He was the grandson of an enslaved person, and his father passed away when he was just an infant. He grew up in modest circumstances in a log cabin with his mother and grandparents, Joe and Idella Gaston. In 1905, Gaston and his family relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where his mother found employment as a cook with the Loveman family. This early part of Gaston’s life reflects his difficult circumstances, making his later success as an entrepreneur and civil rights advocate a

A.G. Gaston’s education ended after the 10th grade. He served in the military during World War I in France and later worked in the mines operated by the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company in Alabama. This part of his life reflects his journey from limited education to diverse work experiences before becoming a successful entrepreneur and a key figure in civil rights and business. all the more remarkable.

While working in the mines, Gaston began by selling lunches to his fellow miners and later started loaning money to them at a 25% interest rate. He also noticed that mine widows had to seek donations to bury their husbands, so he came up with the idea of offering burial insurance. In 1923, he established the Booker T. Washington Burial Insurance Company, which later became the Booker T. Washington Insurance Company in 1932. This marked the beginning of his successful foray into the insurance business.In 1938, A.G. Gaston purchased and refurbished a property near Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham. He partnered with his father-in-law, A.L. Smith, to establish the Smith & Gaston Funeral Home. The funeral home also sponsored gospel music programs on local radio stations and formed its own gospel quartet, contributing to Birmingham’s cultural and musical scene.

Recognizing the lack of trained Black professionals in insurance and funeral services, A.G. Gaston and his second wife, Minnie L. Gardner Gaston, founded the Booker T. Washington business school in 1939. His first wife, Creola Smith Gaston, had passed away in 1938. Gaston’s ventures also included Citizens Federal Savings and Loan Association, Birmingham’s first black-owned financial institution in over forty years. On July 1, 1954, he opened the A.G. Gaston Motel, located next to Kelly Ingram Park, which later played a significant role in the civil rights movement.

Everything I do is me. I don’t like taking ideas from people unless they’re the G.O.A.T.

A Boogie wit da Hoodie

A.G. Gaston maintained a low political profile during the 1940s and 1950s, but he quietly supported the civil rights movement by offering financial assistance. He helped Autherine Lucy in her efforts to integrate the University of Alabama and provided financial aid to residents in Tuskegee who faced foreclosure for boycotting white-owned businesses in protest of disenfranchisement. Additionally, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, founded by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in 1956 after the NAACP was outlawed in Alabama, held its inaugural meeting at Smith & Gaston’s offices, showcasing Gaston’s behind-the-scenes support for the civil rights cause.In 1962, when students at Miles College aimed to desegregate downtown Birmingham using sit-ins and boycotts, A.G. Gaston, as a board member, tried to dissuade them and instead initiated negotiations. Although some minor changes resulted from these talks, the stores’ desegregation and employment of black workers didn’t make significant progress.

In 1963, when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), represented by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, planned widespread demonstrations to support students’ demands and challenge segregation laws and Police Commissioner Bull Connor’s authority in Birmingham, A.G. Gaston disagreed with the approach. He sought to steer the campaign away from public confrontation and towards negotiations with white business leaders. Gaston also posted $5,000 bail for Dr. Martin Luther King and Reverend Abernathy when they were arrested.During the civil rights campaign, A.G. Gaston supported Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy by offering them discounted rooms at his motel and free meeting spaces in his nearby offices. He publicly endorsed the campaign, participated in meetings with local business leaders, and insisted that Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth be involved, recognizing Shuttlesworth’s leadership role.

Unity within the civil rights movement became strained when Rev. Ralph Abernathy made comments about unidentified “Uncle Tom,” and Dr. Martin Luther King indicated his intention to continue with confrontational plans on April 9, 1963. In response, A.G. Gaston issued a press release expressing concern about the lack of communication between white business leaders and local African-American leadership, indirectly criticizing King’s approach. A.G. Gaston’s press release created a significant division within the Civil Rights Movement. Hosea Williams publicly criticized Gaston as a “super Uncle Tom” while alleging overcharging for motel rooms, even though civil rights leaders were staying there for free. Movement leaders sought to keep these differences private. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth apologized, SCLC leaders treated the press release as support, and Dr. Martin Luther King formed a committee with Gaston and other local leaders to approve daily plans, aiming to maintain unity.

The committee lacked real power, as demonstrated when the movement encouraged schoolchildren to march for desegregation on May 2, 1963. Gaston disagreed with the strategy, suggesting the children stay in school. Dr. King, however, advocated for letting the young demonstrators take to the streets to learn from their experiences, and the protests persisted.

A.G. Gaston, due to his role as a negotiator, faced challenges and criticism from both sides of the civil rights debate. In September 1963, he remained at odds with Dr. King and urged him to stay away from Birmingham as King planned to resume demonstrations.On May 11, 1963, individuals likely associated with the KKK attempted to bomb the part of the A.G. Gaston Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were staying. Martin Luther King’s brother’s home was also targeted. These bombings led to riots in a 28-block area of Birmingham, with law enforcement responding by beating rioters and bystanders. This resulted in over fifty people being injured during the events in Kelly Ingram Park.

On September 8, 1963, after attending a state dinner at the White House with President John F. Kennedy, A.G. Gaston’s home was targeted with firebombs. On the night of January 24, 1976, Gaston and his wife were kidnapped and beaten by an intruder, with Gaston eventually found bound in the back seat of his car. In 1968, A.G. Gaston published a memoir and also founded the A.G. Gaston Boys Club during the same period.

Gaston famously said, “I never went into anything with the idea of making money…I thought of doing something, and it would come up and make money. I never thought of trying to get rich.”

A.G. Gaston passed away in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 19, 1996, at the remarkable age of 103. He left a significant legacy of business ventures, including the Booker T. Washington Insurance Company, the A.G. Gaston Construction Company, Smith and Gaston Funeral Home, and CFS Bancshares, a financial institution. The A.G. Gaston Motel was owned by the City of Birmingham. At the time of his death, his estimated net worth was over $130,000,000, making him one of the most successful African American entrepreneurs of his time.