Fred Shuttlesworth | |
|---|---|
 Shuttlesworth in 2002 | |
| 5th President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference | |
| In office August – November 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Luther King III |
| Succeeded by | Charles Steele Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Freddie Lee Robinson March 18, 1922 Mount Meigs, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 2011 (aged 89) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery Birmingham, Alabama |
| Known for | Civil Rights Movement |
| Affiliations | Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) |
| Television | Eyes on the Prize (1987) Freedom Riders (2010) |
Freddie Lee Shuttlesworth (born Freddie Lee Robinson, March 18, 1922 – October 5, 2011) was an American minister and civil rights activist who led fights against segregation and other forms of racism, during the civil rights movement. He often worked with Martin Luther King Jr., although they did not always agree on tactics and approaches.
In 1957, along with Martin Luther King Jr., Shuttlesworth was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1961, he took up a pastorate in Cincinnati, Ohio to work against racism, and on behalf of homeless people, but remained active in Birmingham. In 1963, he initiated and was instrumental in the Birmingham Campaign.[1] He returned from Cincinnati to Birmingham after his retirement in 2007.
The Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport was named in his honor in 2008, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award is bestowed annually in his name.
- ^ Manis, Andrew M (1999). A Fire You Can't Put Out: The Civil Rights Life of Birmingham's Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0968-3.