Maryland

Irene Morgan v Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946) Morgan (1917 - 2007) worked for a defense contractor on the production line for B-26 Marauders in Baltimore, MD, supporting the World War II effort. She had been recuperating with her mother in Gloucester County, VA, after suffering a miscarriage. She wanted to return to work and needed to visit her doctor, so she boarded a Greyhound Bus bound for Baltimore, MD, on July 16, 1944. There were no Black or White seat designations on the bus, but a Black person could not sit next to or across from a White person. A White couple boarded the bus at the Middlesex County, VA, stop. The bus driver ordered Morgan and her seatmate to move. Morgan's seatmate moved, but Morgan refused. The driver got off the bus and summoned the sheriff. The sheriff presented Morgan with an arrest warrant. She tore it up and threw it out of the window. When the sheriff grabbed her to remove her, she kicked him in the groin. That sheriff left and another came on the bus. Morgan said she was going to bite him, but he looked dirty, so she clawed him instead. The sheriff said he would use his nightstick on her, and Morgan said, "We'll whip each other."