Ambassador Andrew Young of Atlanta will deliver a keynote address tonight and speak with students tomorrow in Birmingham, marking the beginning of events to commemorate the city’s historic role in the modern Civil Rights Movement 50 years ago.
Young’s appearance commemorates the 50th anniversary of the third bombing of the historic Bethel Baptist Church (in December 1962) that was pastored by the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, the strategic local commander of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. The ACMHR was central to the success of the 1963 Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. The event will include a private viewing of the new film on the contributions of Historic Bethel Baptist Church to the Civil Rights movement.
Young’s visit to Birmingham also kicks off the city’s year-long celebration of the Birmingham Movement’s 50th Anniversary.
The evening starts at 5:30 p.m. with an invitation-only reception at the Historic Bethel Baptist Church to cap off its successful fundraising drive that restored the old church. Young then will make an address at meeting and address at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.
Tomorrow, Ambassador Young is the featured speaker at a special assembly at Parker High School. More than 700 students from Fairfield, Midfield and Bessemer in addition to Birmingham City Schools are expected to attend, said Sephira Shuttlesworth, widow of the iconic civil rights leader who died last year.
“He’s going to talk about the role young people played in the past during the Movement and the role they need to play in the future. The Struggle is not over until there is equality in the land,” she said. “The whole purpose of getting an education is not just for you, but for the better of mankind, what you can do to make the world a better place.”
Mrs. Shuttlesworth said Young is on a mission to tell the story of the Movement’s power and purpose. After the death of Rev. Shuttlesworth (who was considered one of the “BIg Three” along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy), Young is one of the few remaining eyewitnesses to the world-changing events that the Civil Rights Movement legacy left the world.
(Ambassador Young) is one of the last ones left, and he feels that he is responsible to get the story told, get it documented and get it done well. So he’s going from city to city that played a historical role in the movement. He’s trying to get all of that on tape before his time ends,” Mrs. Shuttlesworth said.
It Began at Bethel
Because Historic Bethel Baptist Church holds such an important place in Birmingham Civil Rights history, the church has been designated by the City of Birmingham as the official kick-off event for Birmingham 2013, the year-long observance of the 50th anniversary of the events that brought Birmingham to the forefront of the Civil Rights movement and international attention.
Historic Bethel Baptist Church served as a frequent meeting place for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, founded by Bethel’s pastor, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, in 1956. This organization was a prime impetus for what became the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham.
Bethel Baptist was bombed three times between 1956 and 1962. The first bombing occurred on December 25, 1956, seven long years before conditions and events in Birmingham came to widespread outside attention. The church was bombed again on June 29, 1958, and for the third time on December 13, 1962.
The bravery and perseverance of Reverend Shuttlesworth and the ACMHR in the face of these attacks and the opposition to the stuggle for racial equality set the example that made Birmingham the crucible of the Civil Rights movement in the famous events of 1963 that received worldwide attention.
That is why the commemoration of the third bombing of Bethel has been designated the official kick-off event for Birmingham 2013.
Committee to Restore Historic Bethel Church
The Committee engages in ongoing efforts to restore Bethel. This commemoration marks the conclusion of the capital campaign to complete renovations of the historic church, declared a National Historic Landmark in 2005.
Sponsors include Mayor William Bell, Pastor Thomas L. Wilder, Jr. (current Pastor of Bethel), and Kick-off Event Chair Sephira Shuttlesworth, the Reverend’s widow and Chair of the Fred Shuttlesworth Foundation, welcome Ambassador Young to our city’s historic churches.
Ambassador Andrew Young
Ambassador Young began work in the Civil Rights movement when, as a Protestant minister, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1960. Instrumental in the fight for desegregation, he became one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest associates and served as executive director of the conference from 1964 to 1970. In 1972, Young was elected the first African-American congressman from Georgia since 1871. He served two terms in the House before joining the Carter Administration as ambassador to the United Nations in 1977. Young served as mayor of Atlanta from 1981 to 1989.
He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the French Legion of Honor, the Bishop Walker Humanitarian Award and over 60 honorary degrees from prestigious universities around the world.
Event Details
Ambassador Andrew Young at Bethel Baptist
Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Reception (by invitation)
Historic Bethel Baptist Church
3233 29th Avenue North
Ambassador Andrew Young at Sixth Avenue Baptist
Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Address by Ambassador Young (open to the public)
Sixth Avenue Baptist Church
1101 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW
Ambassador Andrew Young at Parker High School
Friday, 10 a.m. Presentation Address to Area High School Students
A.H. Parker High School
400 Reverend Abraham L. Woods Jr. Boulevard
