Lizzie demands a seat! / Anderson, Beth

"One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race--even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her case to court-- where future president Chester Arthur represented her-- and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent"--OCLC.

In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation.