Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1957-01-05
Why No Bus Boycott Nor Suit Is
Needed Here
Patience and delay achieve
more than force and rage
Jean De La FOntaine

In the past few weeks mounting degree of crti-
csm has been leveled at the Jackson Negro Citizens
from outside sources joined by local Negro lead
of sort because there has been bus boycott
suits here despite the wide publicity given to such
movements in Montgomery, Alabama; Birmingham,
Ala; Tallahassee Fla; and Baton Rouge, La, and the
other southern cities.
There appears to US good, sound, and logical rea-
why there has been bus boycott movement nor
suit here, and why such movement suit in regard
to the local buses is needed
In the first place taking the Montgomery bus boy
colt the historic example according to newspaper
ports and the speeches of the leaders of the
the original demands of the Montgomery Negro Cit-
called for the rights to sit anywhere the buses
traverSng the predominanty Negro neghborhOods and
for more courteous treatment on the part of the bus
drivers
Some years ago the old style jim crow signs in the
Jackson buses gave way to signs, backed by city
ordnance, calling for Negro passengers to start taking
seats from the back and white passengers to start
taking seats from the front which the original
interpretation according to press reports of Rev Mar
tin Luther Kings call for first come first served
seating arrangement the Montgomery buses, and
apparently it official adamance for maintenance of
the status quo than anything else, that forced
the issue to decision by the u. S. Supreme Court.
Here in Jackson from the Old Style Jim Crow
signs the signs calling Negro passengers to start
seating from back and for white passengers to start
Stealing from the front, there has been a steady
luton for the better towards Negro citizens the local
buses.
ANY Negro or any other person. who will use little
time in observing that Negro passengers the
Jackson buses. serving the predomnantv Negro neigh
borhoods take seats anywhere they please, and gener
ally fill the buses from front to back, sometime with
hardly for the driver to operate.
AS for courteous treatment the part of the local
drivers giving due consideration to human frates both
Negro and white the drivers of the local buses gen.
orally accord Negro such courteous treatment
has reduced to a minimum of minor complaints in
cdentS arising out of relations the buses here
For all practical purposes, despite outside critics,
segregation the buses serving predominanty Negro
neghborhoods of the city is only question of
tiOns and imagination, and the buses serving pre-
dOminantly white neighborhoods, the first first
served basis, works conversely to that on the buses
serving predomnanty Negro neighborhOods.
In regard to the buses such conditions as has
prevailed for number of year in Jackson existed in any
of the places where the bus boycott has been instituted
The Supreme Court decisions in all its recent segre
cation both by intent and design, has set in
ton evolutionary process and not revolutionary
movement and both past and present history points
to far better future for Negroes of Jackson via the
evolutionary process than by nduging in revolutionary
activities and movements.