BLACK HISTORY MONTH, DAY 12: Macon Bus Boycott During the civil rights movement, black and white leaders in Macon were able to negotiate for change, so Macon experienced less violence than some other southern cities. Black Maconites challenged segregation in the early 1960s by negotiating and communicating with the white power structure, rather than forcing confrontation. The bus boycott of 1962 led by William “Billy” Randall was the pivotal event of the civil rights movement in Macon. The bus boycott was a campaign to end segregation on the Macon city buses and to increase the employment of blacks as bus drivers and mechanics. Mr. Randall requested that Linton D. Baggs, head of the Bibb County transit company, desegregate the busses, but Mr. Baggs refused. The boycott of the Macon buses began on February 12, 1962, and it lasted for three weeks. Even though there was a restraining order against Randall and the other leaders, they continued to lead the boycott. Judge William Bootle ruled that segregated bus seating laws were unconstitutional, and ordered the transit company to put an end to segregated bus seating. The bus boycott was ended by a mutual decision of both black and white Maconites, who agreed that it was the best decision to end the boycott at that particular time. To everyone’s surprise, the boycott ended quite peaceably, without any mass demonstrations or violent eruptions. (Source: faculty.mercer.edu/davis_da/fys102/black_activism.html)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 05:07:31 +0000
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