Petition by members of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association in support of HRs 3849 and 3850

March 9, 2002

We, the undersigned Unitarian Universalist ministers, urge you to support HRs 3849 & 3850, which would designate the Marion, Alabama Post Office the 'Jimmie Lee Jackson Post Office Building' and the Selma, Alabama Post Office as the 'Reverend James Joseph Reeb Post Office Building,' respectively.

On February 26, 1965, Mr. Jackson was participating in a voting rights march in Marion that was met with armed resistance by the state police. He was pursued and shot to death by a state trooper. Our colleague the Rev. Reeb came to Selma in early March of 1965 in response to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's request for clergy and others to join him in protest. After participating in a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, Reeb joined two other Unitarian Universalist ministers for dinner at a restaurant in Selma. Shortly after leaving the restaurant, the three were attacked and the Rev. Reeb was struck in the head. He died at University Hospital in Selma on March 11 without regaining consciousness.

In his memory, and in solidarity with all those who, known and unknown, still struggle for freedom, we ask for your support.

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