Funeral services planned for member of Friendship 9

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - A funeral service is scheduled for one of nine men who went to jail to protest segregated lunch counters in Rock Hill at the beginning of the civil rights movement.

The family of Clarence Graham says visitation and funeral services are planned for Friday afternoon in Rock Hill.

Graham died last week at his Rock Hill home. He was 73.

The men known as the Friendship Nine were convicted in 1961 of trespassing when they refused to leave a “whites only” lunch counter. The men could have paid a $100 fine, but they chose instead to spend 30 days in jail to protest the law.

Last year, a judge vacated the men’s sentences. They have also been honored by the state’s Legislature.