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 ] 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 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 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. James F. Blake, the Montgomery, Ala., bus driver who arrested Rosa Parks in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, has died. He was 89. On 1 December 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give her bus seat to a white passenger. As the bus filled up, the bus driver James Blake demanded that she 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. On this day in 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., Rosa Parks, an African-American, rejected bus driver James Blake’s order to relinquish her seat in the “colored section” to a white passenger, after The bus driver, James Blake, noticed and asked Parks and other black passengers in the middle section to move. By the terms of Alabama segregation, all four Black people in the row Parks was seated in would have to get up so one man could sit down. Montgomery bus drivers carried guns. No one moved. "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. 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 bus driver who asked Rosa Parks to move to the back of the bus talks about that historic day. 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. 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 On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa 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. 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 It was James Blake’s bus, but now, it is the Rosa Parks bus. Actually, it became the Rosa Parks bus in 1971, when its owners confirmed its power by trying to destroy it. Hubert Summerford and Vivian and Donnie Williams saved the icon by hiding it in plain sight. Like Rosa Parks, it is unremarkable in appearance, yet spiritual in effect. 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. TIL about James F. Blake, the bus driver that tried to make Rosa Parks move out of her seat.
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