at 90
Updated Dec 17, 2020;
Posted Dec 16, 2020
FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, file photo, Gov. Robert Bentley, left, greets Robert Graetz, center, and his wife, Jean, before a screening of Selma at the AMC Festival 16 in Montgomery, Ala. Graetz openly supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was a Lutheran clergyman of a Black church in Montgomery starting in 1955. Graetz, the only white minister to support the Montgomery bus boycott, died Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. He was 92. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File) APAP
Facebook Share
Jean Graetz, an early white supporter of equal rights for Black people in Alabama at the start of the civil rights movement, died early Wednesday, a family spokesman said.
Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2020 orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.