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REVEREND FRED SHUTTLESWORTH 
The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was once described by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as "the most courageous civil rights fighter in the South."
He is considered, along with Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy, as being one of the three key figures in the civil rights movement in Alabama. He was born in Mulger, Alabama on March 18, 1922, and grew up in the Birmingham area. He became a Baptist minister in 1950. He graduated from Selma University in 1951 with a bachelor of arts degree and then from the teachers college at Alabama State University a year later. In 1956, Shuttlesworth formed the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. The first demand of the group was that black policemen be hired. This of course, was ignored. He served as the group's president until 1969. In 1957, he and others founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he served as its secretary from 1958 to 1970. He also helped the Congress on Racial Equality organize the "Freedom Rides". He fought tirelessly to integrate Birmingham's public facilities such as its schools and buses. This led to him being the target of racist thugs on many occasions. He was once beaten with whips and chains during an attempt to integrate his children into an all-white school and on Christmas Day 1956, he survived a bombing attack that destroyed his home. In March 1965, he helped organize the infamous Selma to Montgomery Voter's Rights March. He also organized many civil rights protests throughout the state and crossed swords many times with Birmingham's safety commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, who would use heavy handed tactics such as fire hoses and dogs against protesters. Shuttlesworth was once hospitalized after being pinned up against a wall by a fire hose. In 1992, the city of Birmingham dedicated a statue of Shuttlesworth during the opening of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where he is a founding member. Later that year, the city also named its Huntsville Road, the F.L. Shuttlesworth Drive. Fred Shuttlesworth now works as a pastor at the Greater New Light Baptist Church in Cincinnati, where he moved in 1966. He also runs a housing foundation which assists low income families in the city and still speaks nationally on civil rights issues. Links To Other Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Internet Resources: African American World - Fred Lee Shuttlesworth. Fred Shuttlesworth, minister and leader! The Alabama Communication Hall of Fame - Fred Shuttlesworth. Sparticus - Fred Shuttlesworth. SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here: If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button: |
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