[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3520-3521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING REVEREND FREDERIC D. REESE DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2014

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Ms. Sewell) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, in continuing my commitment to 
honoring African Americans from Alabama during this Black History 
Month, today I rise to honor the renowned educator, pastor, and civil 
rights activist Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Reese on this occasion 
of Black History Month 2014.
  For his dedication and distinguished service to the city of Selma and 
the State of Alabama, I pay tribute today to the life and work of 
Reverend Dr. F.D. Reese. This beloved pastor and civil rights activist 
marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, 
along with hundreds of other supporters.
  By the mid-1960s, Reese was president of the Dallas County Voters 
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, Reverend Reese advocated that the 
teachers press to make sure that the students actually went to register 
to vote.
  Reese invited Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and members of 
the SCLC to lead Selma's voting rights protest. King's staff helped 
organize months of demonstrations in Selma, with Reverend Reese's 
assistance.
  Reverend Reese is a historical figure of modern history known for his 
support of the civil rights and voting rights movement. Reverend Reese 
rose to national prominence as a civil rights leader after Selma's 
``Bloody Sunday.'' He later marched with Dr. King from Selma to 
Montgomery as an advocate of voting rights.
  Reverend Reese was born November 28, 1929. A believer in education, 
Reverend Reese graduated from Alabama

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State University and Livingston University, and also attended Southern 
University, the University of Alabama, and Auburn University before 
receiving his doctorate of divinity from Selma University.
  Reverend Reese has served the Selma and Dallas County community 
faithfully for over six decades, and his exemplary work and commitment 
to social justice is well-known. Notably, Reverend Reese has never left 
his beloved community of Selma, where he helped to make it a center for 
the voting rights movement in the 1960s.
  He remains active today, and he is known for saying that his fight 
today is to get young people to realize that the movement is still 
continuing. ``I tell young people,'' he said, ``that they cannot rest 
on our victories. We have to remain committed. That means registering 
to vote and participating in what this country has to offer. That means 
making a difference to others.''
  Reverend Reese has stated that he marched so that everyone, 
regardless of color, could become a first-class citizen in America. 
Reverend 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.
  Reverend Reese has remained committed to education and service. He 
became a principal in Selma, as well as a city council member, serving 
for over 12 years on the Selma City Council. He also ran for mayor in 
1984 and led a campaign to motivate Walmart executives to hire African 
Americans as store managers.
  In 2000, he was honored for his civil rights work by having a stretch 
of 3 miles of U.S. Highway 80, which was where he led the Montgomery to 
Selma March, named after him. It is now known as the Frederick Douglas 
Reese Parkway. The FDR Christian Academy in Indiana is also dedicated 
to him.
  Reverend Reese has been a pastor of Selma's Ebenezer Baptist Church 
since 1965. Although he is retired from teaching, he is still very much 
active in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he serves as the head minister 
emeritus and delivers a sermon each and every week.
  On behalf of the Seventh Congressional District, the State of 
Alabama, and this Nation, during this Black History Month, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in acknowledging and celebrating the 
accomplishments of Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Reese from Selma, 
Alabama.

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