James Reeb
James Reeb | |
---|---|
Civil Rights Movement | |
Spouse | Marie Deason |
Children | 4 |
James Joseph Reeb (January 1, 1927 – March 11, 1965) was an American
Life and career
Reeb was born on January 1, 1927, in
As a scholar of theology, Reeb grew away from traditionalist Presbyterian teachings and was drawn to the
Beginning in his new ministry, Reeb 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 best.
Reeb married Marie Deason on August 20, 1950; they had four children.[1]
Murder
As a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Reeb went to Selma to join the Selma to Montgomery marches, a series of protests for African-American voting rights that followed the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion, Ala., by a law enforcement officer. Reeb was prompted by the Bloody Sunday attack by state troopers and sheriff's deputies on nonviolent demonstrators on March 7, 1965. After eating dinner at an integrated restaurant on March 9, Reeb and two other Unitarian ministers, Rev. Clark Olsen and Rev. Orloff Miller [11] were attacked by white men with clubs for their support of African-American rights.[12][13] The black hospital in Selma did not have the facilities to treat him.[14]: 153 Two hours elapsed, and his condition deteriorated, before Reeb arrived at a Birmingham hospital—treatment was not available for him in much closer Montgomery—where doctors performed brain surgery. While Reeb was on his way to the hospital in Birmingham, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a press conference lamenting the "cowardly" attack and asking all to pray for his protection. Reeb went into a coma and died two days later from his injuries.[3]
Reeb's death resulted in a national outcry against the activities of white
White supremacists in Alabama, however, reacted differently and tried to manipulate public understanding of how Reeb died. Selma Sheriff Jim Clark falsely stated in an open letter he wrote and distributed that Reeb, whom he identified as the "so-called minister," died after being "thrown out of one beer joint (then) coming out of another when he and his companions had a fight or were beaten by some men." Selma business leaders circulated printed material that falsely claimed Reeb had suffered only a minor injury in Selma and was subsequently killed by civil rights workers who crushed his skull out on a dark road.[15]
The
In April 1965, four men—Elmer Cook, William Stanley Hoggle, Namon O'Neal Hoggle, and R.B. Kelley—were indicted in
In July 2007, The Boston Globe reported that the FBI's Cold Case Initiative had reopened the investigation into the 46-year-old case.[8] The renewed investigation was also reported by The Anniston Star and The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.[13][16] However, in 2011 the case was closed again, and no charges were pursued. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the decision to close the case was made upon discovery that three of the four men believed to be responsible for the killing were deceased and that Namon Hoggle, the only surviving individual, was tried and acquitted of the crime in state court, barring him from further prosecution.[17] Namon Hoggle died five years later on August 31, 2016, at age 81.[18]
In memory of James Reeb, in 2013, All Souls Church founded the Reeb Voting Rights Project, which continues to work for the expansion of voting rights and the prevention of disenfranchisement in the U.S.[19]
National Public Radio investigation
NPR Investigative journalists Andrew Beck Grace and Chip Brantley presented the findings of a multi-year investigation in a podcast, White Lies, which aired in May and June 2019.[20] During their investigation Grace and Brantley found an eyewitness, Frances Bowden, and a fifth man, William Portwood, who was involved in the crime. Portwood had not previously been identified.
Grace and Brantley interviewed William Portwood in 2017. At that time, Portwood had suffered from strokes and was experiencing memory lapses. However, he was able to remember having been there. "All I did was kick one of them," Portwood said.[21]
Frances Bowden is the proprietor of Selma Bail Bonds, which was located adjacent to the crime scene. After the death of Namon (Duck) Hoggle, and learning that William Portwood had admitted to being involved, Bowden gave an account of what she saw that night from the window of her business. In summary, she stated that Elmer Cook, William Stanley Hoggle, Duck Hoggle, and William Portwood assaulted Reverends Reeb, Olsen, and Miller. It was Elmer Cook who swung the club and struck Reverend Reeb.[22]
William Portwood died shortly after his last interview with NPR on September 30, 2017.[23]
Media portrayals
Reeb is portrayed by
See also
- Viola Liuzzo
- William Lewis Moore
- Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
- List of unsolved murders
References
- ^ a b Anderson, Laura. "James Reeb". March 16, 2009. Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ISBN 1-55896-317-0. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Reeb, James". The King Papers Project. June 21, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c Seaburg, Alan. "James Joseph Reeb." James Joseph Reeb, Unitarian Universalist History & Heritage Society, January 12, 2012, uudb.org/articles/jamesjosephreeb.html.
- ^ "James Reeb, Civil Rights Martyr: A Granddaughter Remembers." Casper College, Wyoming, Footprints Magazine, October 10, 2016, www.caspercollege.edu/news/insidecc/james-reeb-civil-rights-martyr-a-granddaughter-remembers.
- ^ a b "On This Day: Mass Moments". Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Howlett, pp. 81ff.
- ^ The Boston Globe Magazine. Globe Newspaper Co.: 14–21. Archived from the originalon October 28, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Jack, Homer and John Sullivan. "James Reeb: Civil Rights Martyr and AFSC memorial statement on James Reeb" (PDF). www.afsc.org. Friends Journal and AFSC. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ Howlett, p. 131.
- ^ "UUA News: "A Civil Rights Martyr Remembered"". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- NY Daily News. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Jerry (March 11, 2011). "Clark Olsen still weeps over killing of fellow minister". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-0510-4. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ OCLC 32739924.
- ^ Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
- ^ "James Reeb - Notice to Close File." United States Department of Justice, May 20, 2011.
- ^ "Namon O'Neal "Duck" Hoggle". "Montgomery Advertiser. August 31, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Reeb Voting Rights Project – All Souls Church Unitarian". all-souls.org. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "White Lies".
- ^ "NPR Identifies 4th Attacker In Civil Rights-Era Cold Case". NPR.org. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ "Learn Not To Hear It". NPR.org. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ "William Portwood Obituary". Legacy. October 1, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ Yamato, Jen (June 10, 2014). "Jeremy Strong Joins 'Selma,' 'Black Mass,' 'Time Out Of Mind'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- "Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Eulogy for the Reverend James Reeb". Beacon Broadside: A Project of Beacon Press. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- Preston, Hannah (May 28, 2019). "The story behind the unsolved 1965 murder of Rev. James Reeb". Newsweek. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
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, November 12, 2008
- Anderson, Laura. "James Reeb". March 16, 2009. Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- "James Reeb", Harvard Square Library
- Reeb, James (1927-1965)" Martin Luther King Jr.: and the Global Freedom Struggle.
- Martin Luther King Jr. "A Witness to the Truth" (PDF). UUWorld. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- "The Rev. Clark Olsen's memories of the murder of Jim Reeb in Selma in 1965." Unitarian Universalist World
- "James Reeb" The King Center
- "Clark Olsen still weeps over the killing of the fellow minister" March 11, 2011, in Unpunished killings, by Jerry Mitchell
- "James Reeb" Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University
- "Dr. King Leads March at Selma; State Police End It Peaceably" The New York Times on the web
- "Who was James Reeb?" James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation
- Touched by their family history, Rev. James Reeb's granddaughters Leah Reeb and Corrie Lubenow have traveled to Selma to better understand his convictions and his sacrifice" Made in Wyoming: Our Legacy of Success.