IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 144 

Recognizing and celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Baton Rouge 

Bus Boycott. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 

Mr. CARTER of Louisiana submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 

1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott. 

Whereas, in 1950, the Baton Rouge city council revoked the 

licenses of nearly 40 Black-owned bus services, which 

transported residents to and from Black neighborhoods, 

jobs, and businesses within the city; 

Whereas the bus companies pledged to provide full and fair 

services to all riders, but the realities of segregation 

would make that pledge nearly impossible to keep; 

Whereas racial segregation was a pervading and inherent 

part of life in the South, and the city buses in Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana, were a microcosm of the segregated 

society of the South; 


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Whereas, in 1953, the Black residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, took a courageous first step and staged the Nation’s first large-scale bus boycott, challenging segregation; 

Whereas, during this time, Black bus passengers in Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana, were required to sit in the rear of the 

bus, to give up seats to White passengers, and, after paying their fare at the front of the bus, to exit and reenter 

the bus through the back door; 

Whereas, during this time, 70 percent of the Baton Rouge 

bus companies’ business came from Black passengers; 

Whereas, during this time, Black residents in Baton Rouge 

knew that protesting their unequal treatment could cause 

them to become victims of economic boycotts, violence, or 

other forms of intentional misconduct; 

Whereas Martha White and other Black bus passengers were 

told to get up on a crowded bus by a White bus driver; 

Whereas every Black passenger on the bus that day stuck together and refused to get off the bus; 

Whereas the police were called to arrest the Black bus passengers, causing a walk out and a 4-day strike on local 

bus services; 

Whereas Black church and civic leaders from all over Baton 

Rouge came together to form the United Defense 

League, with Rev. T.J. Jemison as president; 

Whereas the United Defense League decided that nobody was 

going to ride the bus the next morning, prompting Black 

residents across Baton Rouge to carpool with each other; 


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Whereas this action cost bus companies $1,600 a day with 

no Black passengers due to the boycott and ceased bus 

operations across the city; 

Whereas the boycott’s success reached far beyond the Baton 

Rouge city limits and gave Black people across the Nation inspiration and hope, setting the tone for the civil 

rights movement; 

Whereas the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott represents the first 

large-scale, extended effort by Black people to successfully challenge discrimination and segregation; and 

Whereas, in 1956, 3 years after the Baton Rouge bus strike, 

the Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation on buses: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes and celebrates the 70th anniver3 sary of the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, to pro4 vide an opportunity for the people of the United 

5 States to learn more about the past and to better 

6 understand the experiences that have shaped the 

7 Nation; 

8 (2) recognizes the historical significance of this 

9 milestone of the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott; 

10 (3) reaffirms its commitment that history 

11 should be regarded as a means for understanding 

12 the past and solving the challenges of the future; 

13 and 

14 (4) expresses support for the Secretary of the 

15 Interior to explore how to provide appropriate markVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Feb 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR144.IH HR144

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1 ings to identify places associated with the Baton 

2 Rouge Bus Boycott. 

Æ 


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