He is a native Chicagoan who describes himself as attempting to blend a love of place with a holistic, scholarly view of what made Chicago and its citizens think and behave as they have done and presently do, and that is, dynamically.
An original resident of the South Side's historic Bronzeville community, he is a permanent resident of the city where he is active in civic, community and political affairs, which include volunteer work at the Du Sable Museum of African American History and within the Black Chicago History Forum (creed@roosevelt.edu).
On June 1, 2001, the Roosevelt University Alumni Association honored Reed by naming him the recipient of the St. Clair Drake Award for Outstanding Scholarship.
The project produced a website, Black Chicago History (being expanded), and a forthcoming anthology scheduled to being published by the University of Illinois Press.
Utilizing modern communications, Reed has appeared frequently on radio and television, in PBS film documentaries such as the award-winning Du Sable to Obama and in newspapers, and on the Internet.