Fred Shuttlesworth

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Lore & Background

Born to an African American family in Mount Meigs, Alabama on March 18, 1922, Shuttlesworth graduated as valedictorian from Rosedale High School. He earned a B.A. from Selma University in 1951 and a B.S. from Alabama State University. He became pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1953 and was Membership Chairman of the Alabama state chapter of the NAACP in 1956, when the state outlawed it. In May 1956, he and Ed Gardner established the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to take up the NAACP's work, using litigation and direct action. On December 25, 1956, an attempt was made on his life with sixteen sticks of dynamite under his bedroom window; he escaped unhurt, though his house was heavily damaged. A police officer who was also a Klansman told him to leave town; Shuttlesworth replied, 'I wasn't raised to run.' In the summer of 1957, he and his wife Ruby were attacked by a Klan mob while trying to enroll their children in a white school; he was beaten with 'chains, baseball bats and brass knuckles,' and his wife was stabbed. He survived another bombing attempt in 1958 when a church member moved a bomb from beside the church before it exploded. Shuttlesworth participated in sit-ins against segregated lunch counters in 1960 and helped organize the Freedom Rides in 1961, though he originally warned that Alabama was extremely volatile. After Freedom Riders were badly beaten in Birmingham and Anniston, he sent deacons to pick them up from a hospital in Anniston and housed them at Bethel Baptist Church. He worked with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who gave Shuttlesworth his personal phone number for federal support. When no bus driver would take the Riders to Mississippi, Shuttlesworth called Kennedy and helped get the Riders onto a plane to New Orleans. In 1961, he moved to Cincinnati to pastor Revelation Baptist Church but remained intensely involved in Birmingham, frequently returning to help lead actions. He initiated the Birmingham Campaign in 1963, inviting SCLC and King to lead mass demonstrations. He returned to Birmingham after his retirement in 2007.

Reader's Guide

Fred Shuttlesworth's significance lies in his relentless, often confrontational leadership in the fight against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. As a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, he helped shape the movement, though his combative, headstrong personality sometimes antagonized colleagues. He was not shy in asking King to take a more active role, warning that history would not look kindly on those who gave 'flowery speeches' but did not act. His willingness to face death—surviving multiple bombings and brutal attacks—embodied a personal fearlessness that inspired other activists. He vowed to 'kill segregation or be killed by it.' The Birmingham Campaign, which he initiated in 1963, became a pivotal moment, drawing national attention. His legacy is commemorated by the Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, named in his honor in 2008, and the annual Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award. Decades later, his brief presidency of the SCLC in August 2004 ended with his resignation later that year, complaining that 'deceit, mistrust and a lack of spiritual discipline and truth have eaten at the core of this once-hallowed organization.'

Did You Know?

• Shuttlesworth survived an assassination attempt on December 25, 1956, when sixteen sticks of dynamite were placed under his bedroom window; he escaped unhurt but his house was heavily damaged.
• In the summer of 1957, a Klan mob beat Shuttlesworth with 'chains, baseball bats and brass knuckles' and stabbed his wife Ruby when they tried to enroll their children in a white school.
• Shuttlesworth told a police officer who was also a Klansman after the 1956 bombing, 'I wasn't raised to run.'
• He was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 along with Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and others.
• The Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport was named in his honor in 2008.