Tuscaloosa Plans Plaza to Memorialize Barbershop Turned Civil Rights Safe Haven

Leaders gathered in west Tuscaloosa Thursday morning to ceremonially start work on a new plaza to memorialize the Howard-Linton Barbershop, which Mayor Walt Maddox called sacred ground of the Civil Rights Movement.

The now-demolished shop belonged to Rev. Thomas Linton, and on two of the darkest but most significant days in city history, it served as a safe haven for Black residents in need.

In 1956, when Autherine Lucy became the first African-American student to attend the University of Alabama, a mob of angry racists threatened and harassed her until she was able to escape to the barbershop. She was kept safe there until she could escape to Birmingham.

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Almost a decade later, protestors in Tuscaloosa planned a march after the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse opened in 1964. The new facility was meant to be desegregated, and local Black leaders had been assured it would be, but when the doors of the building first opened, visitors found separate water fountains and bathrooms for non-whites.

When activists gathered at the First African Baptist Church to lead a protest over those broken promises, they were met by another angry mob of police officers and local white supremacists who attacked the nonviolent marchers in what became known as Bloody Tuesday. Dozens were injured, almost 100 arrested, and many marchers ultimately found safety at Linton's barbershop.

Maddox said after Linton died in 2020, the city council voted to purchase the barbershop property and preserve it for special use and on Tuesday, the city broke ground on a project to memorialize the space forever.

"This project, when complete, will have a plaza on the original footprint of the Linton Barbershop," Maddox said. "It will have etched story panels that will teach the history of this moment in our community, with a central walkway and timeline, and a mural wall featuring a bronze relief of Reverend Doctor Thomas Linton."

Maddox said the plaza will also feature the lighting, cameras and other security measures that modern city projects all boast.

"We are on holy ground of the civil rights movement, not just here in Tuscaloosa County, but the civil rights movement as a whole," Maddox said. "This ground that we're on has been consecrated by heroes such as Autherine Lucy, T.Y. Rogers, and thousands of other citizens and foot soldiers who determined to make this a more perfect union through having the courage of their convictions."

Even as leaders at all levels take steps in the other direction and purge "DEI" content honoring minorities from military bases and other public spaces, Maddox said Tuscaloosa will continue to recognize all its past heroes.

"In a time and circumstances where history is trying to be altered and even deleted, and the conviction of our leaders seem scarce, though it's clearly obvious that right should be right and wrong should be called wrong, we need moments and places like this that remind us of who we are and the better angels of our nature," Maddox said.

Maddox was joined by Linton's two daughters and community leaders, including newly elected councilman Joe Eatmon, who said his first job was sweeping up hair in the barbershop.

"I had the opportunity to sit and listen to leaders in our community and hear the stories of the Civil Rights Movement from those leaders here in town because even at my young age, the leaders of that time still came to the barbershop to talk to Mr. Linton," Eatmon said. "My hope is that this plaza will provide the same opportunities for other young people here in town so they can hear about their legacies, hear the stories, and never forget the history of the city of Tuscaloosa."

Tim Lewis, the co-president of the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History & Reconciliation Foundation, was also on site on Wednesday to celebrate the project.

"This is a wonderful day, a day that we have dreamed about, thought about and planned for for years. We're excited about this groundbreaking, but we'll be even more excited when we actually cut the ribbon and open the park," Lewis said. "This is something we've all worked hard for, to tell the story of this civil rights icon who made a difference here in Tuscaloosa, across the state, and across the nation."

The project, which should cost about $1.4 million, is expected to be completed in 2026.

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