The former Carolina Trailways Bus Terminal, located at 1114 Roanoke Avenue, was the site of the event that lead to the United States Supreme Court case of Keys v. Carolina Coach Co..
Shortly after midnight on August 1, 1952, when the Carolina Trailways bus she was riding on pulled in, an African American woman, Sarah Keys, was forced to give up her seat and move to the so-called "colored section" in the back of the bus.
Keys refused and was arrested, charged, jailed overnight in Roanoke Rapids, and fined $25 for disorderly conduct.
 Keys v. Carolina Coach made legal history both at the time of its issuance in 1955, and again in 1961, when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy invoked it in his successful battle to end Jim Crow travel during the Freedom Riders' campaign.

The Streamline Moderne-style building was constructed in 1941 and operated as a bus station until the 1970s.
It was listed in 1998 as Contributing Property 965 in the creation of the surrounding historic district.
The former Carolina Trailways Bus Terminal, located at 1114 Roanoke Avenue, was the site of the event that lead to the United States Supreme Court case of Keys v. Carolina Coach Co..
Shortly after midnight on August 1, 1952, when the Carolina Trailways bus she was riding on pulled in, an African American woman, Sarah Keys, was forced to give up her seat and move to the so-called "colored section" in the back of the bus. Keys refused and was arrested, charged, jailed overnight in Roanoke Rapids, and fined $25 for disorderly conduct.  Keys v. Carolina Coach made legal history both at the time of its issuance in 1955, and again in 1961, when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy invoked it in his successful battle to end Jim Crow travel during the Freedom Riders' campaign.
The Streamline Moderne-style building was constructed in 1941 and operated as a bus station until the 1970s. It was listed in 1998 as Contributing Property 965 in the creation of the surrounding historic district.
Roanoke Rapids Historic District