Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the major
events in the Civil Rights Movement in the United
States. It signaled that a peaceful protest could result
in the changing of laws to protect the equal rights of
all people regardless of race.
Before the Boycott
Before 1955, segregation between the races was
common in the south. This meant that public areas
such as schools, rest rooms, water fountains, and
restaurants had separate areas for black people and
white people. This was also true of public
transportation such as buses and trains. There were
areas where black people could sit and other areas
where white people could sit.
Rosa Parks
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What started it?
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was taking the bus
home from work in Montgomery, Alabama. She was
already sitting down and was in the row closest to the
front for black people. When the bus began to fill up,
the driver told the people in Rosa's row to move back
in order to make room for a white passenger. Rosa
was tired of being treated like a second class person.
She refused to move. Rosa was then arrested and
fined $10.
The Boycott
Although other people had been arrested for similar
infractions, it was Rosa's arrest that sparked a protest
against segregation. Civil rights leaders and ministers
got together to organize a day to boycott the buses.
That meant that for one day black people would not
ride the buses. They picked December 5th. They
handed out pamphlets so people would know what to
do and on December 5th around 90% of black people
in Montgomery did not ride the buses.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The boycott was planned at a meeting in Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s church. They formed a group called
the Montgomery Improvement Association with
Martin Luther King, Jr. as the leader. After the first
day of the boycott, the group voted to continue the
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boycott. King made a speech about the boycott where
he said "If we are wrong, the Supreme Court is wrong,
…the Constitution is wrong, ....God Almighty is
wrong."
Working Together
In order to get to work, black people carpooled,
walked, rode bicycles, and used horse-drawn buggies.
Black taxi drivers lowered their fairs to ten cents,
which was the same price as a bus fair. Despite not
riding the bus, black people found ways to travel by
organizing and working together.
Backlash
Some white people were not happy with the boycott.
The government got involved by fining taxi drivers
who did not charge at least 45 cents for a ride. They
also indicted many of the leaders on the grounds that
they were interfering with a business. Martin Luther
King Jr. was ordered to pay a $500 fine. He ended up
getting arrested and spent two weeks in jail.
Some of the white citizens turned to violence. They
firebombed Martin Luther King Jr.'s home as well as
several black churches. Sometimes the boycotters
were attacked while walking. Despite this, King was
adamant that the protests remain non-violent. In a
speech to some angry protesters he said "We must
love our white brothers, no matter what they do to
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us."
How long did the boycott last?
The boycott lasted for over a year. It finally ended on
December 20, 1956 after 381 days.
President Obama in the Rosa Parks Bus
by Pete Souza
Results
The Montgomery Bus Boycott brought the subject of
racial segregation to the forefront of American
politics. A lawsuit was filed against the racial
segregation laws. On June 4, 1956 the laws were
determined unconstitutional. The boycott had worked
in that black people were now allowed to sit wherever
they wanted to on the bus. In addition, the boycott
had created a new leader for the civil rights movement
in Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Interesting Facts about the Montgomery Bus
Boycott
• One of the first leaders of the boycott was Jo Ann
Robinson who stayed up all night after Rosa was
arrested and made copies of a flyer to hand out
about the boycott.
• E.D. Dixon was president of the local NAACP at
the time. He helped to select Martin Luther King,
Jr. as the leader of the boycott.
• Local car insurers stopped insuring cars that
participated in the boycott's carpools.
• Black churches across the country donated shoes
to the boycotters who were wearing out their
shoes walking.
• The Supreme Court held up the ruling that
segregation was unconstitutional.
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