Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

Born in the early 1930s in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Shelley Stewart became a major voice in the fight for civil rights.

When Stewart was a teenager, his gift for speaking earned him a spot as a radio talk show host, incredibly, for that time in history, at a white-owned station. Yet his popularity continued to grow, landing him gigs as a disc jockey and an emcee for other stations and at popular event venues in the Birmingham area and further afield.

Stewart eventually became co-owner of station WATV-AM, and in the 1960s during the height of the civil rights movement, he used his platform and influence to support numerous activists and equal rights causes.