Irene Morgan, a black Virginian, was on a packed Greyhound bus en route to Baltimore, Maryland in July 1944. Ordered by the driver to give up her seat in the “colored” section to a white passenger, she not only refused but also resisted. She was arrested, convicted, and fined.

Morgan secured counsel. Richmond NAACP attorney Spottswood W. Robinson (1916–98) filed her case. However, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the fine. Robinson appealed its decision and the US Supreme Court consented to review it. He, Thurgood Marshall, and William Hastie presented the oral argument. They argued that Virginia's separate seating statute was an illegal burden on American commerce. Segregation laws also differed by state, so varying racial restrictions would be imposed. By a 7–2 majority the Court concurred, ruled for Morgan, and disallowed segregation on interstate buses. The Fellowship of Reconciliation launched a 1947 interracial journey to test compliance with Morgan.