LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of The Reverend Fred L. Shut-
tlesworth, a pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement

WHEREAS, It is with great sorrow and deep regret that this Legislative
Body records the passing of The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, noting
the significance of his purposeful life and accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, one of the most vocal and
fiery leaders of the civil rights movement and a co-founder and former
president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), died
on Wednesday, October 5, 2011, at the age of 89; and
WHEREAS, Born March 18, 1922, near Montgomery and raised in Birming-
ham, Alabama, Fred Shuttlesworth was a truck driver for a time, studied
theology by night and was ordained in 1948; he became pastor of Bethel
Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1953 and met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
in 1954, a year before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Mont-
gomery city bus; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his 1963 book WHY WE CAN'T
WAIT, called the Reverend Shuttlesworth "one of the nation's most coura-
geous freedom fighters ... a wiry, energetic and indomitable man"; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Shuttlesworth's civil rights activism led to several
beatings, dozens of arrests and violent acts against him; on Christmas
Day 1956, his Birmingham home was bombed, and the next day, he led 250
people in a protest of segregation on city buses in Birmingham; and
WHEREAS, In 1957, Reverend Shuttlesworth was one of five preachers who
formed the SCLC, which would serve as the organizational base for the
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights efforts; in 1963, Reverend
Shuttlesworth was one of the key organizers of a series of marches and
demonstrations in Birmingham which led to some of the most dramatic
images of the civil rights movement; and
WHEREAS, After some of the most turbulent times, Reverend Shuttles-
worth remained active in the Civil Rights Movement, but moved to Cincin-
nati, Ohio, in 1961, where he was a pastor for most of the next 47
years; while in Cincinnati, Reverend Shuttlesworth left Revelation
Baptist Church and became pastor of the Greater New Light Baptist Church
in 1966; and
WHEREAS, On January 8, 2001, Reverend Shuttlesworth was presented with
the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton; he later
moved back to Birmingham in February of 2008, and on July 16, 2008, the
Birmingham, Alabama Airport Authority approved changing the name of the
"Birmingham International Airport (U.S.)" in honor of Reverend Shuttles-
worth; on October 27, 2008, the airport was officially changed to become
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit, imbued with a sense of
compassion, and comforted by numerous admirers and family, Reverend
Shuttlesworth leaves behind a legacy which will long endure the passage
of time and will remain as a comforting memory to all he served and
befriended; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, a pioneer in the
Civil Rights Movement; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth.