Illuminating an Icon

Travelers to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International can meet the airport’s namesake face to face—and sense the strength of the Rev. Fred Shuttleworth’s courage and determination to end segregation. Learn about the creation of Rico Gatson’s Fred S. mural and how Leadership Birmingham members championed this landmark tribute to the legendary civil rights leader.

1. In 2021 the Birmingham Museum of Art invited artist Rico Gatson to temporarily transform its public spaces through its Wall to Wall project. Participating artists “take inspiration from geography, history, or the city,” says Hina Zaidi, the museum’s curatorial assistant and co-curator of the Gatson exhibit with Hallie Ringle, then the curator of contemporary art. Graham Boettcher (LB ’22) is the museum’s director and CEO.

2. In 2021 and 2022, Gatson visited key historical sites in Birmingham and experienced the Magic City Classic weekend. During his second research trip, he explored the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute archives and decided to center his artwork on the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.

3. Gatson and an assistant began creating the Fred S. piece in the art museum’s lobby in August 2022. Members of the Shuttlesworth family and the public helped finish the mural by painting in the rays. Zaidi recalls it as a beautiful, full-circle moment. Shuttlesworth’s “legacy impacted the lives of all these people who then came together to complete this work” honoring him, she says.

4. The powerful mural inspired members of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 2023 visiting the museum for Quality of Life Day. The +1MPACT study group made it their project to provide Fred S. with a permanent home at the airport and began collaborating with museum deputy director Chantal Drake, Zaidi, Gatson, and airport representatives.

5. In May 2024 Gatson spent two weeks recreating the mural in the airport’s Concourse B before Fred S. was unveiled to a crowd including members of the Shuttlesworth family, local leaders, and Leadership Birmingham alumni. “Rev. Shuttlesworth changed Birmingham forever—and when he did, he changed the world,” says Ashby Pate (LB ’23), secretary of the Birmingham Airport Authority Board and +1MPACT member. “The mural’s placement in the terminal ensures that more than 3 million visitors to the airport each year will be able to draw inspiration from this incredible artistic interpretation of his legacy.”

About the Mural

• The central image comes from a historic newspaper photo of Shuttlesworth escorting students Dwight and Floyd Armstrong into Graymont Elementary School during its integration in September 1963.
• The rays emanating from Shuttlesworth represent his global impact and relate to “the ways in which religious figures and superheroes often are depicted in art,” Hina Zaidi explains. The colors of the rays also have meaning, referencing the Afrofuturism movement and the Pan-African flag, she adds.
• The airport is an appropriate home for Fred S. because “a lot of Rico Gatson’s work lives in prominent public spaces where people come and go, such as train stations and subway stations,” Zaidi says. “Trying to reach as many people as possible is part of his art practice.”
• Gatson, a Georgia-born artist who lives and works in New York City, is known for his ongoing series of works in various mediums featuring Black visionaries throughout history, including civil rights leaders, politicians, and creative pioneers. Fred S. was Gatson’s largest installation when it debuted at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The airport version extends 66 feet and rises nearly 13 feet high.

This article was originally posted in the Leadership Birmingham Winter 24/25 magazine. See the full magazine here.