Page 167 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

The Gaston was a low-built modern hotel. Its owner, A. G. Gaston, was a coal miner who had become Birmingham's leading black businessman. George knew that Gaston was nervous about the disruption being brought to Birmingham by King's campaign, but gave his qualified support nonetheless. George's taxi drove through the entrance into a motor court.

Martin Luther King was in Room 30, the motel's only suite; but before seeing him George had lunch with Verena Marquand in the nearby Jockey Boy Restaurant. When he asked for his hamburger medium rare, the waitress looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.

Verena ordered a salad. She looked more alluring than ever in white pants and a black blouse. George wondered if she had a boyfriend. "You're on a downhill slope," he said to her while they were waiting for their food. "First Atlanta, now Birmingham. Come to Washington, before you find yourself stuck in Mudslide, Mississippi." He was teasing, but he did think that if she came to Washington he might ask her out on a date.

"I go where the movement takes me," she replied seriously.

Their lunch arrived. "Why did King decide to target this town?" George asked while they were eating.

"The commissioner of public safety--effectively the chief of police--is a vicious white racist called Eugene 'Bull' Connor."

"I've seen his name in the papers."

"The nickname tells you all you need to know about him. As if that were not enough, Birmingham also has the most violent chapter of the Ku Klux Klan."

"Any idea why?"

"This is a steel town, and the industry is in decline. Skilled, high-wage jobs have always been reserved for white men, while blacks do low-paid work such as cleaning. Now the whites are desperately trying to maintain their prosperity and privileges--just at the moment when blacks are asking for their fair share."

It was a crisp analysis, and George's respect for Verena went up a notch. "How does that show itself?"

"Klan members throw homemade bombs at the homes of prosperous Negroes in mixed neighborhoods. Some people call this town Bombingham. Needless to say, the police never arrest anyone for the bombings, and the FBI somehow just can't seem to figure out who might be doing it."

"No surprise there. J. Edgar Hoover can't find the Mafia, either. But he knows the name of every Communist in America."

"However, white rule is weakening here. Some people are beginning to realize it does the town no good. Bull Connor just lost an election for mayor."

"I know. The White House view is that Birmingham's Negroes will get what they want in due course, if they're patient."

"Dr. King's view is that now is the time to pile on the pressure."

"And how is that working out?"

"To be frank, we're disappointed. When we sit-in at a lunch counter, the waitresses turn out the lights and say sorry, they're closing."

"A clever move. Some towns did something similar to the Freedom Riders. Instead of making a fuss, they just ignored what was happening. But that level of restraint is too much for most segregationists, and they soon reverted to beating people up."

"Bull Connor won't give us a permit to demonstrate, so our marches are illegal, and the protesters are usually jailed; but they're too few to make the national news."

"So maybe it's time for another change of tactics."

A young black woman came into the cafe and approached their table. "The Reverend Dr. King is free to see you now, Mr. Jakes."

George and Verena left their lunches half-eaten. As with the president, you did not ask Dr. King to wait while you finished what you were doing.

They returned to the Gaston and went upstairs to King's suite. As always, he was dressed in a dark business suit: the heat seemed to make little difference to him. George was struck again by how small he was, and how handsome. This time King was less wary, more welcoming. "Sit down, please," he said, waving to a couch. His voice was mild even when his words were barbed: "What has the attorney general got to tell me that he can't say over the phone?"

"He wants you to consider delaying your campaign here in Alabama."

/> "Somehow I'm not surprised."

"He supports what you're trying to achieve, but he feels the protest may be ill timed."

"Tell me why."

"Bull Connor has just lost the election for mayor to Albert Boutwell. There's a new city government. Boutwell is a reformer."

"Some people feel Boutwell is just a more dignified version of Bull Connor."

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