Baton Rouge bus boycott

Baton Rouge bus boycott
Part of the Civil Rights Movement
DateJune 19 – June 24, 1953
Location
Caused by
Resulted in
Parties
  • United Defense League (UDL)
  • Baton Rouge City Council
  • Bus company
Lead figures

UDL member

State Atty. General

The Baton Rouge bus boycott was a boycott of city buses launched on June 19, 1953, by African-American residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana who were seeking integration of the system. They made up about 80% of the ridership of the city buses in the early 1950s but, under Jim Crow rules, black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus, even when the front of the bus was empty. State laws prohibited black citizens from owning private buses outside the city systems.