A LIFE LOST
By Grace
James Reeb stood up for a cause he believed in, he wanted everyone to be equal. James gave his life, as well as many other people, for a unspoken rule he wanted to change. James Reeb was born January 1, 1925. He was a minister and social worker in Boston. James later joined the American Friends Service Committee and strongly believed in equality. He married Marie Deason and had four children. He had his wife watched Bloody Sunday on the television and James was determined to answer Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for clergy. That night James Reeb got on a plane and flew to Selma, expecting to participate in a nonviolent protest. After Turnaround Tuesday, James Reeb decided to stay in Selma until they had court permission to do a full scale march.
That night he and two other men went out to a integrated restaurant together, but when they were leaving they were attacked by several white men, and Reeb was clubbed in the head. Hours later, James Reeb was admitted to the Birmingham Hospital and doctors there preformed emergency brain surgery. During James' surgery, Martin Luther King Jr. "addressed a press conference lamenting the ‘cowardly’ attack and asking all to pray for [James Reeb’s] protection” (King, 10 March 1965, quoted in the biography of James Reeb). Two days after his attack, Reeb died, and the President called James Reeb’s wife and father to express condolences for their loss. Three days after his death, on March 15, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson deliver a draft of the voting rights act to congress, and in his speech he mentioned James Reeb.
A month later on April 3rd, three white men were indicated for the murder of James Reeb. At James Reeb’s funeral, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a eulogy, and ever since his death, James has been recognized as a martyr in the Civil Rights movement. A young white man dying for the Civil Rights movement made everyone look at what was happening. It is sad that it took a white man dying to gain interest in the Civil Rights movement—that for any action to be taken, just one white man had to die, when countless other people had already given their lives. Not many people who were in power at the time thought that a white man believed in the Civil Rights movement enough to give his life, so when James Reeb died, it was unexpected. James Reeb becoming a martyr for the Civil Rights movement showed that anyone can take action, even if the cause is not necessary directly impacting your life.
That night he and two other men went out to a integrated restaurant together, but when they were leaving they were attacked by several white men, and Reeb was clubbed in the head. Hours later, James Reeb was admitted to the Birmingham Hospital and doctors there preformed emergency brain surgery. During James' surgery, Martin Luther King Jr. "addressed a press conference lamenting the ‘cowardly’ attack and asking all to pray for [James Reeb’s] protection” (King, 10 March 1965, quoted in the biography of James Reeb). Two days after his attack, Reeb died, and the President called James Reeb’s wife and father to express condolences for their loss. Three days after his death, on March 15, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson deliver a draft of the voting rights act to congress, and in his speech he mentioned James Reeb.
A month later on April 3rd, three white men were indicated for the murder of James Reeb. At James Reeb’s funeral, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a eulogy, and ever since his death, James has been recognized as a martyr in the Civil Rights movement. A young white man dying for the Civil Rights movement made everyone look at what was happening. It is sad that it took a white man dying to gain interest in the Civil Rights movement—that for any action to be taken, just one white man had to die, when countless other people had already given their lives. Not many people who were in power at the time thought that a white man believed in the Civil Rights movement enough to give his life, so when James Reeb died, it was unexpected. James Reeb becoming a martyr for the Civil Rights movement showed that anyone can take action, even if the cause is not necessary directly impacting your life.