Baton Rouge bus boycott was a historic boycott launched on June 19, 1953 by the African-American residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prior to the boycott, black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus, even when the front of the bus was empty. Blacks made up about 80% of the ridership in the early 1950s and laws on the books prohibited black citizens from owning their own buses. Black riders were forced to sit or stand in the back of the bus, even when the front of the bus, which was reserved for whites, was empty. Demands for black riders to ride in the front of the bus, but still refrain from sitting next to whites, was supported by the City Council initially, and led to the passing of Ordinance 222. However, the all-white fleet of bus drivers refused to enforce the ordinance a