Arkansas General Assembly 1959 #3

Sixty years ago, the third of three Arkansas General Assemblies in the space of three years passed a final battery of pro-segregation legislation. Fifty-six pro-segregation measures were introduced, thirty made it to the governor’s desk for his signature of approval, and sixteen were signed into law. Act 81 created a bus seat numbering system that allowed intrastate bus drivers to seat passengers at their discretion based on the safety of the passengers, creating an even weight distribution, and ensuring the peace. This seemingly race neutral language disguised the act’s true intent: to allow bus drivers to maintain segregated seating based on skin color. If a passenger refused to sit in their assigned seat or to leave the bus when ordered to do so, they were subject to a fine of between $10 and $50 and/or imprisonment of no more than thirty days. Act 482 stipulated that any blood donated to a hospital or blood bank should be marked with the race of the donor, and that any person who received a blood transfusion should be notified of the race of the donor.