Honoring Civil Rights Activist Rev. Frederick D. Reese

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor renowned civil rights leader Rev. Frederick D. Reese, a pillar in the Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. This courageous Alabamian is being honored on Saturday June 7, 2015, in my hometown of Selma, Alabama, for his service and contributions to education and politics, as well as the fight for equality and justice. I am proud to be a part of efforts to pay homage to one of the most influential Americans in history.

Dr. Reese was born November 28, 1929. A believer in education, he graduated from Alabama State University and Livingston University, and studied and attended Southern University, the University of Alabama and Auburn University before receiving his doctorate of divinity from Selma University.

Dr. Reese is an historic figure of modern history known for his support of civil rights. Dr. Reese rose to national prominence as a civil rights leader following ``Bloody Sunday.''

This beloved civil rights activist marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965, along with hundreds of other supporters. By the mid-1960's, Reese was President of the Dallas County Voter's League and was also a local teacher who presided over the Selma Teachers Association. Discouraged by Selma's efforts to hinder voter registration for African Americans, Dr. Reese advocated that teachers press the issue. Dr. Reese invited Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to lead Selma's voting rights protest.

Dr. Reese has served the Selma and Dallas County community faithfully and his exemplary work and commitment to social justice is well known. Notably, Dr. Reese hasn't left the community that he helped become the center of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Dr. Reese has been quoted as saying his new fight is to inspire young people to lead purposeful lives.

``I tell young people today that they cannot rest on our victories,'' Dr. Reese said. ``We have to remain committed. That means registering to vote and participating in what this country has to offer. That means making a difference for others.''

Dr. Reese said that he marched so that everyone, regardless of color, could become a first-class citizen. Dr. Reese knows that you have to stand for what you believe in. He became nationally known for his beliefs and inspired others to stand as well. Dr. Reese has remained committed to education and service. He became a principal and a city councilman, serving 12 years on the Selma City Council. He also ran for mayor in 1984, and led a campaign to motivate Wal-Mart executives to hire African-Americans as store managers.

In 2000, in honor of his civil rights work, a stretch of more than three miles of U.S. Route 80, where he marched to Montgomery, was named the Frederick D. Reese Parkway. The F.D. Reese Christian Academy in Kokomo, Indiana, was also dedicated to him.

Dr. Reese has been the pastor of Selma's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 1965. Although he is retired from teaching, he still works as a Baptist minister and delivers a sermon to his congregation each week.

On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama and this nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the accomplishments of Reverend Dr. F.D. Reese. We pay tribute to his distinguished career and honor his contributions and leadership in the civil rights movement. My deep appreciation is expressed for his courageous, distinguished and on-going service.

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