Martha White dies, sparked ’53 Louisiana capital bus boycott

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Martha White, a Black woman known for helping to launch the 1953 bus boycotts in Louisiana’s capital city, has died. She was 99. Family and officials confirmed White died Saturday. White was working as a housekeeper in 1953 in Baton Rouge when she decided to sit in one of the only bus seats available — a seat designated for white passengers. She said she was tired from being on her feet all day. And when ordered by the driver to get up, she refused. Her action helped frame efforts later sparked by Rosa Parks that led to the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott in 1955.