From Behind the Screen

The memoir of Curtis Graves, who as a young man first entered the civil rights struggle. As a student at Texas Southern University, Curtis and others decided to protest in their own way – demanding equal access to public places. The first target was the lunch counter at a Houston drug store. It made the national news and Graves’ parents were not happy. He made them realize that they had brought him up to take a stand. By the time Graves entered the Army, he already earned a reputation for political activism. Returning to Texas, he ran for a seat in the Texas State Legislature. Curtis Graves won, becoming one of the first African Americans to hold office since Reconstruction. He served six years--and ran a vigorous campaign for Mayor of Houston, but even after he left office — and politics — Graves has never stopped battling for fairness and equal opportunity. He tells his story with real style, remembering with warmth and good humor all the people – both famous and not so well-known — who have touched his life along the way. Even more, he gives us an important first hand understanding of the struggles for Civil Rights in America. Graves completed his story just days before his death in in Fall 2023.