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

Shuttlesworth Showdown

March Route Towards a Purposeful Life

— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —

Shuttlesworth Showdown Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

1. Shuttlesworth Showdown Marker

Inscription. In 1961, Rev. Shuttlesworth finally gave in to his wife Ruby's wishes to leave Birmingham to become pastor of Revelation Baptist Church in Cincinnati. But he returned to Birmingham often to organize the Monday night mass meetings and lead the Birmingham Movement as president of ACMHR. He and fellow ACMHR ministers were jailed numerous times in various protests. In 1962, he traveled with Dr. King and Rev. Abernathy to meet President John F. Kennedy, urging him to end racial discrimination by federal law. Andrew Young, then a young lieutenant in the SCLC, said Rev. Shuttlesworth urgently insisted that Dr. King bring the SCLC and the ultimate civil rights showdown to Birmingham: "We've been hammering away for seven years with no impact. If segregation is going to fall, we've got to crack Birmingham."

Paired marker
April 3 - May 10, 1963
Dr. King finally agreed to combine the SCLC's forces with ACMHR's network of churches and activists, thus launching the 1963 Birmingham Movement. City residents – who changed the form of government from three commissioners to a mayor and city council – had just voted

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Eugene "Bull” Connor out of office by electing Albert Boutwell as mayor. But Connor refused to leave and, for a time, Birmingham had two competing governments. Connor had Dr. King arrested on Good Friday and infamously ordered the release of high-powered fire hoses and police dogs on child protestors. Upon hearing that Rev. Shuttlesworth was hospitalized after a fireman's hose knocked him down several stairs, Connor said, “He should have left in a hearse.” The spectacular news stories and images of brutality and oppression out of Birmingham shocked the nation and world. The situation forced President Kennedy to take federal action to end racial discrimination nationwide. The joint SCLC-ACMHR campaign, dubbed “Project C” (“C” for "Confrontation”), became the most important civil rights battle to date. The protests in Birmingham sparked 758 demonstrations in 186 American cities for 10 weeks.

"We here in Birmingham are part of this universal fight between right and wrong."
Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth
announcing the purpose of “Project C" in April 1963.

Lesson E14: Why did the two organizations decide to join forces and why was it significant?

Erected by the

Shuttlesworth Showdown paired marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton

2. Shuttlesworth Showdown paired marker

Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number E14.)

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 series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1961.

Location. 33° 31.515′ N, 86° 48.883′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Druid Hills. It is at the intersection of 19th Street North and 11th Avenue North, on the right when traveling north on 19th Street North. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35203, 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 marker: Paying the Ultimate Price

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

3. Shuttlesworth Showdown Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); Shuttlesworth Continues the Struggle (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Shuttlesworth in Selma (about 400 feet away); Shuttlesworth after the Civil Rights Era (about 500 feet away); Oak Hill Cemetery (about 600 feet away); In Memory of the Pioneers (about 600 feet away); Shuttlesworth Returns to Birmingham (about 700 feet away); Death of an Icon (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

Regarding Shuttlesworth Showdown. 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 262 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 6, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.