The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently declared Birmingham’s A.G. Gaston Motel a national treasure. It also declared the landmark one of America’s eleven most endangered historic sites. Marita Rivero chairs the trust’s board and is executive director of the Museum of African American History in Boston. She’ll give the keynote address Thursday evening for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Black History Month celebration. Rivero spoke with WBHM’s Rachel Lindley about Birmingham’s importance in the national conversation on historic preservation and the significance of the A.G. Gaston Motel.