EAST LANSING Mich. — Michigan State University alumnus Gregory J. Reed sees his exhibit of excerpts from rare and never-before-seen documents from Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Malcolm X as a learning tool and a way to make history accessible for all.
“The Journey: The Mother, The Movement, The King and Now” will be premiered nationally at MSU Monday, Jan. 15.
Designed and curated by Reed, a renowned U.S. collector, and archivist Patrice Wilson, Keeper of the Word Foundation, the exhibit will be displayed during the Student Leadership Conference at the MSU Student Union. The conference begins at 9 a.m. Both the conference and exhibit are open to the public.
“This conference exhibit, designed exclusively for MSU, takes you through a lesson of how the African-Americans have overcome many obstacles in America,” said Reed, a Detroit attorney. “It is here for students, faculty and visitors to MSU to share that journey and experiences. It will be a model for a traveling exhibit for the university.
“The exhibit also is for students to study, to process the information and share thoughts with others on what they can do to change the world. It’s a way to help heal and make this world a better place for all of us.”
Curators from the MSU Museum also will assist with the installation. Throughout his nearly 40 years of collecting, Reed has acquired and preserved more than 2,500 documents and artifacts that helped chronicle the African-American experience in the United States.
“The MSU Museum is honored to be working with Mr. Reed to provide a remarkable opportunity for the campus community and the state of Michigan to view these documents and artifacts that are truly national cultural treasures,” said C. Kurt Dewhurst, director of the MSU Museum.
The exhibit will include King’s original documents from the March 7, 1965, march on Selma, Ala., and rare documents and artifacts from Parks and Malcolm X, and other aspects of civil rights history.
“We are very pleased and excited that Mr. Reed is coming to MSU to be the keynote speaker at our student leadership conference,” said Paulette Granberry Russell, senior adviser to the president for diversity at MSU. “Mr. Reed has a long association with the university as a student and alumnus, and this exhibit is a wonderful chance for students to learn more about the African-American experience in this country.”
Reed was a student at MSU on April 4, 1968, the day King was killed.
Some of Reed’s fellow students came to his door that night, seeking someone to lead MSU’s march of peace. Reed led the university’s first march commemorating King that night.
For 15 years, Reed was the attorney for Parks, with whom he wrote two books, “Quiet Strength,” and “Dear Mrs. Parks: a Dialogue with Today’s Youth,” which received Michigan’s first National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Image Award for outstanding literature.
Reed said that his and the efforts of others to see Mrs. Parks recognized for her contributions to society was challenging.
U.S. Rep. Julia Carson of Indiana read “Quiet Strength,” and was inspired by their writings, and was moved to check on records for Mrs. Parks. Her actions were the catalyst for Parks’ receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, Reed said.
“It was a humbling experience when Rosa Parks walked into my office and asked me to be her lawyer,” Reed said. “We worked to restore her image to the American people, and recognize her for the sacrifices she made on behalf of African-Americans and others who faced cultural challenges and barriers.”
Reed graduated from MSU and Wayne State University with degrees in engineering, management science and law. He is the first African-American in Michigan to receive a master’s degree in taxation law.
He also is Michigan’s first recipient of the American Book Award for his “Economic Empowerment through the Church – a Blueprint for Progressive Community Development.”
His other MSU affiliations include serving as vice chairperson of the MSU Foundation, and as a member of the MSU Museum Development Council.
“I’ve been blessed with an opportunity to take advantage of the educational opportunities MSU had to offer,” Reed said. “And, I have always taken great joy in giving back to students, and find it very rewarding. When students walk away from this exhibit, I want them to be enlightened and encouraged.”
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