WAVERLY -- An icon of the civil rights movement will receive an honorary degree Tuesday during the Wartburg College convocation.

The Rev. Dr. Frederick Reese will receive an honorary doctor of divinity degree for his leadership, service and dedication to improving his community through public action.

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. in Neumann Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

Called the "patron saint of the Voting Rights Act," Reese in 1965 headed the teachers' association and county voters' league in Selma, Ala. He led teachers in a march to the county courthouse and also invited Martin Luther King Jr. to the community that year for the historic march to Montgomery.

Reese has served as an educator, pastor and civil rights leader for more than 50 years. He graduated from Alabama State University and began teaching in an all-black school. By the time he retired, Reese had been principal of the integrated Selma High School and assistant superintendent of the school district. He was the first black president of the Selma Education Association.

Reese received his doctor of divinity degree from Selma University. He was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2005. He has been pastor of Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Selma since 1965.

The convocation is in conjunction with that evening's artist series performance of Reese's latest play, "Jackie, Vi and Lena." The piece examines the lives of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play major league baseball; Viola Liuzzo, the only white woman enshrined on the National Civil Rights Monument; and Lena Horne, singer and activist.

Tickets for the performance begin at $15. For information or to purchase tickets, go to www.wartburg.edu/artist or call (319) 352-8691.