A.G. Gaston Motel
TheA.G. Gaston Motelis a historic building and formermotelinBirmingham, Alabama.[1][2]In 1963 during theCivil Rights movement,theSouthern Christian Leadership Conferenceused a room in the hotel as their headquarters, which was later bombed by terrorists.
History
[edit]Built in 1954 by local businessmanA. G. Gaston.[1]It served as premium accommodation for African American travelers and was listed inThe Negro Motorist Green Book,a travel guide.[1]
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference used room 30 as its headquarters for leaders such asMartin Luther King Jr.,Ralph Abernathy,Fred Shuttlesworth,and others, to plan portions of the 1963Birmingham campaignof thecivil rights movement.[3]On May 10, 1963, the motel was bombed by white supremacist terrorists.[4]After discrimination in public accommodation was outlawed, the motel's business declined in the 1970s. It was used assenior housingfrom 1982 to 1996.[4]
Since 2017 it is owned in part by theBirmingham Civil Rights National Monument,theNational Park Service,and the City of Birmingham.[3][5]It has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America's National Treasures. In summer of 2023, the site is set to open to the public for history tours.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdPeñaloza, Marisa; Elliott, Debbie (June 22, 2023)."Birmingham honors the Black businessman who quietly backed the Civil Rights Movement".NPR.
- ^Sutton, Marie A. (2014-11-04).The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark.Arcadia Publishing.ISBN978-1-62585-132-1.
- ^ab"Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birmingham 'war room' is the heart of a new national monument".Los Angeles Times.2017-01-14.ISSN2165-1736.Retrieved2023-10-08.
- ^ab"Proclamation 9565: Establishment of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument"(PDF).January 12, 2017.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2023-02-22.Retrieved2023-02-22.
- ^"A Birmingham Motel Is Part Of A Civil Rights National Monument".NPR.June 10, 2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Marie A. Sutton,The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark,Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
External links
[edit]
- A.G. Gaston Motelon theNational Park Servicewebsite.
- A.G. Gaston Motelon theNational Trust for Historic Preservationwebsite.
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