Grattan Ellesmere Graves Jr. was a lawyer and leader in Miami before and during the Civil Rights Movement. He was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia in 1919. He studied law at Howard University before being admitted to the the Florida Bar in 1944. He worked alongside Rev. Theodore Gibson, Rev. Edward Graham and Judge John D. Johnson in the local NAACP Chapter to desegregate public facilities. Graves was the attorney who represented Gibson and Graham against the Johns committee when they attempted to jail the reverends for alleged communist intereference within the NAACP. Graves also represented the Rice in the Rice V. Arnold (Miami Springs Golf Course) case.

This artifact collection is comprised of awards given to Graves, as well as his certification to practice law in Florida. There are also two awards that were given to his wife Ann.