In Memoriam: Fred Shuttlesworth

"They were trying to blow me into heaven, but God wanted me on Earth." (*usatoday.com/news)

Fred Shuttlesworth, the intrepid Civil Rights activist fought alongside the Reverends Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama. Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, he was well-known for his firebrand style of preaching, and for his devotion to human rights. After a long and eventful life, Shuttleworth passed away from a stroke Wednesday, October 5th. He was 89 years old. During the Civil Rights Struggle, Shuttlesworth gained renown for his undaunted courage and staunch commitment to the Movement. He survived two attempted bombings--one of which destroyed the parsonage alongside the church where he preached. On another occasion in Birmingham, he and his wife were mauled by members of the Ku Klux Klan, where he was viciously beaten with brass knuckles, baseball bats and bicycle chains when the couple attempted to enroll their daughters in the segregated Phillips High School. Miraculously, Shuttlesworth survived intact, suffering only minor bruising; but his wife and daughter, Ruby, were also badly injured in the incident. Among his attackers was the infamous Bobby Cherry, one of the men responsible for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four little girls, aged eleven and fourteen. Though perhaps not as widely known as King and Abernathy, Shuttlesworth's devotion to and sacrifices for the Civil Rights Movement earned him a place of auspice in the history of the Struggle.

In a moving reflection on Shuttlesworth's career, Barry M. Horstman of the Cincinnati Inquirer observes of the Reverend that "...Shuttlesworth brought the struggle into the living rooms of white America through a series of combustible showdowns with the Ku Klux Klan, Southern segregationists and Birmingham's infamous commissioner of public safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor. On the matter of Shuttleworth's run-ins with the notorious "Bull" Connor, he remarks "A guest at Bull's house" — more commonly known as the Birmingham jail — on more than two dozen occasions, Shuttlesworth was viewed by King himself as the person who, because of his confrontational boldness and willingness to put himself in harm's way, was likely to become the movement's first major martyr" (Full text article accessible here. Several years ago while I was a student at the University of Memphis, Reverend Shuttlesworth spoke at the opening night of the University Theater's production of a play dedicated to King's role in the Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott. Following his presentation, I felt very privileged and fortunate to have met and shaken hands with this man. I was most impressed with his kindness, gentleness, and patience with eager attendees who clustered around him for an opportunity to thank him, to speak to him, or for a picture opportunity. I was deeply saddened to hear of Reverend Shuttlesworth's passing, but I still cherish the opportunity to have met this remarkable man and icon of the Civil Rights Movement.

For those of you unable to access the text, follow this link and you can read Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."