An old civil rights leader will revisit the battlegrounds where he was beaten, jailed and bombed out of his house while fighting for racial justice in Mobile, Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Ala.

        The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a nationally known activist, will start the sojourn at 6 a.m. today from the parking lot of Greater New Light Baptist Church where he pastors in North Avondale.

        His four children, Patricia Shuttlesworth Massengill of College Hill; Ruby Shuttlesworth Bester of Forest Park; Fred Shuttlesworth Jr. of Avondale and Carolyn Shuttlesworth of Rockville, Md., will join him on the trip.

        “I hope this can be a symbolic trip,” he said. “I will visit many of the scenes of the civil rights battles and the churches where I pastored.”

        He said the trip represents his 58 years in the ministry, 54 years as a pastor, 36 years at his present church, half of a century in the civil rights movement and his 80th birthday.

        First stop is Mobile, where the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth will receive recognition from the City Council.

        Mrs. Bester said they will visit a site where she can recall a dreadful moment in their lives, when their house was bombed in 1956.

        “I was 11 years old,'' she said. “It was Christmas night and we were watching television. We heard a big boom. Luckily we all got out without any injuries. God is good.”

        They will visit Phillips High School in Birmingham, Ala., where in 1957 a white mob met them as the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth was attempting to enroll his children.

        “I remember them beating my father, and my mother (Ruby) was stabbed in the leg,” Mrs. Rester said. “When I tried to get out of the car, the mob slammed the door and crushed one of my ankles. I was scared to death.”

        On March 1, they will visit the Birmingham jail, where he and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were locked up several times for leading protest demonstrations.

        “One time, I spent 35 days in jail,” the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said.

        He doesn't think the country has grown much in social justice.

        But some things have changed. Nine months ago, he was invited to help dedicate a new school on the site where he was beaten 46 years ago.

        When he visits the Birmingham jail later that day, the days of Bull Connor and the fire hoses will fade into the past as Rev. Shuttlesworth will be given a special tour of the jail by Birmingham Police Chief Mike Coppage.

        He will visit the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where four black girls died when the church was bombed Sept. 15, 1963.

        A birthday party is planned for the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth back in Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. March 16 at the Millennium Hotel, 150 W. Fifth St. downtown.

       Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are committing random acts of kindness, let him know at (513) 768-8362; at ahoward@enquirer.com; or by fax at (513) 768-8340.
       

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