Gizelle Bryant's Father, Civil Rights Activist Curtis Graves, Has Passed Away

The Real Housewives of Potomac's Gizelle Bryant confirmed the sad news that her father, famed Civil Rights activist Curtis Graves, who during his illustrious career in activism and politics worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, has passed away. He was 84.

Gizelle shared the news of her father's passing in a heartfelt Instagram message that she posted on Friday, July 28. "Thank you for being the best Dad that a little girl could ever want or need," Gizelle wrote alongside a photo of herself with her dad, as well as her daughters, Adore, Angel, and Grace Bryant. "I will miss you every day of my life."

During Graves' career, in addition to his work in the Civil Rights Movement, he served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1967 to 1973. He also worked at NASA in the agency's Academic Affairs Division and ultimately as its Director for Civil Affairs. Graves later dabbled in the arts. He was an avid photographer and began working in fine art photography full-time after he retired from NASA in 2003. 

In addition to his work as an activist, in politics, and beyond, Gizelle's father was also familiar to The Real Housewives of Potomac fans having appeared on the show. He was also recognized in the Congressional Record for his "distinguished public service career" as seen in Season 1 of RHOP. 

In a conversation with Bravo in 2020, Gizelle spoke about her father's impressive legacy and the impact it has had on his family: "My dad was very involved with the Civil Rights movement years ago in Houston. For my daughters, this is third generation. My dad was working 60 years ago and he worked with Martin Luther King. For me, my second job out of college was working for the national headquarters of the NAACP and now it's my daughters."