Montgomery bus boycott

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Civil rights protest in Montgomery, Alabama

The Montgomery bus boycott was a pivotal event in the Civil rights movement in the United States. It began on December 5, 1955, and lasted until December 20, 1956. The boycott was a response to the arrest of Rosa Parks, an African American woman who refused to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery city bus. The boycott led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional.

Background

The roots of the Montgomery bus boycott can be traced back to the longstanding practice of racial segregation in the Southern United States. African Americans were required to sit at the back of public buses and give up their seats to white passengers if the bus became full. This practice was part of the broader system of Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in public facilities.

Rosa Parks and the Arrest

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress and secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. Her arrest sparked outrage in the African American community and led to the organization of the Montgomery bus boycott.

Organization of the Boycott

The boycott was organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which was formed shortly after Parks' arrest. Martin Luther King Jr., a young pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, was elected as the president of the MIA. The boycott involved African Americans refusing to use the city buses and instead organizing carpools, walking, or using other means of transportation.

Impact and Outcome

The boycott had a significant economic impact on the Montgomery City Lines, as African Americans made up about 75% of the bus ridership. The boycott lasted for 381 days, during which time the MIA and its leaders faced harassment and violence. Despite these challenges, the boycott continued until the United States Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. The ruling took effect on December 20, 1956, marking the end of the boycott.

Legacy

The Montgomery bus boycott is considered one of the first large-scale demonstrations against segregation in the United States. It brought national and international attention to the civil rights struggles of African Americans and helped to propel Martin Luther King Jr. into the national spotlight as a leader of the civil rights movement. The success of the boycott also inspired other civil rights protests and movements across the country.

Related Pages

• Civil rights movement
• Rosa Parks
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Jim Crow laws
• Browder v. Gayle
• Montgomery Improvement Association
• Dexter Avenue Baptist Church

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