Howard-Linton Barbershop

Howard-Linton Barbershop. Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail. In September 1952, Autherine Lucy's application to the University of Alabama was accepted. When she arrived on campus and the university officials discovered that she was African-American, they denied her admission. In 1955, following Brown vs. Board of Education-which struck down segregation in public schools -the NAACP secured a court order forcing the university to accept Lucy. In 1956, at age 27, Lucy enrolled as a graduate student in Library Science. She attended her first class on Friday, February 3. On Monday, February 6, when Lucy arrived on campus for class, she was met by a mob estimated to be over a thousand that pelted her with rocks and eggs and threatened to kill her. She narrowly escaped and found refuge in Howard-Linton Barber Shop. White community members pursued, but the police, and especially a hastily organized protective guard composed of armed black men ringing the barbershop, scared them off. Later that afternoon, five cars driven by black men pulled in front of the barbershop. They hid Lucy in one of the cars-so the mob would not know which car she was in-and escaped with her to Birmingham.

Seven years later, the Howard-Linton Barbershop again served an important part in a march for civil rights that would come to be known as "Bloody Tuesday."

When Tuscaloosa County planned a new courthouse, officials assured the black community that there would be no segregated facilities. But, when the courthouse opened, there were separate bathrooms and water fountains. On June 9, 1964, members of the Civil Rights movement in Tuscaloosa, led by Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., attempted to march from First African Baptist Church to the courthouse in a non-violent protest against the segregated facilities. Police and white extremists attacked them sending 34 to the hospital and 94 to jail-more than would be hospitalized or jailed on Bloody Sunday in Selma a year later. Many of the wounded retreated to the Howard-Linton Barber shop. There was not a towel in the shop not covered with blood. Community members provided first aid, while Rev. T. W. Linton called US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who were standing by to offer assistance.