Centennial Hill in Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Black Bricklayers Hall
Montgomery County
Photographed by Mark Hilton, June 13, 2021
1. Black Bricklayers Hall Marker
Inscription.
Black Bricklayers Hall. Montgomery County. 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 [sic] 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.
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.
Listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, February 21, 2019
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 [sic] 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.
This building was constructed in 1954 and occupied continuously
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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.
Listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, February 21, 2019
Erected 2021 by Whom it Concerns, Inc.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed
Location. 32° 22.273′ N, 86° 17.986′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is in Centennial Hill. It is on South Union Street north of Grove Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 530 S Union St, Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
More about this marker. Although the marker indicates it was erected in 2019, it was actually erected June 5th, 2021. Some corrections have been made to the original marker and it still contains the misspelling of "influenced."
Regarding Black Bricklayers Hall. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 13, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 894 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on June 13, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 4. submitted on March 5, 2025, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio.
