Two Black Men Asked To Move To The Back Of The Bus By White Bus Driver In 2023

They say history repeats itself, and that’s exactly what happened to two Black men trying to get home from work on a public bus.

Minnesota natives Jarvis Greenhill and Xavier Davis claim a bus driver ordered them to sit in the back of an empty bus on July 13, the Inforum reports, and they still wonder why. The two passengers showed their tickets to the Jefferson Lines bus driver as they headed to downtown Fargo, North Dakota. Moments later, Greenhill and Davis, who were meeting for the first time, were asked to move. “I’ve seen it on TV. I’ve seen it in the history books, but I never actually had a white person tell me to go to the back,” Davis said. “Two Black guys just so happened to be getting on the bus together. This is a true story in 2023.”

Davis recorded the incident shortly after they were told to move to the back, and the driver was identified as Koby McFarlane, who has worked for the bus company since 2022. He claimed his instructions followed protocol as he typically loads passengers from rear to front and even threatened to call the police if they didn’t comply. “Take your seat before I have you arrested,” the driver can be heard shouting. As both Davis and Greenhill are frequent passengers of the bus line, they both say they’ve never heard of that before. “I don’t want to get wrapped up in that Black Lives Matter deal,” Greenhill said. “This is just human decency. I am just dumbfounded.”

The incident has prompted an investigation within the bus company as Jefferson Lines Director of Sales Kevin Pursey said there may be unique circumstances where a driver asks a passenger to move—like to assist an elderly or disabled person. Essentially, both complied with the driver’s instructions, fearing it would become a criminal situation or they could be kicked off in the middle of nowhere. “It is traumatizing to go to jail for things you didn’t do,” Davis said. “I didn’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do because I was in the right,” Davis said.

Over the past few months, numerous incidents have occurred on city bus lines across the country. In Charlotte, North Carolina, an argument between a passenger and driver turned violent after the two men engaged in a shootout while the bus was in motion. According to ABC News, the passenger faced numerous charges, and the driver was fired.