TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Laura Dixie, who historians recognize as the matriarch of the Tallahassee Civil Rights Movement, has died at 92.
According to Delaitre Hollinger, a local African-American history preservationist, Dixie was one of the last living icons of the 1956 bus boycott who refused to give up her seat.
Dixie's best friend, Inez Williams, was also a participant and is still living, Hollinger says.
The boycott was initiated by Florida A&M University students Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson and was led by the Rev. C.K. Steele.
Hollinger says Dixie was a travel companion to Rev. C.K. Steele and a friend to many famous civil rights leaders.
Dixie even hosted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s when he visited Tallahassee, allowing him to stay the night in her home.
"I am thankful for having been invited into her home on numerous occasions, having had the pleasure of joining my brother, Joseph Ward to conduct a taped interview with her last year," said Hollinger.
