October 7, 2025 — Dorothy Elizabeth Reid was a long time PEF member. She worked for New York State for 28 years in various roles, including State Safety Officer, Social Worker and Case Manager for then-named Department of Mental Health Services. She retired in 1991 and joined PEF Retirees in 1996. On September 25, 2025, Reid passed away, surrounded by family members at the age of 88.
Reid lived a life that helped shape the future of the United States. She was born on February 25, 1937, in Meherrin, Virginia, the third of eight children. At 14 years old, Reid—who then was Dorothy E. Davis—became the original plaintiff in the Davis v. Prince Edward County School Board case, one of the five cases that would later become the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, the historic Supreme Court decision of 1954 that forced public schools to desegregate.
After attending schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Reid enrolled at Norfolk State University, then moved to New York and finished her education at Brooklyn Community College, where she obtained a nursing degree.
Reid was always politically active and involved in her community. She dedicated much of her time to fighting for civil and equal rights, joining the NAACP, her Neighborhood Association, and involving herself with the Democratic Party.
Her daughter, Renee Reid, is a Parole Officer with DOCCS in Queens, a PEF Steward and a Convention Delegate.
“She always wanted us to have a good education,” she said. “And when it came to her professional career, she was very dedicated.”
Charles Reynolds is Dorothy Reid’s son. He said that his mother’s struggles throughout her shaped her values.
“She understood her struggles growing up as a young lady in segregated communities,” said Reynolds. “She found a way to grasp those opportunities that came about for minorities and taught others how to seek those opportunities as well.”
Renee Reid remembers her mother as very knowledgeable, hard-working and compassionate. As a PEF member, she saw the good her mother did both for the union and for the state in her various roles.
“In the beginning, I remember seeing a lot of the creativity she had in various departments,” she said. “It was very encouraging for me and inspired me to find work with the state as well.”
In family conversations, Reid would often speak about titles.
“In our lives we’re blessed with several titles. The titles associating us with our family describe the special bonds that unite us and hold us together like glue,” Reid recalls her mother telling them.
Although neither Renee nor Charles can remember the source of the quote, they said that the importance of family, community and hard work were impressed upon them at a young age.
Her children hope that her love and legacy will carry on, not only through her family, but through history. As a firm believer in civil rights and education, Renee Reid is proud of what her mother is leaving behind.
“My mother’s legacy will never, ever go in vain,” she said. “Her story has become a part of history.”