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Martha
White is
seen in
this
2005
photo at
a Women
of
Courage
luncheon
in Baton
Rouge,
La.
White, a
Black
woman
known
for
helping
to
launch
the 1953
bus
boycotts
in
Louisiana's
capital
city,
has
died.
She was
99.
Family
and
officials
confirmed
White
died
Saturday.
(Carol
Anne
Blitzer/The
Advocate
via AP) |
| |
Martha
White
dies,
sparked
'53
Louisiana
capital
bus
boycott
apnews.com
BATON
ROUGE,
La. -
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.
Baton
Rouge
Mayor
Sharon
Weston
Broome
issued a
statement
Monday
recognizing
White’s
contribution
to the
city’s
civil
rights
movement.
“Martha
White
undoubtedly
shaped
our
community
in Baton
Rouge,
and
communities
across
our
nation,”
Broome
said.
“We
honor
her
legacy
today
and
every
day.”
That
boycott
later
helped
provide
the
framework
for the
famous
effort
sparked
by Rosa
Parks
that led
to a bus
boycott
in
Montgomery,
Alabama,
in 1955.
Ted
Jemison,
the son
of the
Rev.
T.J.
Jemison,
remembered
White as
being
outspoken
and
unafraid
to share
her
opinion.
He told
The
Advocate
of a
conversation
he had
with her
years
ago
about
that
day. He
recalled
her
telling
him she
just
wanted
to sit
in that
bus seat
because
she was
tired
from
being on
her feet
constantly
that
day.
”‘Can
you
imagine
working
on your
feet all
day and
just
wanting
to sit
down?’”
Jemison
recalled
White as
saying.
“She was
the same
way from
when she
was
young to
when she
was 90
years
old. She
knew
that
what she
did was
for the
good of
everyone
in Baton
Rouge.”
“We
really
lost a
true
pioneer
for
civil
rights,”
said
Jason
Roberts,
co-owner
of the
Baton
Rouge
African
American
Museum,
speaking
of
White’s
death,
the
newspaper
reported.
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