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Fred Shuttlesworth

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Fred Shuttlesworth
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth
While some may find it difficult to keep calm even during a Super Bowl match, Fred Shuttlesworth maintained his composure when he and his family were beaten with chains and suffered countless death threats. Fred Shuttlesworth played a big role in making America more equal today. Fred Shuttlesworth was born on March 18, 1922 in Mount Meigs, Alabama. Shuttlesworth will always be remembered for leading nonviolent protests. Reverend Shuttlesworth is a hero who peacefully ended segregation as we know it in one of the most racist cities in the United States.
The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights is an organization formed by 1,000 African American men in Alford’s Sordis Baptist Church in 1956. Before the ACMHR was founded, Fred Shuttlesworth and a few other pastors had met up and created a group of “free and independent citizens of the U.S.A. and of the state of Alabama” (Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights). Fred Shuttlesworth’s group came together and drafted a “Declaration of Principles”. One of the principles in the Declaration stated, “we believe in State’s rights; but we believe that any first RIGHTS are Human Rights: and the first right of a state is to protect Human Rights, and to guarantee to each of its citizens the same Rights and Privileges” (Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights). ACMHR set out to end segregation in Birmingham by protesting nonviolently. After Fred’s unsuccessful protest with the National Association for the Advancement of colored people he continued his nonviolent campaign with ACMHR and petitioned the city of Birmingham to end segregation on public buses. November 13, 1956 was the date when bus segregation in Birmingham became illegal. The ACMHR immediately put the new law to practice.
After tasting his first victory with the buses, Shuttlesworth and the ACMHR wanted to take things further. Shuttlesworth called Martin Luther King JR. and gathered several other church leaders to come


Cited: “Birmingham Campaign”. Wikipedia. 13 Apr. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation, inc. 15 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/article/Birmingham_Campaign> “Southern Christian Leadership Conference”. Wikipedia. 13 Apr. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation, inc. 15 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Christian_Leadership_Conference> “Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights”. Wikipedia. 4 Feb. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation, inc. 15 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMHR>
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