At first glance there was not anything extraordinary about the man standing at the pulpit of First Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Street.

He was not any taller than those around him, nor did he have an overbearing presence.

The Rev. Dr. Fred Shuttlesworth seemed to be a normal man with a big heart.

Once he began to preach and tell his story, however, that perception quickly changed.

It was then that the congregation of First Baptist, especially those of the younger generation, realized what an important person they had standing before them. Even the pastor and deacons of the church admitted to feeling humble in his presence.

As J.L. Chestnut, chairman of the deacon board at First Baptist, pointed out, Shuttlesworth is not a name commonly found among the list of civil rights leaders, but his work speaks for itself.

After leaving his pastor position at First Baptist in the 1950’s, Shuttesworth moved to Birmingham to lead another First Baptist Church there.

In 1956, he organized the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Shuttlesworth spearheaded the movement to integrate Birmingham schools, offices, and public facilities.

Two years later, working closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Shuttlesworth held establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

In the spring of 1963, he organized a series of protests around the city of Birmingham.

And Shuttlesworth had a lot of enemies during the 1950s and ’60s in Birmingham.

Shuttlesworth told the congregation about the night the Klu Klux Klan bombed his house.

Shuttlesworth told of how, after escaping his destroyed home, he encountered a large policeman known to be a Klansman. The pastor said this policeman was so shocked to see him alive that he began to cry.

Shuttlesworth said the policeman advised him to leave Birmingham.

Shuttlesworth said it was God who started the fight for civil rights, and it is fight that still continues today.