BATON ROUGE BUS BOYCOTT (1953)

The Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Bus Boycott in 1953 was the first large-scale boycott of a Southern segregated bus system. It inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott that took place two years later. The boycott, however, remains controversial because many supporters felt its leader, Rev. T.J. Jemison, capitulated too quickly to city demands. Continue reading BATON ROUGE BUS BOYCOTT (1953)

Revisit: MILWAUKEE RIOT (2016)

On the afternoon at 3:30 p.m. of Saturday, August 13, 2016, in the Sherman Park area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a 23-year-old black man, Sylville K. Smith, was shot and killed by a 24-year-old black police officer. Smith, along with another 23-year-old male, were pulled over by two officers.  They then fled from the vehicle, causing an on-foot chase. During the chase, Smith turned around toward one of the officers while holding a handgun. Smith was told to drop then gun, and, when he didn’t, the officer shot and killed him on the scene. Continue reading Revisit: MILWAUKEE RIOT (2016)

Revisit: COCKSTOCK AFFAIR (1844)

The Cockstock Affair is argued to be the justification that white settlers used to install Oregon’s exclusion laws against African Americans in the 1840s. As the details of the Affair have been widely debated, there are different ways of interpreting the events, causes, and outcomes. That being said, the Affair is significant in understanding how whites, Natives, and blacks interacted in United States territories. Continue reading Revisit: COCKSTOCK AFFAIR (1844)