Martha White (1922–2021), started influential 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott
Martha White was a housekeeper whose refusal to leave the whites-only section of a bus was the catalyst for a 1953 bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.White was on her way home from work on June 15, 1953, when she boarded a city bus and saw just one open seat – in the front row, just behind the driver. Though the seat was in the section reserved for white passengers, White sat, eager to rest after a long day.