New Orleans Public Service Streetcar Bench with Colored Segregation Sign

Old streeetcar bench on display at the Historic New Orleans Collection. In the bench is a sign reading "FOR COLORED PATRONS ONLY". The sign would read "FOR WHITE PATRONS ONLY" on the opposite side. These signs could be attached to the tops of the streetcar benches, moved forward or backwards according to quantity of streetcar riders in the segregated categories. The "Colored" always rode in the back. In the later part of the 19th century the Louisiana State Legislature passed a law that "white" and "colored" transit passengers had to be separated from each other by "screens"; the signs were therefore always referred to as "screens" in order to comply with the letter of the law. Bench circa 1920; sign c. 1945.