Fort Worth to Austin is 200 miles. But for Leon Reed Jr., he will walk however many miles it takes to help bring attention to the need for police reform within the state of Texas.
At 10:30 Thursday morning, Reed reached the halfway point and stopped for the night in Waco to rest and recover before he begins another long day of walking early Friday morning.
“This is not the goal, so I still have some work to do. I still have 100 miles to go,” he said.
The Fort Worth attorney created Walk for Reform to catalog his trek down I-35 to hand deliver a letter to Governor Greg Abbott proposing reforms to help better police and community relations.
“My frustration stems from what I know, and what I know is Fort Worth and Fort Worth’s lack of response to its racial profiling data going back to 2002. But Fort Worth is not unique,” Reed said.
He explains while his feet and ankles hurt, every mile and every step is worth the pain to help spread awareness for police reform throughout Texas.
“Like when Dr. King and Representative John Lewis, who recently passed, when they walked 50 miles from Selma, Alabama, to Birmingham, they could’ve gotten in cars and driven. But driving to Birmingham wouldn’t have shown the level of need, the level of concern. For me this is an act of civic sacrifice,” Reed said.
The attorney says he doesn’t have a set date and time to meet with the governor yet because he has no idea when his exact arrival in Austin will be.
“Give me 30 minutes. I want to let him see the desperation in my eyes, hear the urgency in my voice. I want him to see what a person looks like who just walked 200 miles to specifically see him,” said Reed.
On Saturday, the Temple Police Department said Chief Reynolds had the chance to sit down with Reed as he passed through Temple.
"Mr. Reed is walking from Ft. Worth to Austin to discuss relations between law enforcement and the community. We’re grateful for these these important conversations," the post said.
You can follow his journey on the Walk for Reform Facebook page where they have daily updates on his progress.
