A Timeline of Black History Facts and Civil Rights in Baton Rouge
Civil Rights Marker located at the
Old State Capitol
You can now find another piece of civil rights history in downtown Baton Rouge. Located just a few steps from the old state capitol and a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial site, Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism has installed a 7-foot civil rights marker to portray just how much Baton Rouge contributed to the movement. It’ll serve as a part of the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail to mark a significant moment in the history of the state.
In 1953, a peaceful bus boycott was organized to bring awareness to the racial disparities and scrutiny that African Americans faced on a daily basis. Activists proposed the right for them to be able to sit at the front of buses just like their white counterparts. To respond to the segregated bus system, African Americans refused to ride any buses and instead drove to work, caught rides or walked. The boycott resulted in the city council reducing the number of whites-only seats.
The Baton Rouge Boycott served as the first large boycott of the south that gained nationwide attention. The Baton Rouge bus boycott did not end segregation. However, it did spark a national conversation that resulted in other notable protests that will go down in the history of the civil rights movement.
