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 re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com-
mittee 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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•HRES 144 IH 
Whereas, in 1953, the Black residents of Baton Rouge, Lou-
isiana, took a courageous first step and staged the Na-
tion’s first large-scale bus boycott, challenging segrega-
tion; 
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 pay-
ing 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 to-
gether and refused to get off the bus; 
Whereas the police were called to arrest the Black bus pas-
sengers, 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 Na-
tion 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 success-
fully 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes and celebrates the 70th anniver-
sary of the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, to pro-
vide an opportunity for the people of the United 
States to learn more about the past and to better 
understand the experiences that have shaped the 
Nation; 
(2) recognizes the historical significance of this 
milestone of the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott; 
(3) reaffirms its commitment that history 
should be regarded as a means for understanding 
the past and solving the challenges of the future; 
and 
(4) expresses support for the Secretary of the 
Interior to explore how to provide appropriate mark-
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