Irene Morgan Kirkaldy was from Baltimore, Maryland. She was arrested in Middlesex County, Virginia, in 1944, under a state law imposing racial segregation in public facilities and transportation. Her "rights activism" inspired equal rights on public transportation. It began when she refused to give up her seat in the white section on a Greyhound bus. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund took her case. Thurgood Marshall was involved as lead counsel. Ms. Kirkaldy took her case to the Supreme Court and won. Her case inspired the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation. Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia was instrumental to furthering court rulings on the issue during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, Rosa Parks faced the same racist issue and she followed Kirkaldy's stance by famously refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Morgan Kirkaldy was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Church Affiliation:Seventh-day Adventist Church
Role in the Movement:Irene Morgan Kirkaldy was arrested in Middlesex County, Virginia, under a state law imposing racial segregation in public facilities and transportation.
Birth Place:Baltimore, MD
Born Date:April 9, 1917
Deceased Date:August 10, 2007
Place Lived as Adult:Baltimore, MD
Church Location:Glouceter County, VA