# Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York - Hardcover

by **Amy Hill Hearth** (Author)

**Starred reviews hail _Streetcar to Justice_ as "a** **book that belongs in any civil rights library collection" _(Publishers Weekly)_ and "completely fascinating and unique" _(Kirkus)._** **An ALA Notable Book and winner of a Septima Clark Book Award from the National Council for the Social Studies.**

Bestselling author and journalist Amy Hill Hearth uncovers the story of a little-known figure in U.S. history in this fascinating biography.

In 1854, a young African American woman named Elizabeth Jennings won a major victory against a New York City streetcar company, a first step in the process of desegregating public transportation in Manhattan.

This illuminating and important piece of the history of the fight for equal rights, illustrated with photographs and archival material from the period, will engage fans of Phillip Hoose's _Claudette Colvin_ and Steve Sheinkin's _Most Dangerous_.

One hundred years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Elizabeth Jennings's refusal to leave a segregated streetcar in the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan set into motion a major court case in New York City.

On her way to church one day in July 1854, Elizabeth Jennings was refused a seat on a streetcar. When she took her seat anyway, she was bodily removed by the conductor and a nearby police officer and returned home bruised and injured. With the support of her family, the African American abolitionist community of New York, and Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Jennings took her case to court. Represented by a young lawyer named Chester A. Arthur (a future president of the United States) she was victorious, marking a major victory in the fight to desegregate New York City's public transportation.

Amy Hill Hearth, bestselling author of _Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years_, illuminates a lesser-known benchmark in the struggle for equality in the United States, while painting a vivid picture of the diverse Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan in the mid-1800s.

_Includes sidebars, extensive illustrative material, notes, and an index._

**Number of Pages:** 160

**Dimensions:** 0.8 x 8.9 x 6.3 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** January 02, 2018

**Accelerated Reader:**

**Quiz Name:** Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York

**Interest Level:** Middle Grades, 4-8

**Reading Level:** 7.7

**Point Value:** 3

## Details

- **Price:** 19.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/streetcar-to-justice-how-elizabeth-jennings-won-the-right-to-ride-in-new-york-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-21