Montgomery Bus Boycott Research Paper

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, one of the leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite being reprimanded by the driver (Schulke 166). Montgomery, Alabama was known for its terrible treatment of blacks. The buses in particular had been a source of tension between the city and black citizens for many years (Schulke, 167). As a result of refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks' popularity among the black community, proved to be the spark that ignited the non-violent Civil Rights Movement (Norrell 2).

On the morning of parks trial buses rumbled nearly empty through the streets of Montgomery. By the next morning the council led by Jo Ann Robinson had printed 52,000 fliers asking, Montgomery blacks to stay off the buses. It was an important and an accepted rule that whites sit in the front and the African American riders had to sit in the back of all buses. A group of about 50 African American leaders and one white minister, Robert Graetz, gathered in the basement of Dr. King?s church to endorse the boycott and begin planning a massive rally.

Since the Supreme Court case of Plessy Vs Ferguson way back in 1892, which ruled the separation of blacks and whites constitutional as long as all public facilities provided were “separate but equal,” the United States had been segregated. As with all other public facilities at the time, the busses in Montgomery Alabama were also subject to this segregation, and it wasn’t until 1956 with the beginning of what became to be known as the “Montgomery Bus

The Montgomery Bus Boycott began with the public arrest of an African American woman and civil rights activist named Rosa Parks. As stated in Document A,”Rosa Parks boarded a city bus and sat down in the closest seat. It was one of the first rows of the section where blacks were not supposed to sit… The bus driver told Rosa Parks that she would have to give up her seat to a white person. She refused and was arrested.” Rosa’s arrest sparked a number of radical events that fought against racial inequality and segregation over the span of thirteen months. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because it led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation among public transportation (especially buses) was unconstitutional. The Montgomery

1955 - Montgomery Bus Boycotts 
African-American woman Rosa Parks's arrest after her refusal to move to the back of a bus (as required under city law in Montgomery, Alabama) triggers a citywide boycott of the bus system.

Because of the outcome of the Brown case a lot of African Americans took matter into their own hands and wanted to end forms of racial segregation. December 1st, 1955 Rosa Parks, a black seamstress and a NAACP activist denied giving up her seat to a white man. This caused mayhem and sparked a bus boycott due to the fact that Rosa Parks got arrested for not wanting to get up. This was a tactic that the civil rights movement leaders used to stop racial discrimination between blacks and whites in the United States. After more than a year of conflict, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the complete desegregation of Montgomery buses. (Hewitt and Lawson

As a result, many of Montgomery’s African American citizens protested her arrest by boycotting the cities public transportation systems. Because of her bravery in refusing to leave her seat, she gained national recognition and fame, They bus boycott lasted until 1956, when the Supreme Court that segregation of city buses was unconstitutional. This boycott became the first organized protest by African Americans in the South.

The current reports say that the colored section on the bus kept being moved so more whites could have a seat . The colored woman pictured above was arrested for not giving a white man her seat. This has caused quite a stir in the African American community. There has been numerous reports of a boycott for the city public transportation. This however will not hinder the normal flow of the city transportation in Montgomery,but the city transportation will likely lose money because the Colored community is 75% of the fundamental income for the Public

In fact, fourteen years later, Farmer recognized the opportunity to incorporate his non-violenct, civil resistance when several southern states continued to separate blacks from whites on their transit system after the Supreme Court ruled segregated buses unconstitutional in 1956. This inspired Farmer to initiate “Freedom Rides”, consisting of civil-rights activists from CORE testing the new law by riding in designated white

The Montgomery Bus Boycott changed the history on how people live and interact today. The key for this to succeed was two prominent activists, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks who were present during the Bus Boycott and led the people to unify to fight for equality. But this wouldn't be a possible success without the support, and determination of all African American community. During the twentieth century segregation among African American in the South was extremely inhuman. African American were treated differently because of the color of their skin. It was almost impossible for African American to be treated with respect and equality, they were segregated in schools, restaurants, buses, libraries, public bathrooms, drinking fountains,

December 1, 1955, an African-American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. By refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Dr. King held a meeting at his church the next night to discuss ways of dealing with her arrest and protesting her arrest. So, they decided that they would have a bus boycott, beginning on Monday, December the 5th. Her refusal caused what is now known as the Montgomery Boycott. Since the boycott caused a larger quantity of all black patrons, Dr. King realized that although a boycott was needed, many of the patrons were afraid of taking a chance on boycotting because of the effect it may have

The Montgomery Bus Boycotts had an influential purpose by boycotting the transportation system in order to create equality for those who were denied the right to sit where they pleased. Parks courageous act allowed others to speak up as well, resulting in protests against the busses. The compromise came about when thousands refused to use the public transportation, and companies began to lose money. The boycotting of busses resulted into many forms of protests for equality amongst schools, jobs and other activities that were made segregated. Eventually, on November 13th, 1956, segregation was ruled illegal on public transportation.

Over forty thousand African Americans decided to boycott the public bus system in Montgomery, which lasted for more than a year, three hundred and eighty one days to be exact. As result, the U.S. Supreme court had no choice but to order the integration of the bus system in Montgomery. Even though, the boycott resulted in the integration of the bus system between white and blacks, the initial demand for the movement was to be given “courtesy, the hiring of black drivers, and a first come, first seated policy”. The collective efforts of the African American population in Montgomery saw victory in their bid for justice.

In the 1950’s Montgomery, Alabama had very complex segregation laws when it came to public transportation like buses. “Montgomery’s segregation laws were complex:...if the white section was full and another white customer entered, blacks were required to give up their seats and move farther back…,”(Dove). The law stated that all blacks were required to give up their seat for a person who was white. This practically made all African Americans lesser than a human being. In 1955, An African American woman named Rosa Parks was arrested. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat for a white person. Due to this incident, the African American community protested against the government by asking every African American to not use the buses. “We are...asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial…,” (Dove). This is the correct way to go against the government. A peaceful protest that did not involve any violence. The African American community also had a great reason to protest as well. They are trying to stand up for themselves and to tell the people that African Americans are as equal to other people no matter the skin color or

This issue later created the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was led by Martin Luther King Jr. This was the African Americans way of showing their strength and pride for their race and that they should be treated just the same as the Whites. They weren't going to let their skin color define where they sit on a bus or how they are going to be treated.