BCRI x Sidewalk Cinema: Summer Film Series – Shuttlesworth
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is partnering with Sidewalk Film Center + Cinema for a Summer Film Series! We’re using film to spark honest conversation across generations, in hopes of moving us into action together.

We’re kicking things off with a screening of Shuttlesworth, a documentary that dives into the fearless leadership of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and his fight for civil rights in Birmingham.

After the film, stick around for a candid conversation on leadership—what it meant in the past, what it means now, and what it needs to become. The discussion will feature voices from across generations, each bringing their own perspectives and ideas of what leadership should look like to meet this moment. 

Discussion participants include:

Raven Johnson, Steven Stafford, Marie Sutton, and Reverend Dr. Thomas L. Wilder, Jr.

Doors Open: 5:00 PM

Film Screening: 6:00–7:00 PM
Discussion: 7:00–8:00 PM
Location: Sidewalk Cinema

This event is free and open to the public. Come ready to learn, listen, and be part of the conversation!

Reserve Your Tickets!

About the Film: 

“Shuttlesworth” traces the unique crucible of Birmingham’s brutal industrial history in creating what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called the “most segregated city in America” and the people that were willing to take it on – personified in the fearless, indomitable Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.

His tireless work in the face of beatings at the hands of the KKK and bombing of his own home, as well as constant harassment by the police and shunning by members of his own community, was unprecedented in the Movement leadership and inspired legions of Foot Soldiers willing to follow him into the breach.

Beginning with his segregated childhood in the Oxmoor Valley, “Shuttlesworth” follows the reverend’s life through Bethel Baptist Church, the Birmingham Campaign and the reactionary violence unleashed by the white power structure of the city. Through this lens, “Shuttlesworth” examines the City of Birmingham, its unique history and culture, and how the city became the symbol for social justice and the American Civil Rights Movement.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Rev. Shuttlesworth, colleagues and scholars, the film examines Shuttlesworth’s crucial contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, which, in turn, helped define the national consciousness during the mid to late 20th century and first quarter of the 21st and amplify the integral role that Birmingham played as the catalyst in propelling the Movement onto the national stage.