Leading by Example, Part 1

A key reason for Rev. Shuttlesworth's success was that he led the ACMHR by example, putting himself and even his family in harm's way for the Movement and refusing to ask members to do anything he would not do himself, from voter registration to school integration. He insisted that all Bethel members of voting age register to vote, and after trying to integrate city buses, he challenged separate waiting rooms for interstate travel by personally integrating Birmingham's Terminal Station. On March 6, 1957, although federal law banned racial segregation among interstate passengers, Southern states ignored the law, and the Shuttlesworths walked through a crowd of angry men to buy a train ticket to Atlanta and entered the station's "White" waiting room. White church leader and civil rights activist Lamar Weaver shook hands with them and briefly joined them; the Shuttlesworths experienced no violence, but the mob attacked Weaver as he left the station, and he soon left Birmingham in fear for his life. City commissioners then affirmed segregated facilities as necessary to avoid friction, enmity, and violence between the races. The incident brought Rev. Shuttlesworth more national attention, and his growing fame led to paid speaking invitations before Northern audiences that helped him raise money for the ACMHR.

Birmingham, Alabama · United States