Sarah Mae Flemming Brown (June 28, 1933 – June 16, 1993[1]) was an African-American woman who was expelled from a bus in Columbia, South Carolina, seventeen months before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955. Flemming's lawsuit against the bus company played an important role later in the Parks case.
Sarah Mae Flemming was born June 28, 1933, to Mack and Rosella Goodwin Flemming in Eastover, South Carolina. She grew up on the family's 188-acre (0.76 km2) farm and completed the tenth or eleventh grade at Webber High School in Eastover before leaving school to work. She spent a year working for an uncle in Ohio before returning to South Carolina, where she moved in with a cousin and began working two jobs as a domestic worker in Columbia, South Carolina.
Civil rights activismedit
On June 22, 1954,[2] Flemming boarded a bus to go to work. She took the only empty seat, which she believed began the rows in which black riders were allowed to sit. The driver challenged her for sitting in a "white-only" section and because she was so humiliated, she signaled to get off at the next stop. The bus driver blocked her attempt to exit through the front of the bus and punched her in the stomach as he ordered her out the rear door.[3]
Local civil rights activists heard of ordeal and enlisted attorney Phillip Wittenberg, a white attorney in Columbia, to represent her. Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas[4] was filed on July 21, 1954, in U.S. District Court. The allegation was that Flemming's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection had been violated. On February 16, 1955, Federal District Judge George Bell Timmerman, Sr. dismissed the case. Ms. Flemming appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and her case was argued on June 21, 1955. The Fourth Circuit reversed Judge Timmerman on July 14, 1955, and remanded the case for further proceedings.[5]
SCE&G appealed the decision of the Appeals Court. On April 23, 1956, the United States Supreme Court refused to review the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision[6][7] and on June 13, 1956, Judge Timmerman dismissed the case once again. Mr. Wittenberg decided not to handle a second appeal and turned the case over to Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP. For the third trial, Lincoln Jenkins, Jr. and Matthew J. Perry represented Ms. Flemming and the jury quickly found in the bus company's favor, but by that time the Montgomery bus boycott and the decision in Browder v. Gayle had been rendered, so a third appeal was not filed.
Later lifeedit
During her legal case, Sarah Mae Flemming married John Brown of Gaston County, North Carolina. The couple had three children.
Sarah Mae Flemming Brown died of a heart attack brought on by diabetes on June 16, 1993, just before her 60th birthday. She was buried in the Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery in Eastover, South Carolina.
In 2005, a documentary entitled Before Rosa: The Unsung Contribution Of Sarah Mae Flemming aired on PBS stations across the United States.[8]
Further readingedit
Burke, William Lewis; Gergel, Belinda, eds. (2004). "Before Rosa Parks: The Case of Sarah Mae Flemming". Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN1-57003-534-2.
Referencesedit
^Birth and death dates from Social Security Death Index for Sarah M. Brown, deceased 1993 with last residence of Eastover, South Carolina.
^"Civil Rights Timeline". www.columbiasc63.com. Columbia SC 63. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
^Brewer, Frenche (January 2, 2013). "USC historians want South Carolinians to know their civil rights history". University of South Carolina. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
^Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, vol. 224, 1955, p. 752, retrieved 2020-04-08
^Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas Company, 224 F.2d 752 (1955).
^"Bus Segregation Litigation Goes Back to Districts". Wilmington Morning Star. AP. 1956-04-26. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
^South Carolina Elec. & Gas Co. v. Flemming, 351 U.S. 901, 76 S.Ct. 692, 100 L.Ed. 1439 (1956).
^"Film hails Sarah Mae Flemming". The State. 2005-04-07. p. A1. "Before Rosa" airs at 10 p.m. and explains how - 17 months before Rosa Parks took her stand against segregation on city buses in Montgomery, Ala. -Flemming challenged segregation on SCE&G buses in Columbia.
February 16, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sarah Mae Flemming news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sarah Mae Flemming Brown June 28 1933 June 16 1993 1 was an African American woman who was expelled from a bus in Columbia South Carolina seventeen months before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955 Flemming s lawsuit against the bus company played an important role later in the Parks case Sarah Mae Flemming BrownBornSarah Mae Flemming 1933 06 28 June 28 1933Eastover South CarolinaDiedEastover South CarolinaResting placeEastover South CarolinaOccupationDomestic workerKnown forCivil Rights ActivismSpouseJohn BrownChildren3 Contents 1 Early life 2 Civil rights activism 3 Later life 4 Further reading 5 ReferencesEarly life editSarah Mae Flemming was born June 28 1933 to Mack and Rosella Goodwin Flemming in Eastover South Carolina She grew up on the family s 188 acre 0 76 km2 farm and completed the tenth or eleventh grade at Webber High School in Eastover before leaving school to work She spent a year working for an uncle in Ohio before returning to South Carolina where she moved in with a cousin and began working two jobs as a domestic worker in Columbia South Carolina Civil rights activism editOn June 22 1954 2 Flemming boarded a bus to go to work She took the only empty seat which she believed began the rows in which black riders were allowed to sit The driver challenged her for sitting in a white only section and because she was so humiliated she signaled to get off at the next stop The bus driver blocked her attempt to exit through the front of the bus and punched her in the stomach as he ordered her out the rear door 3 Local civil rights activists heard of ordeal and enlisted attorney Phillip Wittenberg a white attorney in Columbia to represent her Flemming v South Carolina Electric and Gas 4 was filed on July 21 1954 in U S District Court The allegation was that Flemming s Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection had been violated On February 16 1955 Federal District Judge George Bell Timmerman Sr dismissed the case Ms Flemming appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and her case was argued on June 21 1955 The Fourth Circuit reversed Judge Timmerman on July 14 1955 and remanded the case for further proceedings 5 SCE amp G appealed the decision of the Appeals Court On April 23 1956 the United States Supreme Court refused to review the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision 6 7 and on June 13 1956 Judge Timmerman dismissed the case once again Mr Wittenberg decided not to handle a second appeal and turned the case over to Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP For the third trial Lincoln Jenkins Jr and Matthew J Perry represented Ms Flemming and the jury quickly found in the bus company s favor but by that time the Montgomery bus boycott and the decision in Browder v Gayle had been rendered so a third appeal was not filed Later life editDuring her legal case Sarah Mae Flemming married John Brown of Gaston County North Carolina The couple had three children Sarah Mae Flemming Brown died of a heart attack brought on by diabetes on June 16 1993 just before her 60th birthday She was buried in the Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery in Eastover South Carolina In 2005 a documentary entitled Before Rosa The Unsung Contribution Of Sarah Mae Flemming aired on PBS stations across the United States 8 Further reading editBurke William Lewis Gergel Belinda eds 2004 Before Rosa Parks The Case of Sarah Mae Flemming Matthew J Perry The Man His Times and His Legacy University of South Carolina Press ISBN 1 57003 534 2 References edit Birth and death dates from Social Security Death Index for Sarah M Brown deceased 1993 with last residence of Eastover South Carolina Civil Rights Timeline www columbiasc63 com Columbia SC 63 Retrieved 9 May 2017 Brewer Frenche January 2 2013 USC historians want South Carolinians to know their civil rights history University of South Carolina Retrieved 31 December 2015 Flemming v South Carolina Electric and Gas Company vol 224 1955 p 752 retrieved 2020 04 08 Flemming v South Carolina Electric and Gas Company 224 F 2d 752 1955 Bus Segregation Litigation Goes Back to Districts Wilmington Morning Star AP 1956 04 26 Retrieved 2014 05 12 South Carolina Elec amp Gas Co v Flemming 351 U S 901 76 S Ct 692 100 L Ed 1439 1956 Film hails Sarah Mae Flemming The State 2005 04 07 p A1 Before Rosa airs at 10 p m and explains how 17 months before Rosa Parks took her stand against segregation on city buses in Montgomery Ala Flemming challenged segregation on SCE amp G buses in Columbia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sarah Mae Flemming amp oldid 1162510156, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
