He was a long-standing leader to end segregation in Birmingham and was a fearless advocate of racial justice. He was the one of the only persons to confront directly segregation in the civil right movement. Shuttlesworth continually challenged Jim Crow in Birmingham. In addition, in 1963, he participated in a civil rights campaign in Kelley Ingram Park. Shuttlesworth was hospitalized because he was attacked by Sheriff Bull Connor’s water cannons when he led a very non-violent demonstration.