U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today released the following statement on the passing of civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth.

"I was deeply saddened yesterday to learn of the death of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a true champion for civil rights and racial justice in our country. Rev. Shuttlesworth devoted his life to nonviolent social change, and his moral and physical courage remains an example to all Americans. President Obama and I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our time, a cause that owes a profound debt to the leadership and bravery of Rev. Shuttlesworth."