 Martin Luther King 's presence in Birmingham was not welcomed by all in the black community . A local black attorney complained in Time that the new city administration did not have enough time to confer with the various groups invested in changing the city 's segregation policies . Black hotel owner A. G. Gaston agreed . A white Jesuit priest assisting in desegregation negotiations attested the " demonstrations [ were ] poorly timed and misdirected " . 
