Boynton v. Virginia

Boynton v. Virginia, , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. On December 20, 1958, Bruce Boynton, a senior at Howard Law School, left Washington, D.C. on a bus to go home for Christmas to Montgomery, Alabama.Louis H. Pollak, "The Supreme Court and the States: Reflections on Boynton v. Virginia", (New Haven, CT: Yale Law School, 1961), p. 17  http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/4233 At the bus terminal in Richmond, Virginia he entered the restaurant and sat in the "white only" section.  For refusing to leave, he was arrested and convicted for violating a Virginia statute making it illegal for anyone "without authority of law" to remain after being forbidden to do so. He then appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court of Virginia. He maintained “that his conviction violated the Interstate Commerce Act and the Equal Protection, Due Process and Commerce Clauses of the Federal Constitution.” But the state Supreme Court upheld his conviction.He next petitioned the United States Supreme Court for certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction of the lower court. The Court held that Boynton “had a federal right to remain in the white portion of the restaurant” as the Interstate Commerce Act “forbids any interstate common carrier by motor vehicle to subject any person to unjust discrimination.” Justice Hugo Black delivered the majority opinion.

 The decision 
The court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of Boynton. It held that interstate passengers were protected by the Interstate Commerce Act and the terminal's restaurant was a part of that facility. In part the decision read: 

 Effects of "Boynton" 
Justices Tom C. Clark and Charles Evans Whittaker dissented in the 7-2 decision. It was the first time since 1946 the court had split over matters of racial segregation. 

Boynton v. Virginia paved the way and inspired the Freedom Riders to test the new ruling. Black and white riders rode together on Southern racially segregated buses beginning in 1961. After six months of protests and press coverage of the Freedom Riders, The Interstate Commerce Commission outlawed racial discrimination in seating passengers on interstate busses. It ordered the removal of "whites only" signs from all interstate bus terminals. 

 References 

 Other websites 
 Boynton v. Virginia,  The 1961 Freedom Rides 
 The Freedom Rides of 1961, Testing Boynton v. Virginia

Category:United States Supreme Court cases
Category:United States law
Category:1960 in the United States
Category:American civil rights
Category:20th century in Virginia