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Alberta had done nothing so bad that I was broken and contrite like David. For me it was a growing into and accepting God."33 This meaningful confirmatory experience solidified his sense of calling to work in the church. Between that time and his high school commencement, he was graduated from Sunday school pupil to teacher of the primary children at St. Matthew's. He also rose to the position of Sunday school superintendent while still a teenager. Such a leadership position was not unusual for the small congregation-all the Shuttlesworth children eventually served in similar capacities . Fred, however, kept private his leanings toward the ministry. Although active in the life of the church, he scarcely made a name for himself as a person of unusual piety. (In light of his mother's demands and demeanor, one could say all the children participated in church activities in self-defense.) No one expected Fred to enter the clergy. He surprised even his siblings Clifton and Eula when he opted for the ministry. Clifton testified that he "showed nothing that he would be a minister. ... I didn't see it in him:' His church activities possibly provided some camouflage, but in school he displayed a distinct playfulness-or "devilishness;' as his family called it. Such mischief making hinted at the downto -earth (and occasionally earthy) spirituality he eventually developed.34 Typical of the South in the early twentieth century, Birmingham moved slowly to equalize the educational facilities and opportunities for its white and black students. General public education in the city lagged behind that in other major southern cities. Birmingham paid for new school buildings at a rate of only $24.27 per pupil, compared with $41.17 in Memphis, $42.93 in Atlanta, and Richmond's $77.66. Early in the century, allocations displayed discrimination, with $8.04 appropriated per black child compared with $24.13 for every white child. White teachers averaged thirty-six students in their classes compared with fifty-eight for black teachers. In 1911, the property of white schools was valued at $97.84 per pupil compared with $20.22 per pupil for black schools. In 1922, the year of Fred Shuttlesworth's birth, schools were overcrowded for all students, but more so for black students. White school enrollment was 131 percent of the buildings' normal capacity compared with 264 percent for black school buildings. By the time Fred reached high school, little had changed. In the 1937-1938 school year, the state of Alabama spent $49.37 for every white pupil but only $14.75 for each black child. The school system paid white teachers an average annual salary of $827 but only $393 for black teachers. Although the illiteracy rate for blacks in Birmingham had fallen from the 40 percent seen in 1900, the rate during Fred's early childhood still hovered around 18 percent.35 28 Alberta Until 1935 Fred and his older siblings attended Oxmoor School, a two-room schoolhouse where two teachers taught all children up to the eighth grade. After 1935 a new school, Oxmoor-Reading Junior High, replaced the old building. The new, slightly enlarged school doubled the number of rooms and teachers-one instructing the first and second grades, another teaching grades three through five, a third for grades six and seven, and a fourth for grades seven and eight. Fred especially liked two teachers at Oxmoor, Miss Worth and Miss Windham. Miss Windham was legendary among all the Shuttlesworth children. In his schoolwork, Fred not only dealt with a demanding mother who accepted no grades less than a C but also was put through his paces by a woman after Alberta's own heart. A strict disciplinarian who pushed her students to excel, Miss Windham took personally her responsibility to prepare her charges for work at Rosedale High School. She often said, "My profession is teaching, and if you don't know, you don't go. You're not going to Rosedale and make me look bad, as if I'm not doing my job down here.,,36 The principal of Oxmoor School, Israel 1. Ramsey, however, influenced Fred most profoundly. Providing the positive male role model that Fred's stepfather did not, Ramsey impressed Fred with his piety and sensitivity to the needs of students. A smallish, impeccably dressed man of dignity, he exuded a sense of self-confidence and pride and taught his students to take pride in themselves. Fred observed him carefully and sought...

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