Mourners celebrated the life of longtime Twin Cities civil rights activist and journalist Mel Reeves and shared stories of his fighting spirit before he was brought to his final resting place Thursday.
Moved by song, sermons and remembrances, attendees got up on their feet and clapped at times inside Shiloh Temple International Ministries in north Minneapolis. Reeves, 64, died last week from complications of COVID-19.
"He believed fully that God's word called for him to care for others readily, to fight for anyone not given a fair shake, to protect anyone taken advantage of by a system he truly believed was evil," said his son Kellen Wade Reeves.
"You fought for justice, now be at peace," Reeves said, turning toward his father's casket.
Nearly 200 people attended his funeral, including Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott and Katie Bryant, whose son Daunte Wright was killed last year by a police officer. Everyone wore face masks, some with "Black Lives Matter" written across, an ode to Reeves' recent push for people to get vaccinated in an interview with WCCO-TV.
In the socially distanced crowd, the latest issues of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder newspaper — a longtime Black weekly where Reeves served as community editor — were in hands along with the funeral program.
Reeves worked at the Spokesman-Recorder in the 1980s, returning about a decade ago, Tracey Williams-Dillard, the newspaper's publisher and owner, previously told the Star Tribune.
In his last days, Reeves continued writing on his phone, finishing a 1,000-word story, and called the newspaper to bring a laptop to the hospital, said Travis Lee, who worked with Reeves at the Spokesman-Recorder.
Throughout his life, his search for the truth was unrelenting, and he believed it should be written, recorded and documented, Lee continued.
"I would say Mel was like a smoke detector for injustice," he said. "You know where there is smoke, there is fire and there was Mel Reeves."
Reeves was a leader against inequity and in transforming and changing the community for the better, Pastor Brian Herron of Zion Baptist Church said.
"Until we meet again, rest well, Black prince of justice," he said.
Grandchild David Johnson said that as he got older, Reeves taught him how to live as a Black man in America.
"I'll remember the deep and sometimes long-winded talks we had — that's definitely a trait that passed onto us," Johnson said. "Every conversation held you could see all the passion he had. God received a mighty angel, and grandpa Mel will definitely be missed by many."
