A.G. was the grandson of slaves. At the time of his death, he was worth $130,000,000.
Arthur George Gaston (July 4, 1892 – January 19, 1996) was born in a log cabin in west Alabama. He lived with his grandparents. After 10th grade, he served in World War I.
After his tour in WWI, he went to work in a coal mine outside of Birmingham, Alabama. It was at that mine that his business savvy became apparent. While at the mine, Gaston began selling boxed lunches to his coworkers. He made enough money doing this that he started loaning money to his coworkers at twenty-five percent interest. Gaston had an uncanny knack for noticing a need and filling that need in a way that made him a profit. After becoming a lunch salesman and informal banker for the other miners, he created the Booker T. Washington Burial Society to pay for the funerals of deceased miners.
He left the coal mine to focus on the burial society which became so successful that he branched into casket manufacturing and undertaking. However, Gaston hit a snag as his business began to expand into the insurance field; very few black people were educated enough to work as insurance agents. His solution? He founded the Booker T. Washington Business College to prepare black students for business careers. In 1954, he built the A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama.
Gaston was never very vocal about the civil rights movement of the time. Oftentimes, he and Dr. Martin Luther King were at odds. Gaston advocated for slow, incremental progress that used every tool of the system in place. King felt this was too slow and wanted more active change. Though they differed about methods, A.G. Gaston continually supported the movement for equality.
Gaston provided a car and financial aid for Autherine Lucy, the first black student at the University of Alabama. At the height of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King and Fred Shuttlesworth rented a room at the A.G. Gaston Motel for a reduced rate to use as a base for planning the movement. His businesses granted him enough wealth that he demanded the First National Bank remove its segregated water fountains or he would close his account. The bank acquiesced to his demand.
Gaston died at the age of 103. At the time of his death, he was worth about $130,000,000.
TL;DR
- A.G Gaston was born in a log cabin in west Alabama.
- He created a series of businesses that made him a very rich man.
- He used his money and clout to advance the civil rights movement.
What You Should Do Now:
- If you can, visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum.
- Read this biography of A.G. Gaston.
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