Civil Rights Leader, Icon and pioneer Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth passed away in Birmingham, Alabama Wednesday afternoon (October 5). He was 89.
Shuttlesworth worked alongside Rev. Martin Luther King in the 1950s and 60s with the SCLC organization and was arrested numerous times for his non-violent Civil Rights protests in the South. As the pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church, he survived two bombings, as well as a bombing at his home which almost killed him. He was also badly beaten by KKK members in 1957, while attempting to enroll his children in an all-white school.
Mr. Shuttlesworth received the Presidential Citizen’s Medal in 2001 from President Clinton for his leadership and also met with then Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2007 to commemorate the 1965 ‘Bloody Sunday’ Voting Rights march in Selma, Alabama. After a stroke in 2008, Shuttlesworth moved from Ohio back to Birmingham.
Make sure to check out this video below of Rev. Shuttlesworth in his own words.
Rest in Peace to this true Civil Rights Icon and leader.
R.I.P.
This man lived an amazing life and I can only dream to have lived such a life and have made such an impact when I pass.
He wa way too insprational. Rest in peace.
– sent from Concrete Loop for Android
Rest in peace. It’s always sad to see one of our great leaders pass. Especially since we are lacking in them these days.
wow, i was thinking the same thing. we have lost so many in the last 10 years or so…but RIP Rev. Shuttlesworth and thank you CL for continuing to post important information like this…
When a civil rights activist dies one of the first thoughts that comes to my mind is: Wow, they did all that. After all their hard work and struggle it seem like we are going backwards…
Dag all of that? We really take for granted what they fought hard for. Much respect.
I always dread reading posts like this, because as we lose another great leader or pioneer our future gets a little dimmer. Let’s be honest, we’re living in a world where people aspire to be Jay-Z’s, Lil Waynes, and Drakes.
Shuttlesworth was a handsome Black man. That b&w pic of him behind King had me taking a second look! lol
Rest in peace, soldier.
Without Shuttlesworth and his peers, I would not likely have the life I live today. I owe him the degrees I hold, the positions I have held, the home I’ve bought, and the fact that I can walk down the street safe and sound.
What an amazing man, I am in his (and so many others) debt for their struggle.
RIP
I feel honored just to hear about him!!
So many great men and women in our history carried out the most amazing and heroic of feats..feats so great and unique cause these men dared to separate truth from fiction, and managed to restitute the truth. How incredibly amazing that is, and it is indeed the essence of all we look for…Who one is, and what they were born to do..Only respect.
wow such a powerful message he delivers i recognize his name from verious works in the civil right movement…rip thx for those lasting words i will remember them and you forever rev shuttlesworth
can you say Boul.e
Wow, this man is a true depiction of chivalry. He had the courage to do what so many other wouldn’t. May this great man of God rest in peace.
uncletom