James Reeb was born in Wichita, Kansas, on 1st January, 1927. A Unitarian minister, Reeb was active in the civil rights movement.

After the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson during the voter registration drive by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) it was decided to dramatize the need for a federal registration law.

With the help of Martin Luther King and Ralph David Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), leaders of the SCCC organised a protest march from Selma to the state capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama. The first march on 1st February, 1965, led to the arrest of 770 people. A second march, led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams, on 7th March, was attacked by mounted police. The sight of state troopers using nightsticks and tear gas was filmed by television cameras and the event became known as Bloody Sunday.

While in Selma on 8th March, Reeb was attacked by white mob with clubs. Reeb, who suffered massive head injuries, died in hospital on 11th March. His death resulted in a national outcry against the activities of white racists in the Deep South.