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Montgomery Bus Boycott Research Paper

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The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a fundamental part of desegregating buses and gaining better treatment for African-American bus riders. The boycott started in 1955 and lasted 381 days. Although many people believe it was just a singular event the boycott was planned and was fueled by a number of events. Rosa Parks and other members of the NAACP had been working on a way to address the treatment of African-Americans on the bus and challenge the unjust segregation laws. Many people had come to complain to them about the treatment they received on the buses mainly African-American women and they were waiting for a case that they could use to challenge the segregation laws. The Women’s Political Council had been hearing and recording complaints from bus riders as …show more content…

These cases were both seen as unfit for the use of challenging segregation laws on the bus because of the age and behavior of the girls. As a well-respected member of the community and the secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Rosa Parks was the perfect person to build a case for. On December 1st of 1955 Parks took action and refused to give her seat up for a white passenger and was arrested. After Parks arrest Jo Ann Robinson, president of the Women’s Political Council and Edgar Daniel Nixon, a local African American Activist started the boycott by sending out a handbill informing people to stay off of the buses. Nixon, who was alo a member of the NAACP like Parks, helped to provide bail for her and get her an attorney. The boycott was originally supposed to last one day however at a meeting the night of the boycott they voted to continue their protest until the bus policies were

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