Birmingham

Civil Rights Legend Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth Dies at Age 89

The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, died yesterday at the age of 89. Representative John Lewis called him the "soul and heart of the Birmingham movement" for his courage to lead a movement for racial justice and civil rights amidst horrific violence and multiple assassination attempts. Shuttlesworth also actively supported the 1961 Freedom Riders when they came to Birmingham. Shuttlesworth declared the Freedom Rides, "the greatest thing to ever happen to Alabama." For more on this icon and the Freedom Rides, go to: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/people/fred-shuttlesworth and definitely check out today's The Root.com article by Charles E. Cobb jr.

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