CONGRESSWOMAN EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON REMEMBERS THE LIFE OF CIVIL RIGHTSPIONEER REV. FRED SHUTTLESWORTH 

Washington, DC (Thursday, October 6, 2011)–  Today, Congresswoman Johnson presented a Congressional Record Statement on the floor of the House of Representatives to honor the life of a pillar of the Civil Rights Movement, Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, who passed away yesterday at the age of 89.

Reverend Shuttlesworth was a major force in the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a civil rights organization that helped to mobilize thousands of people to rally and protest in the name of equality. He was one of the primary leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and worked hand in hand with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy.  Rev. Shuttlesworth also helped to organize the Freedom Rides through his work with the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE).

“Reverend Shuttlesworth was a man of exceptional character. His fierce personality and great sense of personal sacrifice helped him to persevere during a most troubling time in our nation’s history,” Congresswoman Johnson said. “Reverend Shuttlesworth had the vision and understanding to look beyond himself and make great personal sacrifices for the greater cause that was justice and equality. We must honor that sacrifice by continuing to protect that same justice and equality that he and countless others have given so much for.”

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. She is also the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas that includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.