In March of 2007, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth participated in an annual commemoration of the Voting Rights March in Selma, Alabama. He was not the only dignitary in attendance; among other civil rights legends, members of Congress, and prominent religious leaders were then-Senator Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. Upon meeting Shuttlesworth, the future President Obama grasped the handles of the Birmingham legend's wheelchair and personally escorted him to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. There, Clinton crouched down to speak with the leader. The moment, though fleeting, was a striking image of past, present, and future in national leadership and racial reconciliation.

Fortunately, this brief moment was caught on film. Photographer Byron Buck was accompanying The Faith and Politics Institute on their biennial civil rights pilgrimage to Alabama, and captured the scene with his camera. The Institute immediately recognized the power of the photograph, and arranged to have Obama and Clinton sign the picture as a gift for Reverend Shuttlesworth. Both men obliged. Barack Obama, who has often acknowledged his indebtedness to courageous and determined civil rights activists like Shuttlesworth, wrote: "To Rev. Shuttlesworth - I stand on your shoulders! Thank you". Bill Clinton signed, “To Fred Shuttlesworth - Thanks for your life of devotion and for this good day”.

On September 22, 2009, members of The Faith and Politics Institute presented the Reverend with the signed photograph in a ceremony at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Presenting this photo to Rev. Shuttlesworth were Dr. Robin Fillmore and Nelson Watkins. Family members, well-wishers, and press were on hand to mark the occasion. Staff members Frank Adams from Rep. Artur Davis' office (D-AL) and Caleb Goodwyn from Rep. Spencer Bachus' office (R-AL) were also at the ceremony. After receiving the framed picture, The Birmingham News reports, “Shuttlesworth held it in his lap and admired it. 'I feel like swelling up,' he said. 'I don't regret one bit what I've tried to do in my life'”.

For the full article in The Birmingham News, please see: http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/1253693715259...