William R. "Seaborn" Saxon

William R. "Seaborn" Saxon. Civil Rights Advocate. The U.S. Supreme Court Decision Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 provided legal justification for segregation in public facilities including theaters, schools, trains, and buses. Black citizens organized during the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s to 1960s to dismantle segregation and other discriminatory laws., In 1951, 75-year-old William R. "Seabron" Saxon refused to give up his seat on a bus from Atlanta to his home in Asheville. After threats from police, Mr. Saxon relented but later a lawsuit seeking $15,000 in damages from Smoky Mountain Stages, Inc. The Asheville Citizen reported that the judge's jury instructions bypassed consideration of discrimination and unequal treatment, and the judge sided with the bus company., The judgment against Mr. Saxon delayed but did not prevent him and millions of other Black Americans from securing equal rights. Congress adopted The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin when it comes to employment, access to public places, and voting., (captions) , Top: The fight for equality didn't end after public schools in America integrated. Black students protested unequal treatment in their newly integrated Asheville High School in 1969. The students staged a walkout to show solidarity and support for the demands. ©Roger Ball/Charlotte/NC, 1940: Photo of Colored waiting area sign at a bus station in Durham, North Carolina (1940). Library of Congress, 1948 an architectural rendering of the Paramount Theater at 118 E. College Street. The front entrance, shown on the right, was for White patrons. A door shown on the other side of the building, shown on the left, was for Black patrons. Black people set in the balcony. White people set in the audience closer to the stage. renovations of the Paramount Theater, 1848, Henry Irven Gaines, Six Associates, Western Regional Archives., 1960s before integration, the Asheville colored library was the only public library available to Black Ashevillians. Irene O. Hendrick, pictured here, helping three young patrons, was The first and only librarian. She served from 1927 until 1961. The library was renamed The Eagle-Market Street Branch. Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Public Library Asheville North Carolina., 1960s Civil rights leaders met with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office of the White House after the March on Washington, D. C. Third from the left is civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. To his right is John Lewis, Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, who later served in the United States House of Representatives for 33 years. Seventh from the left is A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the demonstration and a labor leader who helped found The Brotherhood of The Sleeping Car Porters (August 28th, 1963) National Archives and Records Administration