Irene Morgan
Encyclopedia
Irene Morgan later known as Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, was an important predecessor to Rosa Parks
in the successful fight to overturn segregation
laws in the United States
. Like the more famous Parks, but eleven years earlier, in 1944, the 27-year-old Baltimore
-born African-American was arrested and jailed in Virginia
for refusing to give up her seat on an interstate Greyhound
bus to a white person. In a 1946 landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that Virginia's state law enforcing segregation on interstate buses was illegal.
, and summoned the sheriff
, who tried to arrest Morgan. She tore up the arrest warrant, kicked the sheriff in the groin and fought with the deputy who tried to drag her off the bus.
. In 1946, the justices agreed to hear the case.
Her case, Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, , was argued by William H. Hastie
, former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and later a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Thurgood Marshall
was co-counsel. The action resulted in a landmark ruling in 1946, which struck down state laws requiring segregation in situations involved interstate transportation. Hastie and Marshall used an innovative strategy to brief and argue the case. Instead of relying upon the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment
, they argued successfully that segregation on interstate travel violated the Commerce Clause
of the U.S. Constitution.
"If something happens to you which is wrong, the best thing to do is have it corrected in the best way you can," said Morgan. "The best thing for me to do was to go to the Supreme Court."
In 1960, in Boynton v. Virginia
, the Supreme Court further extended the Morgan ruling to bus terminals used in interstate bus service. Nonetheless, many African Americans were ejected or arrested when they tried to integrate such facilities as Southern states refused to obey Morgan v. Virginia.
, during which 16 activists from the Chicago-based Congress of Racial Equality
rode on interstate buses through the Upper South to test the enforcement of the Supreme Court's ruling. The activists divided themselves between Greyhound and Trailways bus lines and usually rode with an interracial pair in the white-area of the bus, with the other activists disguised as disinterested observers in the racial sections that applied to them. The group traveled uneventfully through Virginia, but once they reached North Carolina
they encountered violence and arrests. By the end of the Journey, the protesters had conducted over 24 "tests" and endured 12 arrests and dangerous mob violence. Famous civil rights activist Bayard Rustin
, in a flagrant violation of the Irene Morgan decision, was sentenced to 22 days on a chain gang in North Carolina for his participation in the Journey. The 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, far ahead of its time in its use of tactics of nonviolent direct action, inspired the highly publicized Freedom Rides of 1961, also organized by CORE.
In 2000 Morgan, who by then was in her 80s, was honored by Gloucester County, Virginia
during its 350th anniversary celebration. In 2001, President Bill Clinton
awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal
.
She died on August 10, 2007, in Gloucester County at her daughter's home. She was 90 years old.
She was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
.
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
in the successful fight to overturn segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
laws in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Like the more famous Parks, but eleven years earlier, in 1944, the 27-year-old Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-born African-American was arrested and jailed in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
for refusing to give up her seat on an interstate Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus to a white person. In a 1946 landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that Virginia's state law enforcing segregation on interstate buses was illegal.
Arrest, jail and conviction
The bus driver stopped in Middlesex County, VirginiaMiddlesex County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,932 people, 4,253 households, and 2,913 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 6,362 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
, and summoned the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, who tried to arrest Morgan. She tore up the arrest warrant, kicked the sheriff in the groin and fought with the deputy who tried to drag her off the bus.
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case
Irene Morgan appealed her case on the conviction for violating the segregation laws. After exhausting appeals in state courts, she and her lawyers appealed her conviction on constitutional grounds all the way to the U.S. Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. In 1946, the justices agreed to hear the case.
Her case, Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, , was argued by William H. Hastie
William H. Hastie
William Henry Hastie, Jr. was an American, lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans...
, former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and later a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
was co-counsel. The action resulted in a landmark ruling in 1946, which struck down state laws requiring segregation in situations involved interstate transportation. Hastie and Marshall used an innovative strategy to brief and argue the case. Instead of relying upon the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, they argued successfully that segregation on interstate travel violated the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
of the U.S. Constitution.
"If something happens to you which is wrong, the best thing to do is have it corrected in the best way you can," said Morgan. "The best thing for me to do was to go to the Supreme Court."
In 1960, in Boynton v. Virginia
Boynton v. Virginia
Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case overturned a judgment convicting an African American law student for trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal which was "whites only." It held that racial segregation in public...
, the Supreme Court further extended the Morgan ruling to bus terminals used in interstate bus service. Nonetheless, many African Americans were ejected or arrested when they tried to integrate such facilities as Southern states refused to obey Morgan v. Virginia.
Journey of Reconciliation
Morgan's case inspired the 1947 Journey of ReconciliationJourney of Reconciliation
The Journey of Reconciliation was a form of non-violent direct action to challenge segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States....
, during which 16 activists from the Chicago-based Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
rode on interstate buses through the Upper South to test the enforcement of the Supreme Court's ruling. The activists divided themselves between Greyhound and Trailways bus lines and usually rode with an interracial pair in the white-area of the bus, with the other activists disguised as disinterested observers in the racial sections that applied to them. The group traveled uneventfully through Virginia, but once they reached North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
they encountered violence and arrests. By the end of the Journey, the protesters had conducted over 24 "tests" and endured 12 arrests and dangerous mob violence. Famous civil rights activist Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
, in a flagrant violation of the Irene Morgan decision, was sentenced to 22 days on a chain gang in North Carolina for his participation in the Journey. The 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, far ahead of its time in its use of tactics of nonviolent direct action, inspired the highly publicized Freedom Rides of 1961, also organized by CORE.
Legacy
"When something's wrong, it's wrong. It needs to be corrected," said Morgan years later. Morgan's story has been mostly overlooked by history books, but 1995, when she appeared in a public television documentary about her case and the Journey of Reconciliation, she did receive some honors.In 2000 Morgan, who by then was in her 80s, was honored by Gloucester County, Virginia
Gloucester County, Virginia
Gloucester County is within the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area in the USA. Formed in 1651 in the Virginia Colony, the county was named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I of Great Britain. Located in the Middle Peninsula region, it...
during its 350th anniversary celebration. In 2001, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal
Presidential Citizens Medal
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded by the President of the United States, and may be given posthumously....
.
She died on August 10, 2007, in Gloucester County at her daughter's home. She was 90 years old.
She was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
.
See also
- Elizabeth Jennings GrahamElizabeth Jennings GrahamElizabeth Jennings Graham was a black woman who lived in New York City. She figured in an important early civil rights case, when she insisted on her right to ride on a streetcar in 1854.-Early life:...
- John Mitchell, Jr. (editor)John Mitchell, Jr. (editor)John Mitchell, Jr. was an African American businessman, politician, and newspaper editor.Mitchell was a civic leader and civil rights activist in Richmond, Virginia’s Jackson Ward community, a neighborhood of free African Americans and freed slaves which became known as the “Black Wall Street of...
- Montgomery Bus BoycottMontgomery Bus BoycottThe Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
- Claudette ColvinClaudette ColvinClaudette Colvin is a pioneer of the African-American civil rights movement. She was the first person to resist bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, preceding the better known Rosa Parks incident by nine months. The court case stemming from her refusal to give up her seat on the bus, decided by...
- Mary Louise SmithMary Louise SmithMary Louise Smith is a civil rights protester. She is famous as one of the pre-Rosa Parks women who refused to give up their seat in the "whites only" section of Montgomery, Alabama city buses. She was 18 years old when she was arrested.Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Smith has lived there since...
- Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
- Martin Luther King Jr.