Bayard Rustin Will Sue Southern Railway, Minneapolis Spokesman (Article, 1947)
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Bayard Rustin Will Sue Southern Railway
NEW YORK (NNPA)--Bayard Rustin, race relations secretary of the Fellowshipp of Reconciliation, said last Wednesday that he will bring suit against the Southern railway for its refusal to serve him at a vacant table which he occupied in a dining car for six hours last Sunday while traveling from Washington D.C., to Knoxville, Tenn.
Taking a seat at a vacant table in the middle of the car, Rustin ignored the rule of the Southern providing for the serving of colored travelers at only one table behind curtains in the diner.
After successfully resisting threats of arrest at each stop the train made and delaying service to other diners, when the train reached Knoxville Rustin was still occupying the seat he had taken but had gone without breakfast.
Rustin will speak at 7:45 p.m. today at the Minneapolis YWCA.
