Rosa Parks And The Montgomery Bus Boycott

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).

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the ‘colored section’ inside the bus to a white passenger, and this went against the customs at the time. As a result of the arrest, Montgomery black community initiated a bus boycott that lasted for more than a year.

When Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white man aboard a bus in Montgomery, she demonstrated the power of actions and civil disobedience. The power did not lie in Parks' actions alone, but rather in the unrest that existed in 1955 between races in the United States. The simple protest made many question the legitimacy of the law in a way that no newspaper article or emotional speech could. Not only did it raise questions, it sparked action throughout the surrounding community. Protests were

The book explains Rosa Park’s life. The book explains that Rosa was brave because when the Klu Klux Klan were active Rosa and her Grandfather would sit down by the fireplace. Rosa’s grandfather would have a gun right by him, but the KKK never came. Another event that made Rosa brave was when Rosa lead the Bus Boycott

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a year-long protest, in which African-Americans refused to ride the segregated public buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Lasting approximately 381-days, the Montgomery Bus Boycott started on December 5, 1955, and ended on December 20, 1955 (Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2010). During this time period, Jim Crow laws had just become prohibited. However, Jim Crow laws were the way of life in the South, so even though they were prohibited they were still in full action and strength. Jim Crow laws were laws that enforced racial segregation in the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in 1954 (Urofsky, 2015). Racial segregation is the separation of groups of people by race (e.g. using separate drinking fountains) (Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2016). The Montgomery Bus Boycott was ignited four days prior, on December 1, 1955, by a courageous African-American woman, Rosa Parks, which refused to give up her seat to a white man (Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2010). This event marked the beginning of a huge turning point for the American Civil Rights Movement.

Rosa Parks is known for being one of the most pivotal women in 1955. This women as we know refused to sit on the back of the bus in protest of racism and unequal rights for African Americans. This woman was able to recognize injustice. She was tired of her and the entire black community being treated unequally and was willing to take a stand. She put herself in a position that could have been life threatening and she didn’t back down. What is amazing about what she did is that such a small, peaceful act of defiance started the political movement that is well known and taught in our school systems today, the bus boycott. “But it was in Montgomery, after Park’s arrest, that an entire black community rose up to express solidarity, boycotting the city bus system for more than a year” (Collins 109). That willingness to challenge injustice by Parks was something so powerful and got America one step close to achieving equal rights for all races.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a movement started by Martin Luther King Jr. and the African American citizens of Montgomery, Alabama. The desired outcome was to end segregated busing systems in the state of Alabama. The reason for beginning the Montgomery Bus Boycott was the seating incident with Rosa Parks, and it affected the Civil Right Movement by ending segregated busing systems.

In 1955, a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, and changed the history of the black struggle of civil rights. Several have heard a simple version of Rosa Parks story, which she was tired from a long day of work resulted in bus desegregation. In actuality, steps to organize against bus segregation had begun years before, and the boycott was coordinated effort that involved approximately 40,00 people and over a year sacrifice. There had been several instances of Blacks refusing to obey the segregation laws on public transportation in the 1940’s. Rosa Parks, when she refused to give up her seat on a city bus, committed the most powerful act of civil disobedience in the American Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Movement which started in the 1950s had been the target of numerous incidents in the struggle for justice, racial equality, by increasing opportunities for racial minorities in society. On December 1, 1955, the modern civil rights movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. A new minister in town, Martin Luther King, Jr., organized a bus boycott by the community, which eventually led to the desegregation of the bus line and launched protests across the South. Martin Luther King Jr., was a peaceful activist, he had led many such protests, trying to prove to the white society that African Americans are safe and valuable part of society.

It is important that the people can show their opinion on a situation while realizing their actions are against the law. With that in mind, civil disobedience is important to have in a free society as long as its controlled well to the point that no one is at harm.

This story is going to be about Rosa Parks she was a courageous women that fought to end the bus boycott.She was arrested in montgomery,Alabama on December 1,1955.Then a man named Martin Luther King jr. finally ended the bus boycott in montgomery Alabama.Rosa Parks was released from jail on march 11,2003 she was so happy that segregation had ended when she was released from jail. She enjoyed having not having to do nothing that the white people told her to do and that she was free to seat anywhere on the bus.

Practically everyone has ridden a bus before, right? People can sit where they want to, and don’t get into too much trouble or start some kind of demonstration, do they? Here’s a story of a woman who did all these things and ended the segregation on buses forever. Her name was Rosa Parks, and she was an African American seamstress and civil rights activist. I have a lot of respect for her, and I think others should too.

Right After Parks arrest “local civil rights activist initiated a boycott of the Montgomery bus system.” (“The Story Behind the Bus”) The companies of the buses began sending messages reminding them that African Americans are unequal. Seventy five percent of passengers were colored, so the boycott created great economic damage, it lasted of three hundred and eighty one days. Rosa set a great standard and inspired others,even Martin Luther King: “Rosa Parks initiated a new era in the American quest for freedom and equality.”

Determined, hardworking, and committed are three words that people think of in connection with Rosa Parks. Many people know that Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist, but she was so much more. As a civil rights activist, Rosa Parks showed America that she deserved the same treatment as any white man or woman. She left a legacy as “the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”.

One of the Champions of the American Civil Rights Movement was Rosa Parks. A native of Tuskegee Alabama, she was said by some to be the mother of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Making a living as a seamstress, she was highly involved in the local efforts of the N.A.A.C.P. (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as well as exceedingly active in her church congregation, Rosa Parks would become infamous for simply refusing to be treated differently because of the color of her skin. Aboard the Cleveland Avenue bus coming home from work on the evening of December 1st 1955, an already weary Rosa Parks was instructed by the bus driver to surrender her seat to a Caucasian man who had boarded the bus subsequent to her. When she refused to do so, the police were summoned and she consequentially was arrested. This was her first time to be under arrest, but she conducted herself in a professional and dignified manner despite the extreme injustice she was being served (Johnson 212). Jo Ann Robinson called Rasa Parks a woman of "high morals and a strong character". She was exactly what the N.A.A.C.P. needed for a plaintiff in their proposed civil suit against the bus company (Marcus 260).