On April 18, 1941, New York City bus companies agreed to hire Black drivers and mechanics following a powerful four-week boycott organized by Black residents and civil rights groups. The boycott was a direct response to discriminatory hiring practices that excluded African Americans from transit jobs despite labor shortages and public funding. Led by community organizers and supported by churches and labor unions, the protest gained citywide momentum. The successful agreement marked one of the earliest organized economic protests in the northern U.S. that directly resulted in expanded employment opportunities for Black workers in public services.
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