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Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Civil Rights Pioneer Robert Graetz to Speak in Columbus
Beatty, COTA, Ohio Historical Society celebrate Rosa Parks Day with free event Dec. 1
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — At the beginning of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in 1955, Robert S. Graetz was the white pastor of a black congregation in Montgomery, Ala. He was one of the few white community leaders who openly supported the historic bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
On December 1 at 6 p.m., Graetz will speak at the Ohio Historical Center about his experiences with event moderator and Ohio House of Representatives Democratic Leader Joyce Beatty. The event, “Conversation with Civil Rights Leader Robert S. Graetz,” is free and open to the public.
A native of Charleston, W. Va., Graetz graduated from Capital University in Columbus before attending what is now Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1955. From 1955 until 1958, Graetz was the clergyman for Trinity Lutheran Church in Montgomery. During this time, he became a close friend of Rosa Parks and a key figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For his support of the boycott, Graetz and his family were ostracized by other whites and suffered several episodes of harassment, including tire slashings, arrest and bombings.
Graetz, who joined Martin Luther King, Jr. during some of his meetings, has continued to spread the message of equality and civil rights throughout his life. He spent much of his career as a pastor in Lutheran churches serving mostly African-American congregations in California, Alabama, Washington, D.C., and Ohio. Now retired, he resides near MacArthur, Ohio, with Jean Ellis Graetz, his wife of 57 years. Both remain active in civil rights causes.
In 1999, Graetz wrote “A White Preacher's Memoir: The Montgomery Bus Boycott.” His numerous accolades include the 1993 Ohio Humanitarian Award and the Governor’s Humanitarian Award (Ohio) in 1997 for his work as a civil rights leader.
The moderator, State Representative Joyce Beatty, is the first African-American female to serve as House Democratic Leader. She championed the legislation that made Ohio the first state to designate December 1 as “Rosa Parks Day.”
The Ohio Historical Center is located on I-71 and 17th Avenue. It is one of 58 historic museums and sites operated by the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history. For more information about the event, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.
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