"Prelude to the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott” was a newspaper article in The Advocate. It describes what led to this event in the civ
il rights movement and what resulted from it. On Feb. 11, 1953, the Rev. T. J. Jemison addressed the Baton Rouge city council about two issues: the recently increased fares on city buses and the practice of reserving seats for white passengers at the front of the buses…
At the time of Jemison’s February address to the city council, ten seats at the front of each bus were reserved for white passengers, and an equal number of seats at the back of the buses were reserved for black passengers. Because the great majority of passengers were black people, they often had to stand even when the seats at the front of the bus were empty. Sometimes, black passengers were not picked up because there was no room for additional passengers at the back of the bus, but seats reserved for white passengers were empty.
– “Prelude to the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott
February 11, 1953,”
Molly Manson
Which issues were a cause of concern leading up to the boycott? Check all that apply.
a fare increase on city buses
reserved seats for white passengers only
limited number of stops along certain bus routes
a lack of buses in the black communities of Baton Rouge
drivers who wouldn’t pick up passengers when the back of the bus was full
