Alabama Public Television (APT) and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) are pleased to announce a collaborative celebration and commemoration of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth’s 100th birthday on Friday, March 18, 2022. The event will be held at BCRI at 9:30 a.m. CT and feature remarks from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, senior pastor of the Historic Bethel Baptist Church, Reverend Thomas L. Wilder, and representatives from APT.
APT and BCRI are excited to honor the accomplishments of Reverend Shuttlesworth with this special event. A civil rights activist who led the fight against segregation and other forms of racism as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama, he was a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement. Shuttlesworth was an instrumental leader in the 1963 Birmingham Campaign. He continued his work against racism and for alleviation of the problems of the homeless in Cincinnati, Ohio, before returning to Birmingham when he retired in 2007.
The March 18th event will take place on the birthday of Rev. Shuttlesworth. The Carlton Reese Choir will perform, and attendees will be invited to take part in a tour of the Institute’s historic galleries guided by the BCRI Legacy Youth Leadership Program. A panel discussion moderated by Birmingham native and authentic voice for progressive change, T. Marie King, will immediately follow featuring Dr. Andrew Manis, historian, author, and professor at Middle Georgia State University; Dr. Martha Bouyer, executive director of the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Foundation; and Think Rubix/Woke Vote Lead Organizer, Chad Freeman. They will discuss the ongoing legal and constitutional challenges facing civil rights and social justice causes. And with the same approach as Rev. Shuttlesworth, the panel will urge local students with the charge to earnestly engage civically.
APT is working with BCRI and other partners on a documentary on Rev. Shuttlesworth which will premiere in the fall of 2022.
See SHUTTLESWORTH documentary trailer
Funding for SHUTTLESWORTH comes from the following:
Alabama Civil Rights Trail
Alabama Humanities Alliance
Alabama Power Foundation
The Comer Foundation
Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation
Robert Meyer Foundation
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