[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E441-E442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND DR. FREDERICK DOUGLAS REESE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 12, 2018

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life and legacy of renowned civil rights leader, Reverend 
Dr. Frederick Douglas Reese of Selma, Alabama who passed away on April 
5, 2018, at the age of 88. Dr. Reese is best known for the pivotal role 
he played in the Selma to Montgomery March that led to the passage of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
   It was Dr. Reese who as President of the Dallas County Voters League 
invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference (SCLC) to Selma to organize and support their 
local voting rights campaign. As a longtime educator, pastor and civil 
rights activist, Dr. Reese's life and legacy stands as a testament to 
the power of one man's ability to change the world.
   Dr. Reese was born in Selma on November 28, 1929, the only son of a 
strong matriarchal family led by his mother Ellie R. Reese and that 
included his older sister siblings--Doris Reese and Annie Ratliff. His 
strong educational and spiritual home environment coupled with the 
Christian education training received from his Green Street Baptist 
Church family propelled him to develop a firm faith that served as the 
solid foundation for his success.
   An outstanding student, Dr. Reese graduated from Alabama State 
University and Livingston University with a degree in mathematics and a 
background that prepared him for political involvement. Believing 
knowledge is power, he continued his education at the University of 
Alabama, Southern University, and Auburn University before receiving 
his doctorate of divinity from Selma University.
   Dr. Reese's teaching career began in Millers Ferry in Wilcox County, 
AL where he worked in the school system for nine years teaching science 
and eventually serving as assistant principal. It was there that Dr. 
Reese met his future bride, Alline Touglass Crossing, a fellow teacher. 
The two were married on June 28, 1953 and she remained his life-long 
companion for 64 years.
   In 1960, Dr. Reese returned to his hometown of Selma to teach at 
R.B. Hudson High School. A beloved educator, Dr. Reese challenged his 
students to excel and made learning fun with his unique teaching style 
that combined disciplined study with practical application.
   By the mid-1960s, Dr. Reese was the president of the Dallas County 
Voter's League and president of the Selma Teachers Association. He used 
both leadership positions to actively educate Blacks in Selma about 
their right to vote. In fact, Dr. Reese's first act as President of the 
Teachers Association was to sign a

[[Page E442]]

proclamation declaring that teachers should register to vote. He 
challenged his fellow teachers to exercise their right of citizenship, 
saying ``How can we teach American civics if we ourselves cannot 
vote?''
   With courage and tenacity, Dr. Reese led the first ever Teachers 
March to the Dallas County Court House in which a hundred black 
teachers demanded to register to vote. It was the first time in the 
Civil Rights Movement that teachers in the South publicly marched. 
Their actions were met with violence by the local sheriff Jim Clark and 
law enforcement. Nevertheless, Reese's persistent collaboration with 
league members notoriously called the ``Outrageous Eight", now revered 
as the ``Courageous Eight", fueled the movement with his nonviolent 
tactics and moral fortitude. Imbued by his faith and determination, it 
was Dr. Reese as president of the voter league who penned the 
invitational letter for Dr. King to come to Selma to bring his 
influence and support to the Selma voting rights campaign.
   On March 7, 1965, led by our colleague John Lewis, Dr. Reese and 
more than 600 other activists marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 
Selma on what is infamously known as ``Bloody Sunday.'' During the 
march, protestors were beaten and sprayed with tear gas on the orders 
of Alabama Governor George Wallace.
   Following the march, participants gathered at the Brown Chapel AME 
Church where Dr. Reese spoke to the crowd. Bloodied and beaten, the 
protesters committed to marching again for their right to vote. On 
March 21, 1965, after President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the 
protection of the marchers, more than 50,000 people completed the 50-
mile march from Selma to Montgomery. The Selma Marches prompted 
Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that still remains a 
keystone of federal voting rights protections for all Americans.
   Dr. Reese also answered God's call to the ministry. He began his 
pastoral ministry by serving the congregations of Macedonia and Mt. 
Zion Selfield. Reverend Dr. Reese was the Pastor of Ebenezer Missionary 
Baptist Church for 50 years, making a lasting impact on the Selma 
community.
   Dr. Reese was a true renaissance man. For his outstanding 
contributions, he has received numerous awards and honors. Dr. Reese 
was a civil rights icon, exemplary educator, beloved pastor, loving 
husband, doting father and grandfather. Dr. Reese brought Selma and 
this nation out of the turbulent darkness and then went on to be among 
its first African American city councilmen and rose through the ranks 
of the Selma School System to be principal of Eastside Junior High 
School, principal of Selma High School and eventually Assistant 
Superintendent from which he retired.
   In his passing, Dr. Reese leaves behind his wife Mrs. Alline Reese; 
son Marvin (Frances), Conyers, GA; daughters Minister Valerie (Ed) 
Harris, and Minister Christa Reese; grandsons Marvin (Charlene) Reese 
Jr, Minister Alan (Kimberly) Reese and Frederick Reese, Conyers, GA; 
great grandchildren Kyla Russell, Zaria Reese, Jada Mains, Faith Reese, 
Jaylen Reese, Alan Reese Jr, and Maliyah Reese, Conyers, GA.
  On a personal note, I will fondly remember Dr. Reese as my principal 
and mentor at Selma High School who always told me that anything was 
possible. I know that I am Alabama's first Black congresswoman today 
because of the activism and influence of Dr. F.D. Reese. To say thank 
you does not adequately express my gratitude. One of my greatest honors 
as a Member of Congress was to present Dr. Reese with the gold medal at 
the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony that honored the foot soldiers on 
the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights March. 
Dr. Reese's life and legacy stand as a testament to the power of one 
man's ability to change the world. His legacy will live on in the many 
people he impacted.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State 
of Alabama, and a grateful nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
celebrating the life and contributions of Reverend Dr. Frederick 
Douglas Reese. Dr. Reese was an American hero, a national treasure and 
a beloved Selma native son whose life's fight for voting rights forever 
shaped the fabric of American history.

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