And if he should die,
Take his body, and cut it into little stars.
He will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night

“These beautiful words from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet so eloquently describe the radiant life of James Reeb. He entered the stage of history just 38 years ago, and in the brief years that he was priviledged to act on this mortal state, he played his part exceedingly well.”
Read an inSpire article about Reeb, and an abridged version of the eulogy Martin Luther King Jr. gave in Selma on March 15, 1965.

“I am truly grateful to President Gillespie, to the Chapel Director, Michael Livingston, and to the Chapel Council for the invitation to preach on this special day, in the honor and memory of a very special person. In an institution as venerable as this, with buildings both old and new, it is very easy to pass by—without a second glance—the plaques embedded in the walls of most, if not all, such structures. Outside the Mackay Center is one such plaque, dedicated in honor and memory of James Joseph Reeb, a member of my class, the Class of 1953, who was killed during the struggle for racial equality and freedom in Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965.”
Read a sermon given in Miller Chapel on the thirtieth anniversary of Reeb’s death by Richard J. Oman, Class of 1953, who was then vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

“On this day in 1965, a white minister from Boston lay near death in an Alabama hospital. As James Reeb’s life slipped away, his story was in every morning paper and on every evening news program. Deeply committed to the non-violent struggle for civil rights, he had gone to Selma, Alabama, in response to an appeal from Martin Luther King Jr. On March 9, he was viciously attacked by men opposed to civil rights.”
Read an article about Reeb in the online journal of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.