June 18, 1953: Baton Rouge Bus Boycott Begins

This Day in History Time Periods: 1945 Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing Print On June 18, 1953, following a four-day strike by white bus drivers that upheld segregated seating on buses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, several local Black leaders formed the United Defense League (UDL) to protest bus segregation. The UDL urged Black residents to avoid taking the buses, and within days thousands of Black residents had boycotted the buses.During the 1953 bus boycott in Baton Rouge, the African American community organized free carpools, enabling protestors to go about their daily business while simultaneously showing they would no longer accept second-class citizenship. Photograph courtesy of Ernest Ritchie.According to Christina Melton’s article “Baton Rouge Bus Boycott”:In late March 1953, the Baton Rouge City Council passed Ordinance 222, which allowed passengers to fill up the bus on a “first come, first served” basis. This allowed Black pas...