Local leaders and friends pay tribute to Rev. John A. “Pop” Reed Jr.
Reverend John A. Reed Jr. often preached about the ups and downs of the civil rights movement in Oklahoma City in the 1950s and 1960s because he had lived through those years on the front lines as a young pastor, speaking out against the racism and bigotry of Jim Crow laws.
Affectionately known as “Pop,” the longtime Oklahoma City pastor, community and civil rights leader died Monday at the age of 86. Reed was known for his remarkable accomplishments – 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 was praised as a tireless leader of Oklahoma City’s black community and the community at large.
“Pastor Reed is one of the most influential citizens our city has ever had,” said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.
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“Because of the way stories were told in this and many other churches, that wasn’t always common knowledge. But it was certainly known to the leaders of this city. Pastor Reed was involved in every initiative in this city for half a century. He was always at the table.”
Just days before his death, Reed took the pulpit for the last time to commemorate the anniversaries of the Oklahoma City sit-in movement and the 1969 garbage collection strike.
His friend and colleague in the ministry, Rev. Derrick Scobey, called the sermon “prophetic.”
Scobey said Reed’s final sermon emphasized the importance of pursuing dreams and acting on them, and Reed continued to do so until his death.
“He stayed in the race until the end – still clear-headed, still driving, still on the road, still preaching,” Scobey said.
Other elected officials, as well as Reed’s friends and “sons in the ministry,” also spoke about Reed’s lasting legacy.
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Oklahoma City Democratic Rep. Jason Lowe, a member of Reed’s church, said the nation had lost “a statesman.”
“If you look at the walls of history in Oklahoma, you will see that Dr. Reed played a critical role in leading the civil rights movement and other movements in our state,” Lowe said in a statement. “He pastored many of our nation’s leaders and I am grateful to have had him as my pastor for the past several years.”
Like Scobey, Holt spoke about Reed’s long life and his career as a minister, which the preacher often compared to a race.
“His legacy is great and he continued to build on it until he died,” Holt said. “He used to say, ‘I’m still in the race.’ His race on this earth may finally be over, but he kept going until the end.”
Oklahoma County Commissioner Carrie Blumert spoke about Reed’s influence.
“Pastor Reed’s impact on his congregation and community was immeasurable,” she said in a statement.
The Rev. Major Jemison, longtime pastor of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church, said he has worked with Reed on several different projects and on several different fronts for 41 years in the church.
“He was loyal, loving, kind and concerned about the progress of northeast Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma as a whole,” Jemison said.
The pastor said Reed’s leadership of Fairview has made the church an important part of the surrounding community and that Reed and his congregation are highly respected in the ecumenical community and nationally in his denomination, the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
Like Hildreth, Jemison spoke about Reed’s leadership role in the civil rights movement.
“In doing so, he became an icon in his community, along with people like Reverend WK Jackson (Jemison’s predecessor at St. John) and Clara Luper and many other pioneers of our community,” Jemison said. “He was a part of that and therefore leaves a legacy of great respect, great contribution and great admiration among those of us who knew 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 was scheduled to preach at a service during the denomination’s September gathering in Baltimore, Maryland.
“He was an outstanding preacher, just a Christian gentleman and an extraordinary human being, he really was,” Young said. “It was the privilege of my life to have known him, worked with him and served with him, and some of the best advice I’ve ever received came from him.”
A “preacher’s child” who took a stand
A native of Kingfisher, Reed was born “PK” – “preacher’s kid” – into a Christian family of the Reverend John A. Reed Sr. and his wife, Mae Ella Reed. He felt called to preach at a young age, but was ultimately inspired to accept the divine call after witnessing his best friend stabbed to death during a fight outside a rodeo. He preached his first sermon at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Stillwater in 1957 at the age of 19 and was ordained in 1961.
His ministry at Fairview began on the second Sunday in January 1963, when the church’s senior pastor, the Rev. SS Fairley, officially introduced Reed to the congregation as his assistant pastor. The elderly minister fell 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.
Nikki Nice, Oklahoma City’s 7th District councilwoman, said Reed was “a giant in the community who was a leader not only in civil rights but in church matters as well.”
Nice became emotional as she said Reed’s death was “a huge blow to our community.” She said she was grateful to be able to sit in the pew when he preached at the recent service that culminated Freedom Fiesta activities commemorating the Oklahoma City sit-in movement.
“I just remember his message was, ‘Be a dreamer,'” she said. “After church, I hugged him and said, ‘All right, Reverend, you better tell us to dream.’ He said, ‘That’s right, baby, if your mind can imagine it and believe it, you can achieve it.'”
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Civil rights activist Marilyn Hildreth also expressed her sadness over Reed’s death.
Hildreth said Reed is the last civil rights leader of a certain generation in Oklahoma City. After the death of her mother, civil rights icon Clara Luper, who died in 2011, and the death in 2023 of the Reverend WB Parker, the longtime pastor of St. James Baptist Church in Spencer, Reed is the only one left.
“It leaves a void – how do we move forward now?” she said. “We must and are obliged to draw on the lessons that have been taught to us throughout history, because we no longer have anyone we can call upon for advice and help to fight the battle.”
A constant presence
Ministers who considered themselves Reed’s “sons in the ministry” spoke of the many ways in which he influenced their lives and ministries.
The Rev. Ray Douglas, pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church, said Reed was a constant and consistent presence in his life.
“He baptized me as a child. He ordained me and gave me the priesthood, and I was his youth pastor and then his assistant,” Douglas said. “My ministry is really mostly tied to him and the relationship we had.”
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Douglas said he is proud to be one of Reed’s sons in church ministry, and he knows clergy both in Oklahoma and across the country who also feel fortunate to have been mentored by the longtime pastor.
“He has a long legacy. He is truly an icon,” Douglas said.
The Rev. Jon Middendorf, senior pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City, said he met Reed when he took over leadership of his church in northwest Oklahoma City in 2007.
“I relied on Pop Reed for his guidance and ideas, and we just got along well, and I knew he was a reliable, trustworthy voice,” Middendorf said. “And the thing is, he always had time for me. At some point he started calling me one of his sons, and I felt that deep in my soul and was very proud to be called one of his sons. I’m going to miss that terribly.”
Douglas said he has spoken with other “sons” of Reed and they all talked about one of the most important lessons Reed taught them: the importance of faithfulness in doing God’s work.
“The great thing is that even when we grieve, we don’t grieve as if we have no hope,” he said.
“He would have said, ‘This is what you have to do, this is the thing we are called to do. So on Sunday you have church and you have people to serve.’ I think the legacy is about faithfulness and that if you take care of the Lord’s work, the Lord will take care of you.”
