Leading by Example, Part 1

Leading by Example, Part 1. March Route for Moral Justice. A key reason for Rev. Shuttlesworth's success was that he led the ACMHR by example. He was the first to put himself, even his family, in harm's way for the sake of the Movement. He did not ask ACMHR members to do anything he was not willing to do himself, from voter registration (he insisted that all Bethel members of voting age had to register to vote) to school integration. After trying to integrate city buses, he went to challenge separate waiting rooms for interstate travel by personally integrating Birmingham's train depot, Terminal Station. , Paired marker , March 6, 1957 , Federal law banned racial segregation among passengers traveling between states, but Southern states ignored the law. The Shuttlesworths walked through a crowd of angry men to buy a train ticket to Atlanta and entered the station's "White" waiting room. Lamar Weaver, a White church leader and civil rights activist, shook hands with the pair and briefly joined them. The Shuttlesworths experienced no violence, but the mob attacked Weaver as he left the station. He soon left Birmingham in fear for his life. The city commissioners issued a statement affirming segregated facilities as “necessary for the avoidance of friction, enmity and violence between the races.” The incident spurred more national articles on Rev. Shuttlesworth. His growing fame led to paid speaking invitations before Northern audiences, helping him raise money for the ACMHR. , "Many people walked with us through the storm." , Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth , Bethel Baptist's pastor from 1953 to 1961. , Lesson F9: Why was the crowd so upset with the Shuttleworths and especially with Weaver at Terminal Station?