James Frederick Blake (April 14, 1912 – March 21, 2002) was an American bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, whom Rosa Parks defied in 1955, prompting the Montgomery bus boycott. Early life [ edit ] In 1955, Rosa Parks ignited a civil rights revolution by refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Had she noticed that James Blake was behind the wheel, she might never have James F. Blake, the Montgomery, Ala., bus driver who had Rosa Parks arrested in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, has died. He was 89. Blake died of a heart attack Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was a seamstress by profession; she was also the secretary for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. Twelve years before her history-making arrest, Parks was stopped from boarding a city bus by driver James F. Blake, who ordered her to board at the rear door and then drove off without her. Parks James Fred Blake (April 14, 1912 – March 21, 2002) was an American bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, whom Rosa Parks defied in 1955, prompting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Born on April 14, 1912, Blake was drafted into the Army on December 23, 1943, at Fort McClellan in Anniston, Alabama. Montgomery bus driver James Blake ordered Parks and three other African Americans seated nearby to move ("Move y'all, I want those two seats,") to the back of the bus. Three riders complied; Parks did not. The following excerpt of what happened next is from Douglas Brinkley's 2000 Rosa Park's biography. Parks was no ordinary citizen; she was the secretary of the Montgomery NAACP and had attended trainings on civil disobedience at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. As the bus filled up along its route, the driver, James Blake, ordered Parks and three other black passengers to vacate their seats for newly boarded whites. Pierce would know. Then a 28-year-old patrol officer with Montgomery Police Department, he was the first officer to arrive on scene when bus driver James Blake called police on a black woman who refused to change seats when asked, and he’s one of two known surviving witnesses to Parks’ arrest. The driver, James Blake, demanded that she disembark and re-board at the rear of the bus. Missouri also named a portion of Interstate 55 south of St. Louis the Rosa Parks Highway -- the same On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks rejected bus driver James F. Blake's order to vacate a row of four seats in the "colored" section in favor of a white passenger, once the "white" section was filled. A police officer arrested her. He was the bus driver who on December 1, 1955, insisted that a African American woman named Rosa Parks give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white man, and move to the back of the bus. For this Rosa Parks refused and was immediately arrested after Blake contacted the police and signed a warrant for her arrest. James F. Blake, the Montgomery bus driver who ordered Rosa Parks to give up her seat to a white passenger and had her arrested when she refused, has died at the age of 89. He was the bus driver who on December 1, 1955, insisted that a African American woman named Rosa Parks give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white man, and move to the back of the bus. For this Rosa Parks refused and was immediately arrested after Blake contacted the police and signed a warrant for her arrest. James F. Blake (April 14, 1912 March 21, 2002) was the Bus driver whom Rosa Parks defied in 1955, prompting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Blake was drafted into the Army in December 23, 1943. He was enlisted and sworn in at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. His enlistment record states he was married and had "James Blake, 89; Driver Had Rosa Parks Arrested". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2023. The obituary also noted that Parks had offered her condolences to the Blake family through the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development in Detroit. "[I'm] sure his family will miss him," Parks was reported to have said in the message. In Rosa: In the opening scene, we see an altercation between Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) and bus driver James Blake (Trevor White) set in 1943. Rosa boards a bus at the front pays her fare and moves towards the ‘coloured’ section at the back, but Blake makes her get off to reboard at the rear – before shutting the doors and driving away On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation. On December 1, 1955, during a typical evening rush hour in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42-year-old woman took a seat on the bus on her way home from the Montgomery Fair department store where she worked as a seamstress. Before she reached her destination, she quietly set off a social revolution when the bus driver instructed her to move back, and she refused. Rosa Parks, an African American, was On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in by sitting down. This is the arrest report filed by the Police Department of Montgomery, Alabama. Bus driver and WWII veteran James F. Blake initiated the complaint and arrest of Parks, leading to a 381-day boycott Parks vowed to herself she would never ride with Blake again. According to Mother Parks, James Blake later said, “She ruined my life.” Several news accounts paint a picture of an embittered Blake who apparently felt he’d been maligned and misrepresented by the media. When Blake died in 2002, Mrs. Parks was asked by a reporter to comment.
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