Many credit the Montgomery Bus Boycott as the spark that ignited peaceful demonstrations against segregation. However, two years before Rosa Parks took a stand by remaining seated, Martha White did the same on a Baton Rouge bus, making history in the fight for civil rights.
At the end of World War II, segregation had ended in the military, but Jim Crow laws remained firmly in place for civilian life, particularly in the South. African Americans comprised the majority of public transportation users in Baton Rouge. The city’s bus system included both a municipal service and privately owned African American-operated buses that primarily served Black workers commuting to and from their jobs.
In 1950, the Baton Rouge City Council sought to aid the struggling municipal bus system by revoking the licenses of 40 private African American-owned bus services. This action forced Black residents onto the segregated city-run buses, where fares increased from 10 to 15 cents. Passengers were required to pay at the front, exit the bus, and re-enter through the rear, where seating was next to the engine, in an area with no air conditioning.
As fare increases loomed, Reverend T. J. Jemison of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church objected, leading to the passage of Ordinance 222. This ordinance permitted Black passengers to sit in unoccupied white-designated seats on a first-come, first-served basis. However, many white bus drivers refused to comply with the new law.
Three months after Ordinance 222 was passed, two white bus drivers were suspended for violating the new seating policy, prompting a union strike on June 14, 1953. One of the suspensions resulted from an incident involving 23-year-old Martha White, a housekeeper who, like Rosa Parks, was simply tired of injustice.
On June 15, 1953, White boarded a Baton Rouge bus and sat in an open seat behind the driver, stating she would move only if a white passenger needed the seat. Another Black woman sat beside her, further defying the segregation rules. The bus driver refused to accept the situation and called the police. Reverend Jemison, upon seeing the police activity, intervened and reminded the authorities of the ordinance. The driver, however, forced Jemison off the bus. The manager of the bus company later arrived and suspended the driver.
Despite this temporary victory, Louisiana Attorney General Fred Leblanc overturned Ordinance 222 four days later, declaring it unconstitutional under state segregation laws. This reversal ignited widespread frustration within the Black community.
The United Defense League and the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott
Unwilling to accept the setback, Reverend Jemison mobilized community leaders, including John G. Lewis of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and formed the United Defense League (UDL) on June 18, 1953. The UDL swiftly organized a citywide bus boycott, urging African Americans to stop using the city-run transit system.
Despite lacking modern communication tools like social media, the boycott spread rapidly. Community members volunteered their cars to create an organized carpool system that provided transportation for thousands of Black residents who relied on public transit. As a result, the city’s buses experienced a sharp financial downturn, forcing officials to take notice.
City leaders met with Reverend Jemison and reached a compromise under Ordinance 251. The new regulation reduced the number of white-only seats but still required Black riders to sit behind white passengers, even if white-designated seats remained empty.
Many within the Black community saw this as an inadequate solution, believing Jemison had conceded too quickly. However, history later proved the significance of his efforts. The Baton Rouge Bus Boycott established the framework for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, inspiring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who met with Jemison to discuss strategies for nonviolent resistance.
Although the boycott did not achieve full desegregation, it demonstrated that well-organized, peaceful protests could be effective in challenging segregationist policies in the Deep South. It would take another decade before further major demonstrations would take place in Baton Rouge, but the groundwork had been laid for future civil rights victories.
In 2021, a marker was placed at the Louisiana Old State Capitol noting the significance of the Bus Boycott to the Civil Rights movement.
Comments