The theme was “Diversified Attack on Segregation,” and the headquarters was the Gaston Building’s L.R. Hall Auditorium. Registration took place at noon on that Tuesday in the foyer of the building. There was a 2:00 p.m. board meeting at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, and later that night, at 7:00 p.m., a Freedom Dinner served as a tribute to the wives of the freedom fighters. Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who was vice-president in charge of personnel for Chock Full-O-Nuts, gave the address at the wives’ tribute dinner.
The SCLC contracted with Paul Jones’s restaurant to do the catering, Jones said. “In spite of the fact that we had a mysterious fire in the restaurant that day, we pulled it off without a hitch.”
“My restaurant and lounge, and the motel in which they were located, was the only place in town where civil rights activist whites from the north—those helping the SCLC—could stay and eat,” Paul Jones was quoted as saying in Living Art: The Life of Paul R. Jones.
“Despite segregation ordinances, I fed both blacks and whites without incident and enabled King and his associates to meet with whites coming into Birmingham from all over the country.”
“Then, King and other movement leaders moved into the motel and took their meals at my restaurant,” Jones said. “They were in and out—Martin Luther King, Wyatt Tee Walker, Andy Young, Hosea Williams and many others. Some of my regular customers would now order their food to go because of my activist clientele and fear of consequences.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Reverends Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Ralph Abernathy. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Wyatt Tee Walker, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Andrew Young. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
On Wednesday, King gave the 10:00 a.m. formal opening of the annual conference. Among the speakers for that day was Reverend Ralph Abernathy, pastor of West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, who gave the 12:15 p.m. keynote address. Others spoke at workshops. That evening, Shuttlesworth hosted an 8:00 p.m. public meeting that included Miles College’s Pitts presenting the Rosa Parks Freedom Award to Dr. W.G. Anderson, who was president of the Albany Movement. Parks was there for the presentation of the honor in her name. Following that, the Honorable Adam Clayton Powell (D, NY), chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Education, gave the address.
The next day, there were various sessions and workshops addressing voter registration and direct action, as well as a youth rally led by Miles College student Shelley Millender. That evening, Walker presided over a public meeting at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. King gave the address.
On the final day, there were business sessions where staff reported efforts in voter registration, citizenship schools, direct action and nonviolent philosophy.
At the same time, there was a change in Birmingham leadership. The three-commissioner government was called into question and went before the people in a vote. Birmingham citizens overturned that long-held government hierarchy in exchange for a mayor-council regime. Eugene “Bull” Connor, a vehement racist and the sitting commissioner for public safety, disputed the results and would not vacate the position. A legal battle was waged, and in the meantime, for almost a year, there were two governments in Birmingham.
Also that year, Gaston’s $1.5 million A.G. Gaston Building opened. The three-story, first-rate green and beige building housed his black-owned enterprises and was a center of pride for blacks. Inside were his Booker T. Washington Insurance Company, Citizens Federal Savings and Loan, Vulcan Realty and Investment, Alexander & Company General Insurance and Booker T. Washington Business College. His funeral home moved to Fourth Avenue and Fifteenth Street, and almost immediately, the Townsend family built the Gulf Service Station, one of the only black-owned locations in town. It was a full-service station where you could get your car lubricated, windows washed and air put in your tires. The motel had an entrance right next to the service station. The door led into the lounge, Charles Townsend said. That area of town became a mecca for black businesses.
Advertisement for the A.G. Gaston Enterprises. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Although running a restaurant was a good opportunity for Paul Jones, he had long wanted a chance to work for the federal courts, he said. As fate would have it, he got a call from the chief probation officer in San Francisco upon the recommendation of a colleague. The man picked Jones to be the first black federal probation officer in that area. Jones headed to California for an opportunity of a lifetime and also to attend the University of California to work on a doctorate degree.75
Just like that, he was gone.
Chapter 5
FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY
In 1963, the Negro, who had realized for many years that he was not truly free, awoke from a stupor of inaction with the cold dash of realization that 1963 meant one hundred years after Lincoln gave his autograph to cause of freedom.
—Martin Luther King Jr., from Why We Can’t Wait76
After a while, the motel began to show the effects of wear and tear. Paul Jones was gone, and Gaston was not pleased with the way the place was being run. He had envisioned a first-class facility, and it was slipping beneath his dream.
Gaston thought back to that Tuskegee student who gave him impeccable service. He would set out to find him, and this time, he would not take no for an answer.
After Gibson had turned down Gaston back in 1954, the Salem, New Jersey native served in the military for two years. Then, the young man returned to Tuskegee and worked at the university as an instructor. After that, he went to graduate school at Michigan State University to get his master’s in hotel and restaurant management.
In 1959, Gibson was hired as the director of food services at Arkansas Agriculture Mechanical and Normal (AM&N) College at Pine Bluff, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. In his first year, he created a system that got him high praise from campus and state officials. The next year, he was promoted to director of the Student Union and Food Services.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Gaston was planning a trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for his “annual bath.” The springs there were believed to be a fountain of youth. In preparation for the trip, he contacted Ed Ramsey, a dean at Tuskegee University, in hopes that the man could help put him in touch with Gibson.
After Ramsey’s prodding, Gibson agreed to meet with Gaston, but reluctantly so. Again, Gaston offered him a job managing the motel. Again, Gibson refused. A move would be worth his while only if he could own the place, he told Gaston. But Gibson felt that wasn’t an option since he did not have the money to purchase it.
“If you know anything about Mr. Gaston, he is a very, very, very aggressive individual,” Gibson said. Gaston told him that he would work out an option-to-buy deal that would allow Gibson to gradually buy the place. Shortly thereafter, Ernest and his family were headed to Birmingham.
“Naturally, it is a difficult decision to make,” Gibson told Birmingham World. “Leaving a community which has given me so much cooperation and confidence is tough. However, I am now realizing a lifetime dream to go into management of a fine restaurant. The opportunity is so great that I feel I cannot let it pass.”
“At that time we had a one-year-old, Dorothy, and an eleven-year-old, Stephanie, but we knew that with our energy, we could handle it,” said his wife, Carolyn, who was director of testing services in student personnel at Arkansas AM&N.
“I loved Pine Bluff; that’s where I grew up,” said Stephanie. “I was not excited about leaving.”
But if they had had a crystal ball, they might have made a different choice.
“We knew how bad it was in Alabama, but we had no idea of what was going to happen in the pipeline,” Carolyn said. “I think if we had, we may not have gone.”
A FIRST-CLASS FACILITY
The year 196
3 kicked off with fanfare. On January 11, the outgoing Alabama governor, John Patterson, named Gaston to the board of directors at Tuskegee Institute, an honor. A week later, on January 18, incoming Alabama governor George Wallace gave his now famous inaugural speech touting, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”77
When the Gibsons arrived in Birmingham for their February 1, 1963 start day, right away they found the motel not up to their standards. “The place was somewhat run-down,” Ernest said.
“Whoever had been the manager did not do a good job. Mr. Gaston realized that,” Mrs. Gibson said. “It wasn’t the first-class place he wanted it to be. The building was in bad repair; the restaurant was not up to our standards. We immediately said to Mr. Gaston that we needed to make some renovations.”
Gibson requested that the place be totally remodeled from carpet to furniture, kitchen to rooms. Gaston agreed, and the restaurant closed right away. A.H. Smith Construction Company was hired to take the job. Stanley B. Echols, who was the architect for the motel when it opened, did the renovations. The total cost of it was $65,000. It helped that, by then, Gaston had a real estate investment company and a Citizens Federal Savings and Loan bank in his coffer, Gibson said.
As repairs were underway, Gaston told the local media that when the restaurant reopened, it would “compete favorably with any other in the city.”78
Stephanie remembered those days well. “I remember being in the kitchen and watching the automated milkshake machine being put in and the bright, shiny modern kitchen,” she said.
The renovations took about a month to complete. Carolyn said she and “Ernie” spent their February 22 wedding anniversary among the construction in the coffee shop.
At the same time, the Gibsons were busy staffing a team of workers who would be able to provide service to their liking. Several people began to quit, Gibson said, because they did not want to subscribe to his new, stricter program. Gibson and his wife even created a makeshift school to train workers to be high-quality motel maids, kitchen staff, etc. They taught classes on how to wait tables and how to cook. There were weekly classes that featured lectures from experts in the field of service.
Gibson told the local media that “the personnel will be trained to fit into the A.G. Gaston Restaurant system and oriented into high standards.” He hired people away from the white hotels and motels, including employing the head housekeeper from the Holiday Inn from over the mountain.
“We changed out all of the maids, equipment, individuals in key appointments. Some stayed because they adhered to the program,” he said. “We cleaned up the situation.”
The dining room service staff included Arzell Skipwith, Catherine Lenoir, Jerushia Thornton, Pearl Tarver, Bertha Quinn, Ida T. Johnson, Stephanie Gibson, Gladys Hildreth, Maxcine Robinson, Catherine Smith, Iola Amerson and Dorothy Thomas. The kitchen staff was made up of Adell Bonham, Eugene Fikes, Miss Bobbie, J. Ferguson, Jesse Shannon, Miss Augusta and Miss Atkins.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World advertisement. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World advertisement. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Birmingham World news article. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
“They were excited about the work they were doing and opening up the new A.G. Gaston Motel,” Ernest said. “We had a good spirited corps of employees.”
They added all new furniture, paintings on the walls and electric fixtures. They put in a new coffee shop and a formal dining room. Ernest changed the name of the lounge to the Gastonian Room.
The restaurant reopened on Friday, March 1, with what Birmingham World called “new services, improved facilities, and a revitalized character.” The Gibsons were front and center. Ernest was the manager, his wife was the official hostess and Stephanie served as the cashier and worked the switchboard after school and on the weekends. “At that point, my father was supposed to ultimately own that motel, so we considered that our family business,” Stephanie said.
“The results of these classes are already being reflected in greatly improved table service, and quality in dispatch in preparation and serving of food,” Birmingham World noted.
The 150-person-capacity restaurant featured two sets of dining hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to midnight. The coffee shop, which was decked with walnut paneling, featured hours from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. It also featured curb and takeout service and boasted fast service. “We tried to make it appropriate for morning ’til night,” Carolyn said.
“They got rid of the malt shop and added a bar,” Washington remembers. “I was of age at the time, and it suited me just fine.”
The Gastonian Room featured a plate-glass divider that separated it from the coffee shop. The “luxurious foyer created by gold metal dividers, lends itself to more formality and versatility in service to large as well as small parties and banquets.” The room also had mural paintings, vinyl wall coverings and modern abstract wall mounts.
The Gaston Motel check-in letter. Courtesy of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
There was wall-to-wall carpeting and indirect lighting and suspended light fixtures. There were metal and leather “vari-colored” Herman Miller chairs, which are “used in the finest clubs,” according to Birmingham World.
“No pains or expense was spared in revitalizing these dining areas,” the writer noted.
The official open house was on Sunday, March 24, at 2:00 p.m. Birmingham World featured ads from the list of proud vendors that participated in the renovation: the National Cash Register Co., D. Lee and Sons Grocery Co., City Paper Company, Barber’s Pure Milk and Ice Cream Company, Royal Cup Coffee, Empire Seafood Co. Inc., Means Company, Inc., Plumbing & Heating Contractors, Rutland Baking Co., Arrow-Smith Heating & Air Conditioning, J.A. Blackmon Co., Independent Fish Company Inc., Howard Johnson Electric Company and New Ideal Department Store.
The food was traditional restaurant cuisine with elegant offerings such as shrimp and lobster but also with an emphasis on African American culture. It also had featured menus at certain times during the year to bring in different holidays.
“We were a continental concept of food offerings,” Ernest said. “If you are going to open a restaurant, you have to cater to the local clientele.”
Every aspect of the Gaston Motel experience was thought about. When guests checked in, they received a letter from Gaston:
Dear Guests,
I would like to meet and greet each of you personally; although this is frequently impossible, my wish that you have every comfort and courtesy is sincere. No money or pain has been spared to make this motel equal to the finest. We are continually making improvements in our services through the advice and recommendations of our guests. Will you help us to maintain this standard by using the room as you would your guest room at home and suggest improvements to us.
If you have complaints or compliments, the management appreciates knowing both. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any matter that you think warrants my personal attention.
Please note our Cocktail lounge is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Delicious meals and beverages of all kinds are served at reasonable prices. Alcoholic beverages will be served only during legal hours. Please phone for room service.
Please note the following regulations:
1. All outside calls through switchboard are 15 cents each.
2. Long distance calls may be made collect.
3. Long distance calls other than collect may be made, provided there is a cash deposit in the office before the call is placed.
4. The management assumes n
o responsibility for valuables left in rooms. We have provided facilities in our office for the safekeeping of valuables.
5. NO PERSONAL CHECK WILL BE CASHED.
6. Check-out time is 3:00 p.m. daily.
DAILY RATES THIS ROOM 32 Singles $12.00 Doubles $14.00
Plus 5% Alabama Sales Tax
Thank you very much for the privilege of serving you.
A.G. Gaston, President
Across the street from the motel, the Gaston Building had many offices, a large auditorium and business school. Customers were ripe, Gibson said. “We were in a perfect spot,” he said. “It ended up being a meeting place where most people came every day or every night.”
“Angela Davis’s father owned a print shop around the corner,” Gibson said of the political activist’s dad. “He came in every day to have lunch. All the professionals came: the pharmacists, lawyers, etc. all flocked there.”
The Gibsons opened a catering business that made itself available for events at L.R. Hall Auditorium, which had soirées with two to five hundred persons. Gibson was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and his wife a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. This positioned them with the contacts to host many black sorority and fraternity functions, as well as all the social clubs for adults and youngsters, like Jack and Jill and Tot and Teens, he said.
“We had a thriving business…for a while.”
According to an article by Mayo Toal Forniss in Birmingham World, the Birmingham Chapter of Links hosted the 1963 Southern Area Links gathering on March 15–17. This national organization was made of distinguished women from across the country who were committed to volunteer service. On that Friday night, the women had a “lavish” reception at L.R. Hall, where “gorgeously attired ladies” met Mr. and Mrs. Birmingham, according to the article.
During a Saturday morning business session, Gaston gave greetings. His wife, Minnie, was among the participants. She was the national treasurer for the organization. Later that day, the Gastonian Room was the scene for a candlelit banquet. Miles College president Pitts was the guest speaker. Edythe Jones presided. Dean Cohen Simpson of Talladega College blessed the food. Oralee Barranco Mitchell of the New Orleans chapter was named Woman of the Year. Jessie Vick, president of the Fayetteville, North Carolina chapter, accepted the award for Outstanding Chapter Project. The national officers and regional director each received orchids.
The A G Gaston Motel in Birmingham Page 5