Highlands/Perkins in Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
A Bench By The Road
Photographed By Cajun Scrambler, May 5, 2018
1. A Bench By The Road Marker
There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves; nothing that reminds us of the ones who made the journey and of those who did not make it. There is no suitable memorial or plaque or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby. There's no three-hundred-foot tower. There's no small bench by the road.
The Bench by the Road Project was launched by the Toni Morrison Society in honor of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. This Bench honors the civil rights leaders, activists, and organizations of South Baton Rouge, an African American community whose residents continuously fought against racial injustices throughout the twentieth century. The highly successful Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, organized in 1953 by the Reverend T.J. Jemison to protest racial segregation on Baton Rouge city buses, would serve as template for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery Improvement Association, when planning their 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott only two short years later. The South Baton Rouge residents are rarely recognized as individuals whose efforts provided a model for one of the most effective protest strategies used during the Civil Rights Movement. The Baton Rouge Bus Boycott demonstrated the power
this page online
Erected 2016 by The Bench By The Road Project.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights.
Location. 30° 26.04′ N, 91° 10.728′ W. Marker is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is in Highlands/Perkins. Marker is at the intersection of Thomas H. Delpit Drive and Louise Street, on the right when traveling south on Thomas H. Delpit Drive. Located in front of the McKinley High School Alumni Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1520 Thomas H Delpit Drive, Baton Rouge LA 70802, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Spanish-American War Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); School For The Deaf (approx. 0.6 miles away); Stories of City Park (approx. 0.7 miles away); William Bartram Trail (approx. 0.7 miles away); Beauregard Town (approx. 0.7 miles away); Historic City Park Golf Course (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named William Bartram Trail (approx. 0.8 miles away); Civil War Battle (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baton Rouge.
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Photographed By Cajun Scrambler, May 5, 2018
2. A Bench By The Road Marker
Also see . . . Bench By The Road Histories. (Submitted on May 5, 2018.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 343 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 5, 2018.
