124 BECOMING KING Clifford and Virginia Durr also worked behind the scenes to assist the protestors. The Durrs had joined E. D. Nixon in bailing Rosa Parks out of jail and were present as Nixon attempted to convince Parks and her family to allow her arrest to be a test case to challenge the city’s segrega- tion laws. As the boycott continued, Clifford Durr immersed himself in the legal challenges facing the MIA. Although he was never the attorney 20 of record, he provided extensive legal assistance to Fred Gray. They were joined in their efforts by Robert Graetz, the only white clergy member to join the MIA. Graetz believed that there were a num- ber of whites in the city who were in favor of change, citing the presence of the Alabama Council on Human Relations. In his view, the largest seg- ment of white support for the boycott came from the wives of business- men in the city. Graetz also believed that about half the white ministers in the city were on the side of the boycotters, and hoped many of these 21 would stand up and be counted in the near future. Some white business leaders tried to play a mediating role as the con- flict continued. The previous year they had developed a group known as the Men of Montgomery in an attempt to help the city advance eco- nomically. Although many segregationists belonged to the organization, King felt “they were open-minded enough to listen to another point of view and discuss the problem of race intelligently.” They were particularly concerned about the negative national press directed toward Montgom- ery thanks to the boycott. In February, the group set up meetings with both the city and some MIA leaders in an attempt to broker a settlement. G. T. Fitzpatrick, who ran Empire-Rouse Laundry, described their talks in extremely patronizing terms: “we had several long sessions with them and while we were dealing with what you might call the upper crust—the ministers and teachers—we had to treat them pretty much like children— lead them along by the hand, so to speak. All of us businessmen agreed we could have done the same thing in two or three hours, but had to sit with it through two or three sessions lasting that long.” Despite this paternalism, the conversations between the MIA and the Men of Mont- 22 gomery held some promise for a solution. Representatives of the Men of Montgomery met with some MIA leaders on a few occasions during mid-February. Many of the business leaders believed they had reached an agreement to settle the boycott at