John W. Fields
1871: John W. Fields vs. Baltimore City Passenger Railroad Company
Fields, a Black barber, was forced off a Baltimore City Passenger Railroad Company (BCPR) train in 1871. The reason: he sat in a car that did not have a sign permitting Black passengers to ride.
The excerpt from a Baltimore Sun article about the case explains that Fields paid his fare but was forced off the car with his money thrown after him. Three witnesses testified in Fields's defense: there were far less Black cars than white, Black people often had to wait hours for a car; white passenger routinely sat in Black cars anyway. The article notes that one witness was Black, but does not specify the others' races, suggesting that they were white.
The Sun, November 11, 1871: Local Matters
Screenshot: America's Historical Newspapers
The Sun, November 14, 1871: Local Matters
Screenshot: America's Historical Newspapers
By November 14, the case was decided in Fields' favor. He won damages, and the BCPR was forced to let Black passengers ride in any cars that white passengers sat in, so long as their fare covered it. The article notes that the cars' segregation signs were removed within the day. It ends on a positive: "[Black passengers] were received as passengers in all the cars, without any discrimination, throughout the day."