July 6, 1944: Lieutenant Jackie Robinson Refuses to Give Up Seat on Bus -- Zinn Education Project

[ancianita]

On July 6, 1944, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson, while stationed at Camp Hood in Texas, was instructed to move to a seat farther back in the bus. Robinson refused and was court-martialed.

Robinson’s account of what happened is included in his letter to the Assistant to the Secretary of War.

The Black press gave national visibility to the story. The army was worried about bad publicity as a result of Robinson’s sports fame. The court acquitted Robinson of all charges.

Read a detailed description at Jim Crow, Meet Lieutenant Robinson: A 1944 Court-Martial by John Vernon at the National Archives. Find a collection of related stories at Transportation Protests: 1841 – 1992.

From Beverly Matthews, Durham, NC:
Important to note the history before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Two days after Jackie Robinson refused to move, Booker T. Spicely, in uniform, protested being ordered to move to the back of the bus and (when he disembarked) was SHOT AND KILLED in Durham, North Carolina. Note these incidents occurred just after INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Executive Order 9981 signed by President Harry S Truman ordering the desegregation of the US Military came over four years later, July 26, 1948.