Civil Rights Leader, SCLC Co-Founder Fred L. Shuttlesworth Dies at 89
The Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, civil rights champion and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), died Wednesday at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala.
Shuttlesworth's health failed after he suffered a stroke in 2007. It was not immediately known what was the cause of his death, his daughter told The Washington Post.
A former truck driver who dedicated himself to studying religion at night, Shuttlesworth saw the fruits of his labor realized when, in 1953, he became pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham.
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In 1957, following the impressive Montgomery bus boycott, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. recruited Shuttleswoth to assist him in creating the (SCLC), which would later go on to organize the historic March on Washington.
King would refer to Shuttlesworth, in his 1963 book Why We Can't Wait, as "one of the nation's most courageous freedom fighters ... a wiry, energetic and indomitable man."
During his struggle for the principle of civil rights, Shuttlesworth faced attack dogs, a 1957 bombing, and injuries to his dignity and person during his valiant efforts for equality.
In the early 1960s, he fought homelessness while living in Cincinnati, Ohio and continued his fight against racism. He also established the Shuttlesworth Housing Foundation in Cincinnati, which provided grants to help low-income families to buy homes.
President Barack Obama payed tribute to Shuttlesworth in a statement on the White House website:
"Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth today, as one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Shuttlesworth dedicated his life to advancing the cause of justice for all Americans."
The president continued, "He was a testament to the strength of the human spirit. And today, we stand on his shoulders, and the shoulders of all those who marched and sat and lifted their voices to help perfect our union."
Rep. John Lewis ( D-Ga), himself a victim of violence during the civil rights movement, spoke of Shuttlesworth to the Birmingham News, "He was free. He was really free of any bitterness or anger. In spite of the personal attack, he was beaten, the bombing that occurred, his wife, in spite of all of that, he didn't hold on to that. He was always very hopeful, so optimistic and a very warm loving human being."
