Martha White dies, sparked ’53 Louisiana capital bus boycott

June 8, 2021

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Martha White, a Black woman whose actions helped launch the 1953 bus boycotts in Louisiana’s capital city, has died. She was 99.

White died Saturday, her family and others confirmed.

White, then 23, was working as a housekeeper in the capital city of Baton Rouge in 1953 when she took action. After a long day of walking to and from work while seeking to reach her bus stop, she decided to sit in one of the only bus seats available — one designated for white passengers.

When the driver ordered her to get up, White refused and another Black woman sat beside her in solidarity. The bus driver threatened to have the women arrested. Ultimately police, the bus company manager and a civil rights activist, the Rev. T.J. Jemison, showed up. Jemison informed the driver of a recently passed ordinance to desegregate buses in the city, meaning White wasn’t violating any rules.

In response to the ordinance, bus drivers began a strike and the ordinance was later overturned. That prompted a boycott by the Black community in Baton Rouge.

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