Irish Examiner view: Simple act of defiance helped to spark US civil rights movement

Martha White, whose actions helped to launch the 1953 bus boycotts in Louisiana, has died aged 99

Martha White, seen here at a Women of Courage luncheon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2005, has died aged 99. Picture: Carol Anne Blitzer/The Advocate via AP

Many Irish people familiar with the civil rights movement in the US will have heard of Rosa Parks, the woman who inspired a segregated bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. They may not, however, be as familiar with Martha White, a black woman whose actions helped to launch the 1953 bus boycotts in Louisiana and who has died aged 99.

Ms White, then 23, was working as a housekeeper in the city of Baton Rouge in 1953 when she decided to sit in one of the only bus seats available — one designated for white passengers. She remained there despite being threatened by the bus driver and the police.