Supreme Court affirms Flemming; King states boycott will continue

April 23, 1956

In Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, the Supreme Court affirms a federal appellate court ruling striking down segregated seating on buses in Columbia, South Carolina, and making segregation on any public transportation illegal. Montgomery City Lines informs its drivers that they can no longer enforce segregation on the city buses, but Mayor Gayle announces that Montgomery will continue to enforce state and city segregation laws. Government officials throughout the South denounce the court’s decision, and C. C. Owen, president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, claims that the ruling does not apply to Alabama. In the evening, King presents the opening remarks at an MIA mass meeting at Dexter. He tells reporters that the boycott will continue until the MIA decides how to react to the court’s ruling.