Garth C. Reeves Sr, the publisher emeritus of The Miami Times has died. Reeves was 100 years-old. Reeves, a 1940 graduate of FAMU with a degree in printing, was an iconic figure in South Florida.
His love for FAMU, and journalism, was strong. In the mid-80s his gift of $600,000, which was matched by $400,000 in state funds, created the Garth C. Reeves Eminent Scholars Chair in the FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communications. The Reeves Chair was the first endowed chair in the SJGC, and the first at FAMU endowed by an alum.
He inherited The Miami Times from his father after serving in World War II, where the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom while living in segregation at home angered him.
“Back then,” he once said, “our biggest stories were about the number of lynchings going on around the country.” And while he and his staff were threatened by the bigots, they kept on informing the Black community, soon becoming the largest black newspaper in the South.
The racism was and threats were real, for a time Reeves thought about leaving the country for good. However, after a conversation with his mother, he threw his energies into using The Miami Times to advocate for social change.
It was important to Reeves for The Miami Times to provide an important perspective that wasn’t a focus of other Miami newspapers. His experience led him to take a different look at journalism and the power of the press, and he didn’t mind using that power to bring about change.”
He established himself as an important figure in the Miami community during the civil rights movement by taking a direct role in desegregating Miami beaches and golf courses. For his efforts, he was called upon to serve on corporate and civic boards and used his position ““prick the conscience” of Miami’s power brokers.
Reeves was preceded in life of his daughter Rachel Reeves, who died at the age of 69, last year and his son Garth C. Reeves Jr.