By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. on Thursday accepted the prestigious 2025 Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award at the downtown Birmingham Sheraton, a recognition he called “a profound and humbling honor.”
The award represents BCRI’s highest honor, bestowed upon national and international leaders advancing justice, equality, and human dignity.
“He (Shuttlesworth) was a warrior for justice, a champion for Civil Rights, a singular leader who helped to tear down the machinery of American apartheid, so that generations to come would finally walk in freedom,” Holder said. “To be recognized by [the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, BCRI] which carries forward his legacy, is an extraordinary privilege.”
Holder was saluted during the BCRI’s 33rd Anniversary Celebration in a ballroom filled with Foot Soldiers, students, educators, elected officials, civic and business leaders, residents and many others.
Given today’s political climate, Holder said justice must be insisted upon “fought for, defended every single day. And that’s why, as grateful as I am for this honor, I’m able to be more grateful for your ongoing work in the name of Reverend Shuttlesworth and so many others,” he told officials with the BCRI. “And in the spirit of unyielding courage and determination, it brings us together this evening … it is this same spirit, and the same clarity of the purpose that define this award’s namesake.”
Holder said Shuttlesworth and a number of activists and marchers faced a daily reality where the routine tools of government were not subpoenas and summons but fire hoses, nightsticks, bombings, and mobs “not for a summer, not for a season, but year after year after year … “
However, many ordinary citizens rose up “to confront this state sanctioned regime of violence and humiliation,” Holder continued. “They had every rational reason to doubt a change … But they marched anyway. They organized anyway. They got down, and they stood back up anyway. And because they did, because they took action, they changed the course of 20th century. Now, if these ordinary people could summon [strength] in the face of billy clubs and bombs, then we have no excuse.”
As Attorney General under President Barack Obama, Holder prioritized Civil Rights enforcement, took steps to protect voting rights, reduced sentencing disparities, and addressed systemic inequities in the justice system. His tenure was marked by efforts to defend marriage equality and challenge voter suppression.
Today, Holder continues to champion democracy as Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), ensuring fair maps and protecting every citizen’s right to vote. His life’s work reflects principled leadership and the enduring fight for Civil Rights.
Previous winners of the Shuttlesworth Award have included Richard Arrington, Birmingham’s first Black mayor; Fred Gray, an attorney who played a significant role in Civil Rights cases; the late John Lewis; prominent Civil Rights leader and congressman; Danny Glover, an actor and activist; Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery and Shuttlesworth.
