Black Bricklayers Hall ~ Montgomery County - Montgomery, AL - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Side 1
Unit A of the Bricklayers Hall served as the office of Charles Swinger Conley, who was the attorney of record for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Montgomery Improvement Association. In 1961, Conley joined with Attorney Arthur Kinoy, who gave crucial support to the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott, in filing the landmark case United States Ex Rel. Willie Seals, Jr. v. Martin J. Wiman that not only saved an African American man from execution, but also forced inclusion of African Americans in the jury selection of peers. Among many other consequential cases filed by Conley from this location was the 1962 case Cobb v. Montgomery Board that enforced desegregation in the city's public library system and the public Montgomery Museum. Many cases of national significance originated out of this building, including the landmark 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan federal case that influeuced many American press and freedom of speech legal cases. Award-winning journalist John Seigenthaler was impacted by Attorney Conley's legal work with Attorney William M. Kunstler and others from this building in defense of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, which seemingly provided motivation for his founding of the First Amendment Center.
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Side2
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This building was constructed in 1954 and occupied continuously for 57 years by the local black brickmasons union. Following Rosa Parks' arrest for failing to vacate her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus, the African American civic and religious leaders established the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to lead the MIA, with Ralph Abernathy, E. D. Nixon, Rufus Lewis, and other prominent figures. MIA relocated to this building after threats were made to places that accommodated this new organization. Mr. Percy Doak the overseer of the Bricklayers Hall offered space in the building and after transitory moves, in February of 1956 the MIA moved in this building as the first permanent headquarters of MIA. This building also served as the command center of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Some of the notable individuals who led daily operations from this site included Rosa Parks, Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, Ann Smith Pratt, and Hazel Gregory. From this location, Dr. King announced the successful ending of the 381-day boycott that catapulted him to the world stage. Dr. King received mail from all over the world addressed to 530 S. Union Street Unit C.

Marker Name: Black Bricklayers Hall Marker Type: Urban Addtional Information:: Erected by Whom it Concerns, Inc. Date Dedicated / Placed: 2021 Marker Number: Not listed

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