Ag gaston biography of jose

King was also bombed. Later that night, the bombings sparked riots by African Americans in the community in a block section of Birmingham. The local police officers and state troopers responded to the crisis and subsequently beat rioters and bystanders. More than fifty people were injured as police were dispatched to clear Kelly Ingram Park. Gaston Boys club.

I never thought of trying to get rich. Washington Insurance Company; a construction firm, the A. The City of Birmingham owns the motel. Gaston Conference, named for the iconic Birmingham businessman and in its 15th year, will be held on February 12 and 13 at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. Gaston the iconic business mogul who started several businesses left his mark on Birmingham.

Even today, over 20 years after his death and about a century after he started his entrepreneurial journey, there are still a handful of businesses, buildings, streets, and other organizations that bear his name. Those include Smith and Gaston Funeral Services, one of his first enterprises; the Gaston Motel which is now a national monument; the A.

Gaston Construction Company, and the A. Gaston Boys and Girls Club. Washington Business College and of course the Booker T. InRosa and Arthur moved to Birmingham with the Loveman family, for whom Rosa worked as a cook.

Ag gaston biography of jose: The grandson of slaves,

He was honorably discharged in April Inhe married his second wife, Minnie Gardner. Arthur was a very successful businessman who used his businesses and his wealth to support the Black community and civil rights activists. Inhe was named "Entrepreneur of the Century" by Black Enterprise magazine. Lynchings continued in the south, and by the Ku Klux Klan had over four million members.

A US Senate bill to make lynching a federal crime failed to pass. Race riots occurred across the nation. After serving out his seven-year commitment to the army, A. Creola was one of the few women A. Never willing to spend money on dating and partying, he had led a somewhat isolated life apart from his coworkers and fellow soldiers. Perhaps more inspiring were the conversations with Dad Smith, who urged him to never give up on his dreams, hard as it might be to achieve them.

Back in Birmingham, A. Desperate to support himself and his mother, A. These mines did not have the modern tools used in northern mines, and the workers had to haul iron out of the mines on their backs. One appeal of the mining company was that they provided nice houses in the mining town of Westfield, rented from the company.

Ag gaston biography of jose: But in Birmingham, black entrepreneur

Despite the attractive pay, the mining company took the rent out of each paycheck, as well as everything bought at the company store at inflated prices. Not much was left over. When his fellow workers admired the great box lunches Rosie had prepared for A. Rosie loved to cook, and was great at it. He started loaning money to the other miners, charging 25 percent interest for the two weeks until the next payday.

Lending became his most profitable business, and soon A. Still, he hated the mines and wanted out. Getting Into Business One of the many things that bothered A. The miners readily parted with their funds out of sympathy, and the knowledge that they might be next. But mixed in with the honest needs of the bereaved were hustlers.

Seeing a need—and thinking of it only as a temporary stepping stone to his future—A. Washington Burial Society, named after his hero. He went door-to-door, collecting 25 cents per week for the head of the household and 10 cents for any other family members, insuring a proper burial. Crisis hit when one of his first customers died after he had collected only a few dollars.

InA. However, A. Then, two more crises occurred: Rosie Gaston died, and slow business forced the mine to lay off A. But when A. The new bosses did not want to continue the deal, imperiling the economics of the Burial Society.

Ag gaston biography of jose: George Gascón (born March

At this time, A. The stock market crash of and the succeeding Great Depression hit the south and Birmingham hard, especially poor blacks. Unemployment in Birmingham was among the highest in the nation, and over half the homeowners in the city stopped paying their mortgages. Others lost their savings in bank failures. But people kept dying and the insurance and funeral businesses survived.

The scrip was only redeemable into cash twice a year. The deep-pocketed Dad Smith bought the scrip for 50 cents on the dollar, and then waited until he could convert it to cash, making a handsome profit. Dad and A. The fabulous new Smith and Gaston Funeral Home became the symbol of their prosperity and furthered their reputation. But in the middle of this success, more tragedy: Dad Smith died, and, the night before the new funeral home was to open, Creola died.

Also inA. While this lingered on, A. This was A.