Civil Rights Icon Fred L. Shuttlesworth Honored with Mural at Birmingham Airport 

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times Millions of visitors to Birmingham can now be welcomed at the International Airport in the city by one of its most renowned Civil Rights icons. On Thursday May 23, officials with the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport unveiled a new mural honoring The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth in Concourse B. The airport was renamed in his honor in 2008. Dozens of area leaders, activists and residents gathered for the unveiling which was attended by members of the Shuttlesworth family, including daughters, Dr. Ruby Shuttlesworth Bester, Dr. Carolyn Shuttlesworth, and Patricia Shuttlesworth Massengill. “[This mural] is absolutely beautiful. I am so pleased with everything that you’ve done to honor my father,” Massengill told attendees at the event. “It looks just like him — I always told him, ‘Dad, you need to smile’ and he would say, ‘I’m concentrating on the Lord’s work and what I can do for mankind.’” Ruby Shuttlesworth Bester, sister of the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, addresses crowd after the mural unveiling. (Marika N. Johnson, For The Birmingham Times) Nearly 13 feet high and 66 feet wide, the mural created by artist Rico Gatson, titled “Fred S,” depicts Shuttlesworth surrounded by an array...