Sarah Keys Evans was a pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement and a key figure in the desegregation of buses in the United States. In 1952, when she was a young African American woman serving in the Women's Army Corps, Keys challenged the policy of segregated seating on interstate buses by refusing to move to the back of the bus while traveling from her home in North Carolina to Virginia.

Her courageous act led to a legal case that became a landmark in the fight against segregation. Keys' case, Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, set a precedent ruling that segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional, predating the more famous Montgomery Bus Boycott by several years.

Sarah Keys Evans' actions helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Movement and were instrumental in the eventual desegregation of transportation across the United States. Her bravery and determination are an important part of Black history and the struggle for equality.