Frederick Douglas Reese (November 28, 1929 – April 5, 2018) was an American civil rights activist, educator and minister from Selma, Alabama.

[2] This campaign eventually gave birth to the Selma to Montgomery marches, which later led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

[2] Reese retired from teaching and from February 2015 and until his death in April 2018, he was active as a minister at Selma's Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.

In 1960, Reese moved home to Selma, started teaching science and math at R. B. Hudson High School, and joined the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL), the major civil rights organization in Selma since the state of Alabama started actively suppressing the NAACP in 1956.

[2] King and the SCLC agreed to come, and they started their public engagement in Selma's voting rights campaign on January 2, 1965, with a mass meeting in violation of an injunction against large gatherings.

[2] Reese and fellow teacher and DCVL member Margaret Moore challenged their colleagues, "How can we teach American civics if we ourselves cannot vote?

"[7] On January 22, three days after Amelia Boynton's encounter with police, and three days before another demonstration in front of the county courthouse where Annie Lee Cooper (portrayed by Oprah Winfrey in the 2014 film Selma) had a violent encounter with Sheriff Jim Clark, Reese gathered 105 teachers—almost every black teacher in Selma—to march on the courthouse.

[7][8][11] During the time the SCLC spent organizing and protesting in Selma, Reese coordinated meetings and often played the role of mediator when differences of opinion arose.

[14] April 27, 1999: The State of Alabama's House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution # HJR 231, which honors Dr. F. D. Reese esteemed influence and impact as a pastor, educator, and civil rights leader.

[15] May 27, 2000: The City of Selma, Alabama dedicated and celebrated the renaming of the 3 mile stretch of *U.S. Highway 80 beginning at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor Dr. Frederick D. Reese.