James Reeb
Encyclopedia
James Reeb was a white
American
Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, Massachusetts and pastor and civil rights
activist in Washington, DC. While marching for civil rights
in Selma, Alabama
in 1965, he was beaten severely by segregationists
and died of head injuries two days later in the hospital. He was 38 years old.
. He attended St. Olaf College
and Princeton Theological Seminary
, and he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister after graduation.
, Reeb was fully ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1962.
A member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC), Reeb took part in the Selma to Montgomery protest march
in 1965 against segregation. While in Selma on March 9, Reeb was attacked and beaten by a white mob armed with clubs. He suffered massive head injuries, and died in a Birmingham
hospital two days later. His death resulted in a national outcry against the activities of white racists
in the Deep South
.
Given the many lynchings of blacks in the twentieth century, and other violence against activists, some blacks expressed indignation that it took the death of a white man to incite the national outcry against southern violence. When Jimmie Lee Jackson
was shot dead by police in Marion, Alabama
two weeks earlier while protecting his mother from a beating, his case attracted less national attention.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
declared the events in Selma "an American tragedy." He said they should strengthen people's determination "to bring full and equal and exact justice to all of our people." Johnson's voting-rights proposal reached Congress the Monday after Reeb's death and was passed by both houses of Congress.
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, Massachusetts and pastor and civil rights
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
activist in Washington, DC. While marching for civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
in 1965, he was beaten severely by segregationists
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
and died of head injuries two days later in the hospital. He was 38 years old.
Early life and education
James Joseph Reeb was born in Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. He attended St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
and Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
, and he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister after graduation.
Career
As a scholar of theology, Reeb grew away from traditionalist Presbyterian teachings and was drawn to the Unitarian Universalist church. Reeb appreciated the church's emphasis on social action, and he became active in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Beginning in his new ministry, he encouraged parishioners to participate in the movement as well. With his wife and four children, he lived in poor black neighborhoods where he felt he could do the most good. After three years of active service at All Souls Church in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Reeb was fully ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1962.
A member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
(SCLC), Reeb took part in the Selma to Montgomery protest march
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
in 1965 against segregation. While in Selma on March 9, Reeb was attacked and beaten by a white mob armed with clubs. He suffered massive head injuries, and died in a Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
hospital two days later. His death resulted in a national outcry against the activities of white racists
Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era and the slave era. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latin Americans...
in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
.
Given the many lynchings of blacks in the twentieth century, and other violence against activists, some blacks expressed indignation that it took the death of a white man to incite the national outcry against southern violence. When Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a civil rights protestor who was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement. He was 26 years old.-Personal...
was shot dead by police in Marion, Alabama
Marion, Alabama
Marion is the county seat of Perry County, Alabama. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 3,511. First called Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed after a hero of the American Revolution, Francis Marion.-Geography:...
two weeks earlier while protecting his mother from a beating, his case attracted less national attention.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
declared the events in Selma "an American tragedy." He said they should strengthen people's determination "to bring full and equal and exact justice to all of our people." Johnson's voting-rights proposal reached Congress the Monday after Reeb's death and was passed by both houses of Congress.
Legacy and honors
- The James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Madison, WisconsinMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
is named in honor of Rev. Reeb.
- In July 2007, the Boston Globe reported that the FBI's Cold Case Initiative had reopened the investigation into the 46-year-old case. The renewed investigation was also reported by The Anniston Star and The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., in conjunction with the Civil Rights Cold Case Project.
External links
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Eulogy for James Reeb", Unitarian Universalist World
- Interview with two Reeb children, who talk about their father's effect on the Civil Rights movement, HMB Review, 12 November 2008
- "James Reeb", Encyclopedia of Alabama
- "James Reeb", Harvard Square Library