James Joseph Reeb (January 1, 1927 – March 11, 1965) was an American Unitarian Universalist minister, pastor, and activist during the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., and Boston, Massachusetts.

[3] He attended Natrona County High School and graduated in 1945, after which he joined the Army despite the fact that his commitment to the ministry made him exempt from service.

[4] As a scholar of theology, Reeb grew away from traditionalist Presbyterian teachings and was drawn to the Unitarian Universalist church.

[10] In 1964, he began as community relations director for the American Friends Service Committee's Boston Metropolitan Housing Program, focusing on desegregation.

James Reeb's daughter Anne recollected that her father "was adamant that you could not make a difference for African-Americans while living comfortably in a white community."

Reeb was prompted by the Bloody Sunday attack by state troopers and sheriff's deputies on nonviolent demonstrators on March 7, 1965.

[14]: 153  Two hours elapsed, and his condition deteriorated, before Reeb arrived at a Birmingham hospital—treatment was not available for him in much closer Montgomery—where doctors performed brain surgery.

While Reeb was on his way to the hospital in Birmingham, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a press conference lamenting the "cowardly" attack and asking all to pray for his protection.

"[3] And, King said, "James Reeb says something to each of us, black and white alike—says that we must substitute courage for caution, says to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered him but about the system, the way of life."

Selma Sheriff Jim Clark falsely stated in an open letter he wrote and distributed that Reeb, whom he identified as the "so-called minister," died after being "thrown out of one beer joint (then) coming out of another when he and his companions had a fight or were beaten by some men."

Kelley—were indicted in Dallas County, Alabama, for Reeb's murder; three were acquitted after less than 90 minutes of deliberation by an all-white jury that December.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the decision to close the case was made upon discovery that three of the four men believed to be responsible for the killing were deceased and that Namon Hoggle, the only surviving individual, was tried and acquitted of the crime in state court, barring him from further prosecution.

[18] In memory of James Reeb, in 2013, All Souls Church founded the Reeb Voting Rights Project, which continues to work for the expansion of voting rights and the prevention of disenfranchisement in the U.S.[19] NPR Investigative journalists Andrew Beck Grace and Chip Brantley presented the findings of a multi-year investigation in a podcast, White Lies, which aired in May and June 2019.

[20] During their investigation Grace and Brantley found an eyewitness, Frances Bowden, and a fifth man, William Portwood, who was involved in the crime.

After the death of Namon (Duck) Hoggle, and learning that William Portwood had admitted to being involved, Bowden gave an account of what she saw that night from the window of her business.