Today in labor history: Montgomery teenager refused to yield bus seat

On this day in 1955, African-American Mary Louise Smith refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery Alabama. She was eighteen years old at the time. Smith was one of several young women whose cases, along with Rosa Parks’, helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  Smith acted initially on her own but later became a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle that challenged the constitutionality of Alabama bus segregation laws.

Photo: Wikipedia

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People’s World is a voice for progressive change and socialism in the United States. It provides news and analysis of, by, and for the labor and democratic movements to our readers across the country and around the world. People’s World traces its lineage to the Daily Worker newspaper, founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists in Chicago in 1924.