Charles Gratton

Charles Austin Gratton (born July 16, 1932, died September 5, 1999) opened the downtown Green Acres Cafe in the 1958. Gratton was an active member of the 4th Avenue Area Merchants Association and also active at Shiloh Baptist Church of Norwood, where he had been a deacon. Gratton grew up in Norwood, and recalled for a Duke University oral history project how he endured having to walk six or seven miles to school each day, even though the all-white Norwood Elementary School was just a block and a half away, and how his family wasn't welcome at Norwood Park.

In February 2004 the Birmingham City Council honored Gratton by naming the stretch of 4th Avenue North between 17th and 18th Street for him.

References

• Williams, Roy L. (June 4, 2006) "Recipe for success" Birmingham News.
• Gratton, Charles Austin (June 22, 1994) Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South. Duke University. Interview with Tywanna Whorley