{{Short description|American civil rights activist}} {{Redirect|Frederick Reese|the Episcopal bishop|Frederick F. Reese|the Welsh historian and academic|Frederick Rees}} {{Infobox person |name = Frederick D. Reese |image = Frederick D. Reese 2016 02.jpg |image_size = |caption = Frederick D. Reese in 2016 |birth_name = Frederick Douglas Reese |birth_date = {{birth date|1929|11|28}} |birth_place = {{nowrap|Selma, Alabama, U.S.}} |death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|5|1929|11|28}} |death_place = {{nowrap|Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.}} |occupation = Teacher, minister, activist |alma_mater = Alabama State University |movement = Selma Voting Rights Movement |years_active = 1960–2018 }} '''Frederick Douglas Reese''' (November 28, 1929 – April 5, 2018) was an American civil rights activist, educator and minister from Selma, Alabama. Known as a member of Selma's "Courageous Eight",<ref name="nps-selma-research">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/64501182.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143631/http://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/64501182.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|title=The Civil Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama, 1865-1972, National Park Service}}</ref> Reese was the president of the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) when it invited the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr. to Selma to amplify the city's local voting rights campaign.<ref name="interview">{{Cite web|url=https://cdm16044.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15099coll2/id/60|title=F.D. Reese interview|website=cdm16044.contentdm.oclc.org}}</ref> This campaign eventually gave birth to the Selma to Montgomery marches, which later led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Reese was also president of the Selma Teachers Association, and in January 1965 he mobilized Selma's teachers to march as a group for their right to vote.<ref name="interview" />
Reese retired from teaching and from February 2015 and until his death in April 2018, he was active as a minister at Selma's Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.<ref name=hero>{{Cite web |url=http://kokomoherald.com/Content/Default/Homepage-Article-Rotator/Article/Civil-Rights-hero-impacts-local-faith-community-/-3/758/22694 |title=Kokomo Herald, "Civil Rights hero impacts local faith community", February 19, 2015 |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-date=April 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406163553/http://kokomoherald.com/Content/Default/Homepage-Article-Rotator/Article/Civil-Rights-hero-impacts-local-faith-community-/-3/758/22694 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Early life== Reese was born in Selma, Alabama.<ref name="nps-selma-research"/> In 1951, he graduated from Alabama State University, where he majored in math and science where he received a Master's degree.<ref name=hero/>
Reese spent nine years in Millers Ferry, Alabama, ending in 1960.<ref name="interview"/> This is where he began his teaching career, teaching science and serving as assistant principal.<ref name="interview" /> During his time in Millers Ferry, he met Alline Toulas Crossing. They couple married on June 28, 1953.
==Pastor (Servant Leader)==
Reese became the pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, in Selma, Alabama on March 21, 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://embcselma.org/about/|title=About – Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church Selma|website=embcselma.org|language=en|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref> He accepted the responsibility of Pastor and joined the front line of the successful march known as the Selma to Montgomery march on the same day.
==Selma Voting Rights Movement== {{external media | float = right | video1 = [http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-151-8s4jm2454k “Eyes on the Prize; Interview with Frederick D. Reese”] conducted in 1985 for the Eyes on the Prize documentary.}}
In 1960, Reese moved home to Selma, started teaching science and math at R. B. Hudson High School, and joined the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL), the major civil rights organization in Selma since the state of Alabama started actively suppressing the NAACP in 1956.<ref name="crmvet-NAACP">{{Cite web|url=https://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis56.htm|title=Civil Rights Movement History & Timeline, 1956|website=www.crmvet.org}}</ref><ref name="FindLaw">{{Cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/357/449.html|title=FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions.|website=Findlaw}}</ref> Two years after joining the DCVL, he was elected its president.<ref name="interview" />
In 1962, while Reese was a DCVL member, the organization encouraged Bernard Lafayette of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to come to Selma to assist in the voting rights struggle by educating black citizens about their right to vote.<ref name="nps-selma-research" />
As president of the DCVL, Reese signed and sent the DCVL's invitation to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to come to Selma to lend their support to the voting rights campaign there.<ref name="interview" /> King and the SCLC agreed to come, and they started their public engagement in Selma's voting rights campaign on January 2, 1965, with a mass meeting in violation of an injunction against large gatherings.<ref name="crmvet">{{Cite web|url=https://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis65.htm|title=Civil Rights Movement History & Timeline (Selma & the March to Montgomery)|website=www.crmvet.org}}</ref>
On January 18, about 400 people marched on the county courthouse to register to vote; on January 19, the people marched again, and this time police violence towards DCVL's Amelia Boynton and the arrest of 67 marchers brought the movement to national headlines.<ref name="brochure">{{Cite web|url=http://home.nps.gov/semo/planyourvisit/upload/Semo-Brochure-Front-2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501030536/http://home.nps.gov/semo/planyourvisit/upload/Semo-Brochure-Front-2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2015|title="Selma to Montgomery," National Park Service brochure}}</ref>
===Teachers' March=== In 1965, Reese held the simultaneous leadership positions of DCVL president and president of the Selma Teachers Association.<ref name="interview" /> The first act he made as the Teachers Association president was to sign a proclamation in the presence of the superintendent and assistant superintendent, declaring that teachers should register to vote.<ref name="nps-selma-research"/> Reese even asked that the superintendent allow black teachers to use their free period during the school day to register to vote, though he knew it was an "abominable thing to ask" in that political and social climate.<ref name="interview" /> Reese and fellow teacher and DCVL member Margaret Moore challenged their colleagues, "How can we teach American civics if we ourselves cannot vote?"<ref name="crmvet" />
On January 22, three days after Amelia Boynton's encounter with police, and three days before another demonstration in front of the county courthouse where Annie Lee Cooper (portrayed by Oprah Winfrey in the 2014 film ''Selma'') had a violent encounter with Sheriff Jim Clark, Reese gathered 105 teachers—almost every black teacher in Selma—to march on the courthouse.<ref name="crmvet" /> The teachers climbed the steps but were barred from entering to register.<ref name="crmvet" /> They were pushed down the steps twice, the police jabbing them with nightsticks.<ref name="hartford">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXwmAwAAQBAJ&q=reforms+the+line&pg=PT29|title=The Selma Voting Rights Struggle & March to Montgomery|first=Bruce|last=Hartford|date=March 24, 2014|publisher=Westwind Writers|via=Google Books}}</ref> Officials reportedly urged against the teachers' arrest, saying, "Don't arrest these people because what you going do with the 7,000 students that we have running around here when they go back to school Monday?"<ref name="nps">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/semo/learn/historyculture/teachers-march.htm|title=Teachers March - Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> It was the first time in Civil Rights Movement that teachers in the South publicly marched as teachers; they were the largest black professional group in Dallas County, and their actions inspired involvement from their students and others who were unsure about participating in demonstrations.<ref name="crmvet" /><ref name="brochure" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aptv.org/aptplus/digitalibrary/digitalmediadetail.asp?ConVidID=69|title=Video: Teachers in Selma March for the Right to Vote|access-date=2015-03-15|archive-date=2015-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220154034/http://www.aptv.org/aptplus/DigitaLibrary/digitalmediadetail.asp?ConVidID=69|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Selma to Montgomery marches=== [[File:SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH Day 5 The Abernathy Children, Ralph David Abernathy, Juanita Jones Abernathy and John Lewis lead the line up and beginning of the March..jpg|thumb|Reese in hat and coat, marching from Selma to Montgomery, behind and to the right of children]] During the time the SCLC spent organizing and protesting in Selma, Reese coordinated meetings and often played the role of mediator when differences of opinion arose.<ref name="interview" />
In photographs from the Selma to Montgomery marches, Reese is pictured in a dark suit, coat, and hat, most often in the front of the march with Martin Luther King, Jr. and some of his closest associates.<ref name="nps-selma-research"/>
Reese has been credited as the leader whose persistent and continual efforts lead to the Voting Rights Act. He has earned the title of Mr. Voting Rights. His self-sacrifice and dedication to nonviolence, created the climate of welcoming others to link arm in arm in a movement that changed the United States of America. In the words of U. S. Congressman John Lewis, “I first met the Rev. Reese in 1963 on my first trip to Selma when I became the chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was one of the leaders of the local movement and became more of a leader during the whole effort to gain the [right to] vote in Selma. He was highly respected, and he welcomed us into Selma in our efforts to help the local movement.”<ref name=Lewis>{{Cite web|url=https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2018/04/05/rev-f-d-reese-remembered/|title=Rev. F.D. Reese remembered|last=Deshazo|first=Blake|date=April 5, 2018|website=The Selma Times‑Journal|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref>
“The Rev. Reese’s involvement made it possible. He helped create the climate for the Voting Rights Act,” Lewis said. “People all over America and many people around the world knew him because he stood out as this nice, upright man. He didn’t make a lot of noise. He just did what he felt was his calling. He was consistent and persistent.”<ref name=Lewis/>
==Selma City Councilman==
Rev. Dr. F. D. Reese served as a city councilman in the City of Selma for 14 years. At one point, he became a mayoral candidate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/selma50/2015/03/01/selma-rev-fd-reese-set-civil-rights-example-early/24214147/|title=Selma Rev. F.D. Reese set civil rights example early on|website=The Montgomery Advertiser|language=en|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref>
==In creative works== Reese was portrayed by E. Roger Mitchell in Ava DuVernay's 2014 film ''Selma'' and by Bob Banks in the 1999 film ''Selma, Lord, Selma''.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2018/04/05/civil-rights-icon-f-d-reese-passes-away-at-88/|title=Civil rights icon FD Reese Passes Away at 88|work=Selma Times Journal|access-date=April 5, 2018|date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>
==Honors and awards== [[File:John Lewis - Terri Sewell - Frederick D. Reese - 2016.jpg|thumb|Frederick Reese with John Lewis and Terri Sewell at a 2016 Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the March on Selma.]] April 27, 1999: The State of Alabama's House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution # HJR 231, which honors Dr. F. D. Reese esteemed influence and impact as a pastor, educator, and civil rights leader. The Alabama Legislature's designated a portion of Highway 80 East from the Edmund Pettus Bridge (Selma, AL) proceeding three miles east as the Dr. Frederick D. Reese Parkway.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arc-sos.state.al.us/cgi/actdetail.mbr/detail?year=1999&act=%20143&page=bill|title=Legislative Acts {{!}} Alabama Secretary of State|website=arc-sos.state.al.us|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref>
May 27, 2000: The City of Selma, Alabama dedicated and celebrated the renaming of the 3 mile stretch of *U.S. Highway 80 beginning at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor Dr. Frederick D. Reese. (*The historical location point where "Bloody Sunday" occurred, the pivot point of the Voting Rights Movement and gateway to the Selma to Montgomery March.) <ref>Selma Times Journal | Taylor, Mona | "State Highway renamed for Dr. Reese | 2000/05/28</ref>
In 2016, Reese and fellow Selma marcher John Lewis accepted Congressional Gold Medals on behalf of the Selma "foot soldiers."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?405070-1/congressional-gold-medal-ceremony-1965-voting-rights-marches-foot-soldiers|title=Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for 1965 Voting Rights Marches Foot Soldiers | C-SPAN.org|website=www.c-span.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/politics/2016/02/selma_marchers_get_congressional_gold_medal_with_b.html|title=Selma marchers get Congressional Gold Medal|first=Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for|last=NJ.com|date=February 25, 2016|website=nj}}</ref>
==Death== Reese died of natural causes on April 5, 2018, in Atlanta at the age of 88.<ref name=obit/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * [http://thegrio.com/2010/03/08/rev-frederick-d-reese-remembers-bloody-sunday-in-selma/ The Grio, "Frederick D. Reese Remembers Bloody Sunday in Selma"]
{{Civil rights movement}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Frederick D.}} Category:1929 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Activists from Selma, Alabama Category:Alabama State University alumni Category:African-American activists Category:20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States Category:20th-century American educators Category:American nonviolence advocates Category:Activists for African-American civil rights Category:Selma to Montgomery marches Category:Educators from Alabama Category:21st-century African-American people Category:Suffragists from Alabama