Wilson Edward Reed, PhD was born on a family farm in 1950’s Mississippi, during the height of Jim Crow segregation. As an African American, he lived under the twenty-two laws that restricted miscegenation (racial mixing) and prevented African Americans from participating as full citizens—for over seventy-five years. 

Dr. Reed learned at an early age that he must obey Jim Crow or face punishment. He attended a segregated school, church, movie theater, and a public library, and was able to maintain his dignity by working hard in school and taking small jobs, including picking cotton. After attending Rosa A. Temple High School and Utica Junior College, Wilson Reed moved to Seattle and earned both B.A. and M.A. at the University of Washington. Years later he would earn a M.A. at Suny Albany and finally capped off his academic achievements with a PhD at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona. He taught at over five institutions, including the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, Seattle University, Northern Arizona University, and Texas Christian University over his professional career.

Today, Dr. Reed currently resides outside of Las Vegas, NV. His writing can be found on BlackPast.org, where he’s contributed over ten biographical vignettes, as well as in his first book The Politics of Community Policing. His newest release, Junebug, is a fictionalized account of growing up Black in the South during the 1950’s and 60’s, under Jim Crow.