Today, The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Historic Bethel Baptist Church, The City of Birmingham, and folks across the nation recognize the invaluable contributions that Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth has made as a brave leader of the Movement for Civil Rights!

Shuttlesworth became pastor of Birmingham’s Historic Bethel Baptist Church in 1953 and served as Membership Chairman of the Alabama State Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1956. He led protests for civil rights even after his home was bombed on Christmas Day in 1956 and his life was threatened several times. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once called him "the most courageous civil rights fighter in the South."

Shuttlesworth established the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, planned and implemented the 1963 Children’s Crusade, challenged segregated buses and schools in Birmingham, and was jailed 38 times in the name of social justice.

So today Mayor Randall Woodfin, in partnership with BCRI, declared that the City of Birmingham adopt a proclamation naming March 18th as Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Day. In commemoration, we encourage strategic civic engagement; visits to the historic sites within the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument where Rev. Shuttlesworth led so bravely; and the examination, acknowledgement and appreciation for his legacy so that it may be sustainably kept in contemporary focus by all.

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