Druid Hills in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Shuttlesworth in Selma

March Route Towards a Purposeful Life

— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —

Shuttlesworth in Selma Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

1. Shuttlesworth in Selma Marker

Inscription. One of the last major battles in the struggle for African American civil rights came in Selma, Alabama. Despite the new Civil Rights Act of 1964, African Americans still faced difficulty voting. Although they had the right to vote under the Constitution, Southern governments used unjust tactics like literacy tests and poll taxes to block this right. More than half of Selma's citizens were Black, yet less than two percent of them were registered to vote. To combat this injustice, the Dallas County Voters League and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized voter registration efforts. When local officials blocked their efforts, they called on "The Big Three” leaders to bring the past successes of Montgomery and Birmingham to Selma. They came.

Paired marker
March 1965 Rev. Shuttlesworth and other SCLC leaders spoke at church rallies in Selma to mobilize the masses in nonviolent campaigns against that city's White power structure and its version of "Bull” Connor, Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark. Clark sparked national outrage when his horse-riding troops - armed with billy clubs and

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tear gas - attacked peaceful marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, March 7, 1965. Known as "Bloody Sunday,” the clash inspired thousands of people across the country to join the Selma Movement. After two failed attempts to cross the bridge, the third was successful. On March 21, 1965, Rev. Shuttlesworth joined Dr. King and thousands of marchers in prayer on the bridge before crossing over it. The multi-day trek ended with more than 20,000 people protesting at the state capital in Montgomery, where Gov. George Wallace refused to meet them. White Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. James Reeb and Detroit housewife Viola Liuzzo were killed during the Selma marches. Rev. Shuttlesworth led sympathy marches for Reeb in Birmingham and Cincinnati. The Selma Movement led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"The absence of justice insists that we be a moral witness."
Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth
Birmingham Foor Soldier

Lesson E17: Why was the right to vote so significant for African Americans then? Is it still important today?

Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage

Shuttlesworth in Selma paired marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton

2. Shuttlesworth in Selma paired marker

Trail. (Marker Number E17.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail, and the Unitarian Universalism (UUism) series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1965.

Location. 33° 31.573′ N, 86° 48.93′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Druid Hills. It is at the intersection of 19th Street North and F L Shuttlesworth Drive, on the right when traveling north on 19th Street North. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35234, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

3. Shuttlesworth in Selma Marker

marker: Shuttlesworth after the Civil Rights Era (within shouting distance of this marker); Shuttlesworth Continues the Struggle (within shouting distance of this marker); Shuttlesworth Returns to Birmingham (within shouting distance of this marker); Paying the Ultimate Price (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Oak Hill Cemetery (about 300 feet away); In Memory of the Pioneers (about 400 feet away); Shuttlesworth Showdown (about 400 feet away); Death of an Icon (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

Regarding Shuttlesworth in Selma. The Civil Rights Activist Committee “Home of the Foot Soldiers“ is the Information Center for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 299 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 6, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.