James F. Blake
| James Blake | |
|---|---|
| Born |
James Fred Blake April 14, 1912 |
| Died | March 21, 2002 (aged 89) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Bus driver (1943–1974) |
| Employer | Montgomery City Bus Lines |
| Known for | The main cause of the Montgomery Bus Boycott as he called the police on Rosa Parks as she refused to give her seat up to a white man |
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 attended 1 year of high school. Blake also had previous experience in chauffeuring, truck, and tractor driving. He served for five years in active duty during the European theatre during World War II.
He worked as a bus driver for Montgomery City Bus Lines until 1974. After he retired, he became a member of The Morningview Baptist church. The children's pastor, Kem Holley, commented on his passing: "Mr. Blake was a kind and gracious man, always had a smile on his face and always loved everybody. She also remarked that, "I know that a lot of people make a big deal out of [Parks' arrest], but Mr. Blake grew with the times, and he loved everybody.""
Previous to Rosa Parks' arrest, a young woman by the name of Claudette Colvin was likewise arrested for not giving her seat up for a white passenger. Montgomery's black leaders were preparing to make a case against racial discrimination, but it was discovered that Colvin was in fact pregnant. She was deemed unfit to be used as a figurehead in the eventual Civil Rights Movement, giving room for Rosa Parks to be the pinnacle and central case against Alabama's Jim Crow laws and eventual bus boycotting.
Twelve years prior to the 1955 incident, on her way to register to vote, Parks boarded a bus driven by Blake. She entered the front door of the bus and paid her fare. As she continued on to take a seat, Blake told her to disembark and enter the bus again from the back door, a rule imposed by some drivers that was sometimes followed by the bus leaving before they could get back on. She got off and waited for the next bus, swearing to herself she would never ride with Blake again (though she forgot to check who was driving 12 years later).
Twelve years later, they encountered each other again on December 1, 1955, when Blake ordered Rosa Parks and three other black people to move from the middle to the back of his Cleveland Avenue bus (number 2857) in order to make room for a white male passenger. By Parks' account, Blake said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." When she refused, Blake first contacted the bus company and called his boss remarking, "I called the company first, just like I was supposed to do," Blake recalled in a later interview with the Washington Post. "I got my supervisor on the line. He said, 'Did you warn her, Jim?' I said, 'I warned her.' And he said, and I remember it just like I'm standing here, 'Well then, Jim, you do it, you got to exercise your powers and put her off, hear?' And that's just what I did."
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