'A giant in the community' Civic, religious leaders remember Rev. John A. 'Pop' Reed Jr.

The Rev. John A. Reed Jr . often preached about the trials and triumphs of the Oklahoma City civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s because he lived through those years on the frontlines as a young pastor, challenging the racism and bigotry of Jim Crow.

Affectionately known as "Pop," the longtime Oklahoma City minister, community and civil rights leader died Monday at 86. Reed was known for having achieved a remarkable feat — serving as pastor of his beloved congregation at Fairview Baptist Church, 1700 NE 7, for more than 60 years. He was considered a pastoral father to numerous preachers and pastors in Oklahoma and beyond, and praised as a tireless leader for the Oklahoma City Black community and the community-at-large.

"Pastor Reed is one of the most impactful residents our city has ever known," Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said.

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"Due to the way stories were told in this community, and in many others, that wasn’t always widely known. But it was certainly known to the leaders of this city. Pastor Reed was a part of every initiative in this city for half a century. He was always at the table."

Just a few days before his death, Reed took to the pulpit for what was to be the last time, to commemorate the anniversaries of the Oklahoma City sit-in movement and the 1969 Oklahoma City Sanitation Strike.

The Rev. Derrick Scobey , his friend and colleague in the ministry, said the sermon was "prophetic."

Scobey said Reed's last sermon emphasized the importance of pursuing dreams and acting on those dreams, something that Reed continued to do until his death.

"He stayed in the race all the way to the end — still lucid, still driving, still walking, still preaching," Scobey said.

Other elected leaders, along with Reed's friends and "sons in the ministry," also spoke about Reed's enduring legacy.

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State Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, a member of Reed's church, said the nation lost "a statesman."

“When you look at the walls of history in Oklahoma, you will find that Dr. Reed played a vital role in leading the Civil Rights Movement and other movements in our state," Lowe said in a statement. "He pastored many leaders in our nation, and I am grateful he served as my pastor for the last several years."

Holt, like Scobey, talked about Reed's lengthy life and ministry career that the preacher often likened to a race.

"His legacy is great and he kept building it till the day he died," Holt said. "He used to say ‘I’m still in the race.’ It may be that his race on this Earth has finally ended, but he ran through the tape."

Oklahoma County Commissioner Carrie Blumert spoke of Reed's influence.

"Pastor Reed's impact on his congregation and community was immeasurable," she said in a statement.

Rev. Major Jemison, longtime senior pastor of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, said he worked together with Reed in the community for 41 years on several different projects and several different fronts.

"He was faithful, loving, kind and concerned about the progress of northeast Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma as a whole," Jemison said.

The minister said Reed's leadership of Fairview made the churcha staple in the surrounding community and Reed and his congregation were well respected in the ecumenical community and nationally, in his denomination, the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.

Like Hildreth, Jemison also spoke of Reed's leadership in the civil rights movement.

"This made him an icon in his community with the likes of the Rev. W.K. Jackson (Jemison's predecessor at St. John) and Clara Luper and so many of the other pioneers of our community, Jemison said. "He was a part of that, and so he leaves a legacy of great respect, great contribution and great admiration among those of us who knew him and loved him."

The Rev. Jerry Young, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., said Reed was one of his closest friends. Reed had been set to preach at a service at the denomination's meeting in September in Baltimore, Maryland.

"He was an outstanding preaching pastor, just a Christian gentleman and an exceptional kind of fellow, he really was," Young said. "It has been the privilege of my life to have met him, have worked with him, served with him, and some of the best advice I've ever received, I received from him."

A 'preacher's kid' who took a stand

Reed, a native of Kingfisher, was born into a Christian household as a "PK" — "preacher's kid" — to the Rev. John. A. Reed Sr. and his wife, Mae Ella Reed. He felt called to preach at an early age, but he ultimately was inspired to accept the divine call after seeing his best friend stabbed to death during a fight outside a rodeo. In 1957, he preached his first sermon at age 19 at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Stillwater and was ordained as a minister in 1961.

His ministry at Fairview began on the second Sunday in January 1963, when the church's senior pastor, the Rev. S.S. Fairley, officially presented Reed to the congregation as his assistant pastor. The older preacher became ill two years later, and Reed said the pastoral "yoke of responsibility" soon fell upon him. The Fairview congregation officially installed Reed as senior pastor after Fairley's death in 1975.

Oklahoma City Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice said Reed was "a giant in the community that led from a civil rights aspect, but also from a ministry aspect."

Nice grew emotional as she said Reed's death is "a hard blow to our community." She said she was grateful that she was sitting in the pew when he recently preached at the worship service culminating the Freedom Fiesta activities commemorating the Oklahoma City sit-in movement.

"I just remember his message was 'be a dreamer,'" she said. "After church, I gave him a hug and said, 'Alright, Reverend, you better tell us to dream.' He said,' 'That's right, baby, if your mind can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it.'"

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Civil rights leader Marilyn Hildreth also expressed sadness at Reed's passing.

Hildreth said Reed was the last of Oklahoma City's civil rights leaders of a certain generation. With the death of her mother, civil rights icon Clara Luper, who died in 2011, and the 2023 death of the Rev. W.B. Parker, longtime pastor of Spencer's St. James Baptist Church, she said Reed was the only one left.

"He leaves a void — where do we go from here?" she said. "We have to and we're obligated to lean on the teachings that we've been taught through history because no more do we have anybody to call and ask for their advice and help facing the struggle."

A constant presence

Preachers who considered themselves Reed's "sons in the ministry" spoke of the many ways he influenced their lives and their ministries.

The Rev. Ray Douglas, senior pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church, said Reed was a constant and steady presence in his life.

"As a child, he baptized me. He licensed and ordained me, and I served as his youth pastor, and then the assistant to the pastor," Douglas said. "Really, most of my ministry is really connected to him and the relationship that we've had."

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Douglas said he was proud to be one of Reed's sons in the ministry and he knew of ministers both in Oklahoma and throughout the country who also considered themselves blessed to have been mentored by the longtime pastor.

"He has a long legacy. Really, he's an icon," Douglas said.

The Rev. Jon Middendorf, senior minister of OKC First Church of the Nazarene, said he came to know Reed when he became the leader of his church in northwest Oklahoma City in 2007.

"I leaned on Pop Reed for some guidance and for some ideas, and we just hit it off, and I knew him to be a reliable, trustworthy voice," Middendorf said. "And the thing is, he always had time for me. Got to the point where he started calling me one of his sons and I I felt that in my soul and took great pride in being referred to as one of his sons. I will miss that terribly."

Douglas said he has spoken to other "sons" of Reed and they all discussed one of the most important lessons that Reed taught them: The importance of faithfulness in doing the Lord's work.

"The great thing about it is, even as we sorrow, we don't sorrow as if we have no hope," he said.

"He would have said, 'You've got to do this, this is the thing that we've been called to. So you have church on Sunday and you have people to minister to.' I think the legacy is about faithfulness and that if you take care of the Lord's work, then the Lord will take care of you."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'A giant in the community' Civic, religious leaders remember Rev. John A. 'Pop' Reed Jr.