By james art 
Baton Rouge – More than 70 years ago, Baton Rouge Bus Prodled’s boycott for later boycotts such as the famous Montgomery Bus boycott, which played a decisive role in civil rights.
Florence Porter turned 12 in the summer, the boycott took place in 1953.
“It made you feel less than man. This made you feel as if you didn’t matter, “said Porter, a native of Baton Rouge.
In early 1953, bus tariffs increased and many black people upset. Reverend TJ Jemison, Pastor at the Baptist Church of Mt. Zion, was one of the leaders who pulled away against riding rules.
Porter said she remembered that she was present at one of the mass meetings at Zion Peak. She said the children even joined adults at the planning meeting.
“Mt. Zion Sanctuary will be crowded with black people. My mother and my father brought my brother and me. They have never said it, but this is something they consider historical, “Porter said.
In June 1953, the boycott continued a week. Black people did not ride on the bus and instead took advantage of “free ride” vehicles or walked.
“I could see black people walk with heads held high. I remember G -Ia Aida Freeman. D -Ja Freeman had just received a brand new Cadillac and she used this to transport people wherever they went, and that was a good feeling, “Porter said.
The short boycott eventually caught the attention of Martin Luther King, Jr., and he became the basis of a boycott of the bus in Montgomery since 1955, he was helping to organize other civil rights leaders.
“God had someone who saw what had happened here, like Dr. King saw what had happened here and managed to use what we did as the basis for what he did,” Porter said.
Porter said the boycott had brought those who wanted change with the common goal of fighting for what was right and to create a lasting heritage.
“All this was to help my people, to make my people see themselves, to help them to be what God intended to be to be,” Porter said.