Richmond civil rights legend Dr. Fergie Reid celebrates his 100th birthday this week

Trailblazing politician Dr. William “Fergie” Reid turns 100 years old on Tuesday, and his impact and influence is still felt across the state’s political scene.

Reid became the first Black politician elected to the General Assembly since Reconstruction when he was voted to the House of Delegates in 1968, and was a co-founder of the Richmond Crusade for Voters.

His 90th birthday was celebrated with a campaign centered around voter registration, and as he nears 100, he still shares his wisdom with current legislators.

When Del. Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William) decided to run for office, she reached out to Reid. 

“He was right there supporting, giving me tips and helping me along the way,” she said. 

She said he provided advice on how to reach voters, specifically through his grassroots strategy of knocking on doors and meeting people where they’re at. 

Her efforts and his advice led to her winning her first election in 2020, and she recalled video chatting with Reid to share the good news. 

“Hearing his encouragement and how proud he was of the work was like a really special moment,” she said. “I'm not here without him and others who have paved the way for Black people to serve in the General Assembly.”

Reid was the only Black member of the 140 member legislature at the time. Today, there are 32 members in the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. 

Reid represented Richmond and Henrico County at a time when the county was predominantly white, which former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said last week was “daunting.”

“Many said you were really crazy when you said you were going to represent Richmond and Henrico,” Wilder said at an event honoring Reid in 1990. “But you kindled a flame of progress that has never been snuffed out."

Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Albemarle) noted that Reid has stayed engaged in that fight.

“Not only did he break barriers and get elected to the legislature,” Deeds said. “But he has stayed active and stayed involved and has worked to inspire other people.”

As Reid turns 100, his family plans to get together and keep the trailblazer's birthday simple in California, where they currently live.

Reid will be honored next month by VCU’s Wilder School during the Excellence in Virginia Government Awards, where Reid will receive the group’s lifetime achievement award.

Early exposure to civil rights

Reid was born in Jackson Ward and grew up next door to Maggie L. Walker’s house. He spent the majority of his early life in Richmond. He graduated from Armstrong High School in 1941 and received a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Union University before earning a medical degree from Howard University. He served as a lieutenant in the Navy during the Korean War and opened a private surgical practice in Richmond when he returned. 

At the time, Virginia was still grappling with the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Virginia was dominated by the politics of the “Byrd Machine,” a political organization led by former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr., that worked to prevent public school integration. 

This time also was difficult for Black people trying to vote.

Virginians were required to fill out a “blank sheet” with their information from memory to register to vote, according to Virginia Humanities. White voters knew what to fill out because they knew what information was required, but Black voters didn’t. Virginia also passed poll taxes to prevent Black people from voting, as many couldn’t afford to pay it or missed an unannounced deadline.

These harmful practices prompted Reid to help register and rally Black voters, which led him to co-found the Richmond Crusade for Voters, an organization still in place today. The organization educated Black voters and held get-out-the-vote drives. 

“It eventually got to a point that the Crusade endorsement really helped people get elected,” Reid said in an interview in 2015. 

The Crusade also helped him get elected to the General Assembly, where he served as the sole Black legislator for two years, and twice won re-election.

Reid’s son, Dr. Fergie Reid Jr., said he remembers many stories where his father experienced discrimination in Richmond due to his skin color. After his first election, Reid and newly elected members to the House of Delegates were invited to have dinner at the Commonwealth Club. 

“But the Commonwealth Club didn't allow Black people unless they were the wait staff,” he said. “So all of the members were invited, but they said, ‘Dr. Reid, you can't come because you're black.’”

Reid Jr. said that stories like these are important for current and future generations of politicians who look up to his father to know.

Laying the foundation 

Reid remained a strong force within Virginia politics after leaving the General Assembly.

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan said that growing up in Petersburg, she didn’t know much about Reid, but discovered him and his influence after moving to Richmond. 

She reached out to him for advice when she ran for the House of Delegates in 2005 and learned her father, a civil rights activist, knew him too. McClellan said Reid and his wife supported her by providing advice and consistently checking in on her.  

McClellan remembers hearing stories from her father and Reid about growing up during the Jim Crow era. Those stories are more important and powerful when you hear them from someone who was there, she said.

“It was the dignity he carried himself with, even when he was treated as a second-class citizen,” she said. 

Reid provided insight on the African American legislative project, which identified all the African Americans that served in the legislature, and commemoration of the Civil Rights Act, McClellan said. 

In 2008, she introduced and passed a General Assembly bill which commended Reid for his “exceptional service to the Commonwealth and its people.”

Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, D-Loudoun, introduced a similar bill which passed earlier this month in honor of Reid’s 100th birthday. 

When Srinivasan met Reid, he was surprised at how much Reid knew and kept up with local politics in Loudoun County. He said he has been inspired by Reid’s legacy because of his barrier-breaking history.

“He has done so much for so many people,” he said. 

Srinivasn sensed that Reid deeply cared about working at the granular level, and taught him how to connect with voters by door-knocking and being on the ground. He said they maintained a strong relationship ever since, and Reid has provided guidance and mentorship. 

“He implored the importance of being active,” Srinivasan said.

Wilder said in an interview with The Richmonder that it is very easy for “the past to become the present” – referencing changes made at the national level as a result of the Trump administration, as well as the decision to not extend VMI’s first Black superintendent’s contract. 

Wilder said it is important to continue the fight that he, Reid and others started. 

“He’s shown that it’s not enough to just be the first of anything, or the only of anything,” King said. “We have a responsibility to make things better and easier for those who come behind.”