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Irene Amos Morgan (April 9, 1917 – August 10, 2007), later known as Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, was an African-American woman from Baltimore, Maryland, who was arrested in Middlesex County, Virginia, in 1944 under a state law imposing racial segregation in public facilities and transportation. She was traveling on an interstate bus that operated under federal law and regulations. She refused to give up her seat in what the driver said was the "white section". At the time she worked for a defense contractor on the production line for B-26 Marauders.
Morgan consulted with attorneys to appeal her conviction and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund took up her case. She was represented by William H. Hastie, the former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and later a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Thurgood Marshall, legal counsel of the NAACP, her case, Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946), was appealed to the United States Supreme Court. In 1946 in a landmark decision, the Court ruled that the Virginia law was unconstitutional, as the Commerce clause protected interstate traffic. But neither Virginia nor other states observed the ruling and it was not enforced for decades.
Morgan consulted with attorneys to appeal her conviction and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund took up her case. She was represented by William H. Hastie, the former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and later a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Thurgood Marshall, legal counsel of the NAACP, her case, Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946), was appealed to the United States Supreme Court. In 1946 in a landmark decision, the Court ruled that the Virginia law was unconstitutional, as the Commerce clause protected interstate traffic. But neither Virginia nor other states observed the ruling and it was not enforced for decades.
Irene Morgan - Wikipedia
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Irene Morgan-African American History
Civil Rights figure Irene Morgan's Dedication of Historical Marker. Ms. Morgan helped desegregate busing in America.
Thanks Maj Marty Hogan for letting us know that April 9 is the anniversary of the birth of African-American woman from Baltimore, Maryland Irene Amos Morgan who was arrested in Middlesex County, Virginia, in 1944 under a state law imposing racial segregation in public facilities and transportation.
It is very sad that she was arrested and thankfully the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1946 ruled that the Virginia law was unconstitutional, as the Commerce clause protected interstate traffic.
Background from lva.virginia.gov/public/trailblazers/2012/?bio=morgan
"Irene Amos Morgan (1917–2007)
Gloucester County
PRINCIPAL IN A CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
Irene Amos Morgan (April 9, 1917–August 10, 2007) left her mother's house in Gloucester County on July 16, 1944, to ride the bus to Baltimore to see her doctor. When more white passengers got on in Middlesex County, the driver asked her to stand to allow the white people to sit. She refused, and the bus driver had her arrested. A court convicted Morgan of violating a 1930 Virginia law requiring separation of white and black passengers. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld Morgan's conviction. With assistance from attorneys of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Morgan appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 3, 1946, the Court ruled in the case of Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia that the Virginia law placed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. Thurgood Marshall, who later served on the Court, declared that Morgan's victory was "a decisive blow to the evil of segregation and all that it stands for."
Irene Morgan's husband died in 1948, and she later married Stanley Kirkaldy and lived in New York, where she ran a child-care center. She graduated from Saint John's University in 1985 and received a master's degree from Queens College in 1990. In 2000 the county of Gloucester honored her during its 350th anniversary celebration, and in January 2001 the president of the United States awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal in recognition of her courage and the importance of her actions.
Nominated by Alyssa Murray's and Kerri Black's fourth-grade students (2010–2011), John B. Cary Elementary School, Richmond"
Irene Morgan-African American History
Civil Rights figure Irene Morgan's Dedication of Historical Marker. Ms. Morgan helped desegregate busing in America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzg53dLS36c
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright
It is very sad that she was arrested and thankfully the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1946 ruled that the Virginia law was unconstitutional, as the Commerce clause protected interstate traffic.
Background from lva.virginia.gov/public/trailblazers/2012/?bio=morgan
"Irene Amos Morgan (1917–2007)
Gloucester County
PRINCIPAL IN A CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
Irene Amos Morgan (April 9, 1917–August 10, 2007) left her mother's house in Gloucester County on July 16, 1944, to ride the bus to Baltimore to see her doctor. When more white passengers got on in Middlesex County, the driver asked her to stand to allow the white people to sit. She refused, and the bus driver had her arrested. A court convicted Morgan of violating a 1930 Virginia law requiring separation of white and black passengers. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld Morgan's conviction. With assistance from attorneys of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Morgan appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 3, 1946, the Court ruled in the case of Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia that the Virginia law placed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. Thurgood Marshall, who later served on the Court, declared that Morgan's victory was "a decisive blow to the evil of segregation and all that it stands for."
Irene Morgan's husband died in 1948, and she later married Stanley Kirkaldy and lived in New York, where she ran a child-care center. She graduated from Saint John's University in 1985 and received a master's degree from Queens College in 1990. In 2000 the county of Gloucester honored her during its 350th anniversary celebration, and in January 2001 the president of the United States awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal in recognition of her courage and the importance of her actions.
Nominated by Alyssa Murray's and Kerri Black's fourth-grade students (2010–2011), John B. Cary Elementary School, Richmond"
Irene Morgan-African American History
Civil Rights figure Irene Morgan's Dedication of Historical Marker. Ms. Morgan helped desegregate busing in America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzg53dLS36c
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright
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