John Lewis Reed

John Reed, 72, of West Yarmouth, MA.  passed away in Boston on February 10, 2023, after a short illness.

John, one of five siblings, was born to the late Rachel and John Reed, Sr. on September 28, 1950, in Boston. John met the love of his life, Karen, while they were students at Dorchester High School (TechBoston Academy.) They were married in 1977 and Karen joined John on Cape Cod, soon to become their permanent home. John was a devoted husband, and you would often see him and Karen together at community meetings.

John graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He demonstrated early in his life that teaching and mentoring would be his calling.  He mentored classmates in history as early as junior high school and had a series of jobs involving young people and their education. John impacted the lives of many Barnstable High School students where he taught history, started the Imani club and a youth chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  He impacted students Cape-wide through the Human Rights Academy, sponsored by the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission, which held student-run conferences dealing with the positive impact students can have in creating a just society. His founding of, and involvement with, the Human Rights Commission and human rights on Cape Cod resulted in him being named the 2021 Rosenthal Community Champion.

The Zion Union Heritage Museum was co-founded by a Board of Directors led by John alongside Harold Tobey and Debra Dagwan.  At the time of his death, John was the President of the Board and the mainstay of the museum.  He also served, for many years, as the President of the Cape Cod Branch of the NAACP. John was an active, vocal unionist.  He served as President of the Barnstable Teachers Association and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and the National Education Association (NEA) as a Director from Massachusetts. Because of his commitment to bringing teachers of color to Cape Cod schools and mentoring them, John was active in the Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Educations, serving as treasurer at the time of his death.   

In recognition of his commitment to equity and diversity, in 1993 John received a Human and Civil Rights Award from the MTA and in 2008 he received the prestigious H. Councill Trenholm Memorial Award from NEA in recognition of John’s numerous contributions to free the education profession from inequities based on race or ethnicity.

John retired from his full-time position as an educator and Equity Officer for the Barnstable Public schools, but he never retired from his passion to make life better for all people, especially the disenfranchised, marginalized citizens of the Cape. He believed that his efforts could make life better for the people of color on Cape Cod, particularly for students.

In addition to his wife, Karen, John is survived by his brother, George, his stepfather, Willoughby and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. He also leaves his dear friend and fishing buddy, Ralph Dagwan.  John was predeceased by his sisters Gloria, Henrietta, and Mary.

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