For Robert Graetz

By Cole Manley

It was a humid day in Montgomery, Alabama when I met Robert and Jeannie Graetz. Humid like most July days in the Deep South. Unlike Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., they are not household names. But, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955-1956, they were some of the only white people to publicly support the Boycott as it unfolded. Robert was the pastor of an all-Black congregation, and for that the couple faced white supremacist violence and retaliation.

Their home was bombed on multiple occasions. Throughout the Boycott, they persisted. They drove Black organizers around the city, attended mass meetings, and communicated with Boycott leaders, including Dr. King.

I was aware of some of this history before I arrived in Montgomery in the summer of 2019, the last free summer before the pandemic. But, as I read Robert Graetz's memoir, I learned more about his religious convictions and his belief in justice. He was a truly independent thinker and activist. It would have been SO much easier for the Graetz's to have avoided the Boycott entirely. They could have been more passive. They could have avoided the carpools and avoided picking up Black people walking around the city.

But they did not turn away. They turned towards the Boycott. In doing so, they risked their lives. Surely, though, Robert and Jeannie realized that they had no other choice. If they were to profess to believe in a social gospel Christianity, the kind of Christianity that King also believed in, then they had to take a stand on the side of justice. There was no other choice.

It's hard to recognize what a decision this was, and what it involved. So few white people in Montgomery did what the Graetz's did. Most acquiesced with the system of racial segregation, enjoying their racial privilege.

The Graetz's were, like Virginia and Clifford Durr, and a few other white families, unable to live in a system that mistreated their neighbors. When the Boycott began in December of 1955, the Graetz's had only been in Montgomery for six months or so. Like Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, they had just recently moved to the city.

In this respect, perhaps their lack of history in Montgomery protected them. They did not have friends or family that sided with the existing system of segregation and discrimination, although surely they knew of white families who were not as supportive of the Boycott. Still, regardless of their ties to the city, they also knew that by supporting the Boycott, they risked their safety and the safety of their young children.

The Montgomery Boycott depended upon people like Robert and Jeannie Graetz.

By the time I met Robert Graetz, he was quite sick. He suffered from the symptoms from Parkinson's Disease, and could not communicate easily. But it was still a great personal honor to meet Robert and Jeannie.

I remember sharing eye contact with Robert and being stirred by his presence and personality. His eyes still lit up when I spoke about my academic research on the Montgomery Boycott. He radiated courage and love and warmth.

Jeannie spoke about meeting the King family during the Boycott, and I was transfixed by her memories of that time. I asked about what it was like to know them, but there was only so much that could be conveyed.

I am so grateful to have been able to meet Robert and Jeannie Graetz. They are some of the unsung heroes of the Montgomery Boycott, and my thoughts remain with Jeannie in the wake of Robert's passing.

May his memory remain a blessing. May the Montgomery Boycott continue to inspire generations of young history students who happen to be transfixed by the events of 1955 and 1956.