By Barnett Wright
The Birmingham Times
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) will present Odessa Woolfolk, the city’s renowned educator, civic leader, and lifelong advocate for civil and human rights, with the 2024 Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award on Nov. 20.
The award, named after the legendary Civil Rights leader and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), recognizes individuals who have made enduring contributions to the ongoing fight for equality, justice, and human dignity.
“That is an award of a lifetime,” Woolfolk told The Birmingham Times. “Rev. Shuttlesworth has been my idol since I first met him when he was here doing his work in the late ‘50’s and 60’s. To be associated with his values, his mission, his courage, his belief in people, equality and justice to … have something on my shelf that associates me with those values doesn’t get better than that.”
Woolfolk, who helped found the BCRI, will receive the Award at the Institute’s 32nd anniversary celebration this month at the Institute, 520 16th Street N. in downtown Birmingham.
“We are honored to present the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award to Odessa Woolfolk, whose lifelong dedication to human and civil rights has shaped the course of history in Birmingham and beyond,” said Rosilyn Houston, newly elected chair of the Board of Directors of the BCRI. “Her vision, leadership, and tireless advocacy continue to inspire new generations to stand up for justice and equality. Odessa Woolfolk exemplifies the very essence of what this award stands for.”
Woolfolk joins a list of previous Shuttlesworth Award winners that have included former Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington; Equal Justice Institute founder Bryan Stevenson and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young.
“Most of those people I have worked with on various civic endeavors and all of them are known for being involved with social justice,” Woolfolk said. “I call them my brothers in spirit because we have been in the vineyards of social justice and Civil and Human Rights for a long time.”
Woolfolk’s legacy of leadership in human and civil rights, education, and community empowerment spans decades. A native of Birmingham, she has been an advocate for justice, dedicating her life to advancing equality for marginalized communities and promoting the power of education as a tool for social change.
As a pivotal leader in the city, she played a key role in establishing the BCRI in 1992. Her vision and leadership as the Institute’s founding board chair helped transform the Institute into a nationally recognized center for Civil Rights education and activism. Through her efforts, the Institute became a powerful symbol of Birmingham’s place in the struggle for racial justice, serving as a bridge between the past and the future of human rights advocacy.
“In these times it is so important to lift up for the cause that Rev. Shuttlesworth and others in the Civil Rights and Human Rights community stood,” Woolfolk told the Times. “What this does is to encourage me and others to keep fighting the good fight.”
Woolfolk’s social justice work included her role as a high school educator of the Foot Soldiers who marched with Shuttlesworth in 1963. Her work in promoting civic engagement, educational equity, and dialogue around human rights issues has empowered generations to carry forward the torch of equality.
Tickets are $32 and available for purchase at www.bcri.org/event/reimagine or at the BCRI’s ticket booth.
