b'80 BHMARTSCAPESTechnicolor Tribute Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) uses a long mural that stretches 66 feet along a corridor in Concourse B to honor its namesake. Fred S. features a life-size image of the late Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a pivotal leader who helped propel Birmingham, AL, into the national spotlight during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s. Brooklyn-based artist Rico Gatson spent two weeks on site painting colorful rays radiating from a giant black and white photo of Shuttlesworth to create the graphic, high-contrast piece. An earlier iteration of Gatsons creation was exhibited at the Birmingham Museum of Art, but a civic organization calledhim, said the 80+-year-old. I always told him, Dad, you need Leadership Birmingham arranged a permanent home for it at BHM.to smile and he would say, Im concentrating on the Lords work and what I can do for mankind.We wanted to do something inside the terminal that would serve as a lasting tribute to this great man, explains Ashby Pate,Some of his most famous work included coordinating boycotts chairman of the Birmingham Airport Authority Board and memberand sponsoring federal lawsuits to end segregation. He also of the 2023 Leadership Birmingham class who spearheaded thehelped organize the Selma to Montgomery marches as part of a project. Were thrilled that travelers and visitors to our great cityvoting rights campaign.will be able to draw inspiration from the artwork. Fred S. works in concert with another exhibit about Several of Shuttlesworths family members and dozens ofShuttlesworth that is located on the pre-security lower level of political leaders, clergy members, activists and local residentsthe terminal. Designed by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, attended the emotion-filled unveiling at the airport. Patriciait uses photos and large informational panels to memorialize Shuttlesworth Massengill, one of his three children whothe man Martin Luther King, Jr. once described as the most came, expressed gratitude and commented about the seriouscourageous civil rights fighter in the South.expression on her fathers face in the mural: It looks just like January | February 2026AirportImprovement.com'