Event features special discounts, holiday music and refreshments
If you’ve still got some Christmas shopping to do, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s (BCRI) gift store is the place to be, especially on Thursday, December 18. From 4-7 p.m. at the gift store, customers can enjoy holiday music, refreshments, and discounts. From 4-6 p.m., customers can meet local author Marie Sutton, who will be signing copies of her new book “The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark.” This event is free and open to the public.
The BCRI Gift Store offers books for children and adults about civil and human rights. It also is one of the few local outlets for Negro League merchandise as well as fraternity and sorority gifts. The store also carries BCRI t-shirts and souvenirs as well as a variety of ethnic jewelry, calendars, Bible covers, and other unique gift items.
“The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark,” chronicles the fascinating story of the A.G. Gaston Motel and how it became a refuge during a time when African Americans could find none. The motel, constructed by Black entrepreneur and eventual millionaire A.G. Gaston, provided higher-class service to African Americans during the Birmingham’s decades of strictly- segregated business and recreation. It also served as the headquarters for Birmingham’s civil rights movement and became a revolving door for famous entertainers, activists, politicians and other pillars of the national Black community.
Marie Sutton is an award-winning freelance writer who has worked as a journalist, communications professor, radio talk show host and blogger. She is currently the director of student media at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The BCRI gift store located at 520 Sixteenth Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203. Call 205- 328-9696 x 206.
