Nation's First Bus Boycott

In 1953, over 14,000 Black residents of Baton Rouge participated in a boycott of the city’s buses. The Baton Rouge Bus Boycott inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. and other boycotts, including providing strategic guidelines for the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court integrating all public transportation nationwide.

The boycott was effective thanks to the leadership and commitment of Rev. T.J. Jemison, Sr., Acie J. Belton; Pastor Edward D. Billoups; Dr. George Butler; Attorney Johnnie A. Jones, Sr.; Willis V. Reed; Raymond Scott; Theodore R. Smith, Sr.; Martha White; and. Adolph Wiggins, Sr.