State Historical Society of Iowa

"Street Automobile Line," Newspaper Article, September 29, 1905

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In its September 29, 1905 edition, the Iowa State Bystander  published an article that reported the establishment of a new street automobile line by African-Americans in Nashville, Tennessee. It was created as a way to boycott the city’s Jim Crow streetcar laws that segregated white from African-American passengers.
Courtesy of Library of Congress, "Street Automobile Line," Iowa State Bystander, pp. 1, 29 September 1905

Description

In its September 29, 1905, edition, the Iowa State Bystander published an article that reported the establishment of a new street automobile line by African Americans in Nashville, Tennessee. It was created as a way to boycott the city's Jim Crow streetcar laws that segregated whites from African-American passengers. 

Transcript of "Street Automobile Line" Newspaper Article

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Source-Dependent Questions

  • How did African Americans in Nashville, Tennessee, respond to the city's law that segregated streetcars?
  • To what extent was this response successful? Consider, would the company organized by Nashville's African Americans be achieving "equal rights with the whites as passengers" with such a response?
  • Would it help their cause to allow white passengers to ride in the vehicles of their newly formed company? Why or why not?

Citation Information 

"Street Automobile Line," Iowa State Bystander, pp. 1, 29 September 1905. Courtesy of Library of Congress