“Even when not a single white passenger was on board, the front ten seats in every bus were reserved for whites, just in case one or two did ride. Often black riders jammed the aisle of a bus, standing over those empty seats, where they dared not sit down. And if the white section happened to fill up, then the blacks sitting just behind the reserved seats had to get up as more whites got on. Elderly black men and women were required by law to get out of their seats so that white schoolchildren could take a seat.”

Copyright Keri Collins Lewis 2005-2014. All rights reserved.