He did something that very few people would have the courage to do. He said no. To me he's on par with Rosa Parks. All he wanted was a cheeseburger, and he changed the course of history.
― District Judge Myron Thompson about Boynton.
Bruce Carver Boynton (June 19, 1937 – November 23, 2020) was a highly influential civil rights activist who campaigned for equal rights for African-Americans during the twentieth century. He is known for bringing Boynton v. Virginia to the United States Supreme Court, reaffirming the court's 1956 ruling that racial segregation on public transport was unconstitutional.
Activism[]
Boynton's interest in civil rights activism began at an early age. His mother Amelia was a frequent attendee of civil rights marches and was once beaten by racist cops at a 1965 demonstration.
In 1958, two years after Rosa Parks had gotten the Supreme Court to rule that public transport could not be segregated, Boynton entered a restaurant at a bus station and ordered a cheeseburger. He had sat down in a whites-only section and was told to leave the premises. He refused, and the police were called. Boynton was arrested for trespassing and spent the night in jail.
As a student of law, Boynton decided to challenge his arrest in court. He later appealed to the Supreme Court following his conviction being upheld. The court overturned Boynton's conviction and reaffirmed the idea that segregation on public transport is illegal. This ruling inspired the Freedom Riders, who made a point of riding illegally segregated buses to protest segregation.
Boynton gained an Alabama law license in 1965; he spent his career arguing civil rights cases. Boynton also served as Alabama's first black special prosecutor. He died of cancer in 2020. Boynton is survived by his daughter Ann.