Frederick Douglas Reese, a quiet but determined leader of the voting rights movement in Selma, passed away Thursday in Atlanta at the age of 88.

Reese was born and raised in Selma. He educated children in Dallas County for more than 50 years and preached to his congregation at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church for half a century.

But he didn’t just have an impact on Selma. He helped change the nation. In 1965, Reese wrote a letter on the behalf of the “Courageous Eight” to another civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., inviting him and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to Selma to join the fight for the right to vote for African Americans. Reese was the final member of the “Courageous Eight” to pass away.

“I think the Lord must have led me to take that lead,” Reese said in a previous Times-Journal report. “Instead of taking a position of servitude, I took a position of leadership, and I gave leadership to the people in Selma.”

In 1965, Reese was an educator. He was the leader of the Selma Teacher’s Association and the Dallas County Voter’s League. He was also one of the few African Americans registered to vote at the time.

His dedication and determination to get the right to vote for all who wanted to take part in the political process, led him to inspiring fellow teachers to take a stand and join the fight.

On Jan. 22, 1965, Reese led more than 100 African-American school teachers from Clark Elementary School to the steps of the Dallas County Courthouse, where they encountered the infamous Sheriff Jim Clark. No teachers were allowed to register to vote that day, but their involvement ignited a spark in the movement.

“The teachers’ march really excited other people who had taken somewhat of a backseat so to speak,” Reese said in 2015 of the teachers’ march.

“Teachers were considered to be the leaders in our community, so when teachers marched everybody wanted to march.”

Reese’s invitation to King in 1965 led to the organization of three Selma to Montgomery marches. Reese stood side-by-side with Dr. King on many occasions and even shared a jail cell with the civil rights icon during the struggle for equal rights.

His work led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Reese continued his leadership role in Selma after the movement by serving on the city council for a dozen years. He also ran for mayor.

Reese and Alline, his wife of 64 years, had five children together. Whether it is seeing his name on a street sign or a stretch of highway on U.S. Highway 80, Reese’s legacy will live on in Selma. His grandsons, Alan and Melvin, have started a foundation in his name honoring their grandfather for his dedication and servitude to civil rights and his hometown.