Friday, July 26, 2019

Joe L. Reed

RayneVanDunem: /* ASU Acadome */


'''Joe L. Reed Sr.''' (1938-present) is an American politician, activist and educator. He is the current Vice-Chair of Minority Affairs of the [[Alabama Democratic Party]] and, since 1979, chair of the [[Alabama Democratic Conference]]. He also served as president of the all-Black Alabama State Teachers Association prior to its merger with the all-White [[Alabama Education Association]] in 1969, and then served as associate executive secretary alongside Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert from 1969 until both leaders retired from the AEA in 2011<ref>[https://ift.tt/2yqU3E9 AEA's Joe Reed retires, ending one of Alabama's most powerful political duos], AL.com</ref>.

Born in [[Evergreen, Alabama|Evergreen]] in [[Conecuh County, Alabama|Conecuh County]], [[Alabama]] in 1938, Reed graduated from Conecuh County Training School in 1956 and served in the integrated [[U.S. Army]], joining a [[Mobile army surgical hospital (United States)|MASH]] unit during the [[Korean War]]. When he returned to segregated life in Alabama, he attended [[Alabama State University]], where he served as Student Body President and worked as a student-worker. However, after he joined a Montgomery County courthouse lunch counter sit-in on February 25, 1960, he was placed on probation before his eventual graduation with a baccalaureate in 1962. Two years later, Reed became executive secretary of the Alabama State Teachers Association. He would soon lead a merger with the then-politically-dormant, all-White Alabama Educational Association, and the two would merge in 1969, leading to a much higher political profile for Reed.

In 1975, Reed won a seat on the newly-formed [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]] City Council, winning District 3 by 918 votes and becoming one of the first four African-American officeholders in Montgomery since the [[Reconstruction era]]. He held his seat on the Council until his defeat in 1999 by [[Tracy Larkin]], by which time he was the last of the original members ever elected to the Council.

He married Mollie Perry-Reed in 1964, and they have three children Irva, Joe, and Steven; Steven currently serves as Montgomery County Probate Judge.

==Controversy==
===ASU Acadome===
From its opening in 1992 until May 2008, the stadium at [[Alabama State University]] was named the Joe L. Reed Acadome.<ref></ref> In 2008, the Alabama State Board of Trustees voted to remove Reed's name from the building, based upon claims that Reed gave the university negative publicity and wasted taxpayer money by filing too many frivolous lawsuits. The trustees renamed the court as the [[Dunn-Oliver Acadome]] in honor of the university's two most successful basketball coaches, Charles Johnson "C.J." Dunn and James V. Oliver.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref><ref></ref> This furthered a debate between members of the board and Reed's supporters. In the 2009 legislative session, two legislators filed bills to restore Reed's name to the building, but both were withdrawn.<ref></ref>

==References==


[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Alabama Democrats]]


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