James Reeb

On March 9, 1965, three Unitarian Universalist ministers – James Reeb of Boston Massachusetts, Orloff Miller also of Boston Massachusetts, and Clark Olsen of Berkeley California – participated in a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery that was led by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. According to newspaper reports, the three ministers were a part of a group of more than 450 clergymen from across the country who were in Alabama to protest the violent treatment of African Americans who were seeking the right to vote. After the march, Reeb, Miller and Olsen dined at a restaurant for African Americans in Selma. As the three ministers left the restaurant, four white men attacked them on the sidewalk. One of the four attackers struck Reeb in the head with a club. Reeb was transported by ambulance to University Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, where two days later he died from the injuries sustained in the attack.