Lillie Mae Bradford was arrested for:
3. For sitting in the "wrong" part of the bus.
In 1951, afro-american citizens were segregated in many public places, one of them the buses. They were supposed to sit in the back of the bus, leaving the front available for white people. Bradford was arrested for breaking this rule while asking the driver to charge her the right price for the trip, which was too high. She was asked twice to go to the back of the bus without her request so, as a protest, she sat in front. Bradford was charged of disorderly conduct. Though a neighbor bailed her, the criminal record followed her for life as an obstacle to find a job.
