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In Memoriam: Lawrence D. Graves (12/10/40-5/12/05)

By Annie Bailey

Lawrence, a thirty-plus-year member of the Milwaukee chapter, died this summer while working around his house.

Lawrence, nicknamed "Harkuf," was so smart that he easily could have been a multimillionaire. Instead, he chose to spend his brain capital on the community. He was a linguist (fluent in nine languages and always learning more), an Egyptologist, an astronomer, a teacher, a mentor and a veteran. He loved sailing, making music, and the world in which he found himself. He hated war, poverty, racism, injustice, and that same world that had created these conditions.

Harkuf was a member of VVAW, the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Mensa, and the local chapter of the National Association of Black Veterans. Civil rights and education were the name of the game, and he always took any opportunity he had to advance either cause. Even though he was smart, he never made anyone else feel dumb. He was this author's sounding board for thirty years, and he gave me the confidence to put ideas out there and be ready for the feedback, whether positive or negative.

Harkuf was the pharoah's admiral (buried in the Valley of the Kings). As we navigate the political waters, I will present my ideas for progress in the struggle for peace and justice, as my dear friend, Lawrence "Harkuf" Graves, always encouraged.

Lawrence is survived by JoAnna, his "old lady" of 37 years.

—Annie Bailey