Fort Worth attorney walked 200 miles to share police reform ideas. Abbott wasn’t there
After more than 200 miles and 10 days of walking from Fort Worth to the steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin, Leon Reed Jr. had finally made it.
But on Tuesday morning his journey ended before a pair of closed gates with a chain holding them shut. Reed, a Fort Worth native and attorney who has practiced criminal law for 16 years, had traveled on foot to deliver a letter on police reform to Gov. Greg Abbott along with a thumb drive that had data on Fort Worth police operations.
The day before Reed was scheduled to arrive, Abbott announced he would be traveling to Fort Worth on Tuesday — right where Reed had come from. And with the Capitol closed since March due to the novel coronavirus’ outbreak, Reed couldn’t even walk on the grounds. He was disappointed.
“We need him to be the governor of the state of Texas. I came down here to encourage him. I came down here to build him up, to strengthen him, to toughen up his resolve,” Reed said. “Because right now... he is the captain of our ship. And the captain of the ship is obligated to lead. It is not a choice. It is a duty.”
Later he said: “God didn’t tell me when I would get in front of the governor. And the governor is not here now. It may be meant for me to wait for him.”
Reed’s sister, Kristi Reed-Terrell, estimated she has tried calling Abbott’s office at least 20 times since last week.
A spokesman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. When asked about meeting with Reed during a press conference to unveil a proposal that would freeze cities’ property tax revenue if they defund police departments, Abbott said he would have to see.
“Well, obviously I’m not there today. And my schedule is in flux tomorrow. We’ll just have to see. If not, I have no doubt that I have representatives who would be happy to,” Abbott said.
Reed said he hopes both Abbott and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price take into account the data he had brought to share.
“I’m just showing you your data. And your data is inconsistent with ‘Fort Worth is safe,’” Reed said. “At least it’s not safe for everybody.”
While Reed wasn’t able to meet with the governor, he was welcomed by the applause of a dozen supporters — some who had joined him on his walk along the way.
Both LaDonna Lewis, of Leander, and Jennifer Glover, Round Rock, heard about Reed’s walk on Facebook, and joined him along his final stretch. For Lewis, helping Reed reach Austin was a symbolic and purposeful means to initiate change.
“Leon is putting his feet, his steps, physically behind what he wants to see happen and the conversation is just the next step,” Lewis said.
At one point, construction forced them to reroute their walk on Monday. They happened upon a memorial that symbolized the lives of Black people who had been killed by police and had yet to have a trial.
“We didn’t even know that was there, coming across that,” Glover said. “And I definitely believe that it was just a sign to Mr. Leon and his purpose that he was on the right track.”
Reed documented his journey on the Facebook page, “Walk for Reform,” and shared his location via Google Maps so people could meet him along the way. He would get up in the early morning hours, sometimes as early as 3 a.m., to get enough miles in before the August heat became too much.
After resting in either his RV or a nearby motel, he would put on one of his four pairs of sneakers he was rotating through and start walking again — sometimes until midnight, he said.
“I didn’t want to fight two enemies: the heat and my feet,” Reed said.
When Reed first raised the idea of his walk, Reed-Terrell, his sister, said she knew he could do it. Not only has he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, but he’s always been a leader, and never a follower — just like their mom.
Their mother died in April, but she always taught them the promise in being believers. Reed-Terrell remembers tagging along and helping her mother pass out fliers when they were young, always working to get the word out.
“Every step that he has taken has been a brave step to walk down 35 with a mission,” she said of her brother.
Reed-Terrell said that their mother would have been a nervous wreck if she had been here to see what Reed accomplished. But Reed knows their mother would remind him of the bigger mission.
“She would probably remind me more so that it’s really not about me. It’s about how God uses me,” Reed said.
Reed could have easily driven down to Austin. But for him, walking south along I-35 was the best way to show his commitment, and it was symbolic of the walks led by civil rights leaders like the late Congressman John Lewis, who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 only to be met by police and tear gas on the other side, in what is now known as Bloody Sunday.
“I’m sure that they were just as afraid, if not more afraid, than I was. But all I had was empty road in front of me,” Reed said. “And they had people with ill will in their hearts in front of them. But they went forward. So I had to go forward too.”
The Rev. Newton E. Braziel, the pastor of the Pilgrim Galilee Christian Church, has known Reed since he and his daughter attended TCU together. They were there when Reed left Fort Worth, and they drove to Austin to help welcome Reed at the finish line.
Every year, Reed comes to Braziel’s church to hold legal clinics with the congregation, helping them understand the legal basics on wills, people’s rights when stopped by the police and more, Braziel said. Reed grew up in the Como neighborhood, where his law office is today.
But Reed is not yet satisfied. Eventually, he will tend to his blisters, the numb muscles and sore ankles. But as Abbott’s press conference got underway Tuesday afternoon, Reed waited in Austin — with the hope of one day meeting with him.
“This is a beginning,” Reed said. “This is a beginning of something better.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
