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JEANERETTE, La. --- The Jeanerette Museum is hosting a public film viewing of the one hour documentary, Signpost to Freedom: The 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, at 6 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 11 at 500 E. Main St.
The film, produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, recounts the circumstances and events that led to the nation's first large-scale boycott protesting segregation and then examines its impact on the evolution of grassroots civil rights activism across the country during the early years of America's Civil Rights Movement.
In 1953, led by a handful of determined young men and women, the African American citizens of Louisiana's capital city led a quiet revolt. Nearly three years before the famous bus boycott in Montgomery paralyzed that city and captured national attention, the African American citizens of Baton Rouge organized the nation's first large-scale boycott challenging segregation.
The city's black residents pulled together in solidarity to make the boycott effective, organizing an intricate carpool system. In just eight days they brought the city's bus system to its knees.
This boycott would become a defining moment in the birth of America's struggle over civil rights. In years to come, lessons about the boycott's successes and failures would provide momentum for the social revolution igniting throughout the South.
Signpost features interviews with eminent civil rights scholars and the personal stories of the boycott's primary participants and witnesses. Rare archival photographs, film footage, and newspaper articles help in presenting a complete and accurate presentation of the boycott's history.
For more information on this free program suitable for an adult audience, contact the Jeanerette Museum Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 337-276-4408, visit their webpage at JeaneretteMuseum.com; e-mail [email protected] or like the museum on Facebook.
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