Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project Subject area/course: History/U.S. History Grade level/band: 9-­‐12 Task source: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), Author: Daisy Martin Montgomery Bus Boycott STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS A. Task context: In our class we are learning about Southern segregation and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Historians have explained the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in varied ways. In this task, you will read and analyze a set of primary sources to create a thesis-­‐driven essay explaining the boycott’s success. You will also locate and choose an additional primary source to use in your essay. B. Final product: Using the documents provided, your self-­‐selected source, and your background knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement and U.S. history, write an argumentative essay in which you evaluate the following statement. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were responsible for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Do you agree with this explanation of the Boycott’s success? Why or why not? Use and cite evidence from the documents to support your explanation of the boycott’s success. In your essay, be sure to • Create a thesis statement or central argument • Use evidence from the primary source documents, your self-­‐selected source, and outside information to support your thesis • Provide analysis of how each piece of evidence helps to support your position • Introduce each document you use • Take into account the origins and any point of view that may be presented in a document • Include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion ADDITIONAL INFORMATION C. Knowledge and skills you will need to demonstrate on this task: • An understanding of the Montgomery Bus Boycott • Document analysis skills that include sourcing and corroborating documents • Argumentative writing skills that require evidence-­‐based claims and consideration of contrary evidence or claims • Skill of selecting a relevant source and integrating it into an historical argument • Understanding of historical causation This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
1 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project D. Materials needed: You will need: • Access to the Internet • Item A: Chronology, Documents A and B, Graphic Organizer • Item B: Documents C-­‐H • Item C: Selecting a Source • Item D. Peer Review Sheet E. Time requirements: This task will take 3-­‐6 class periods to complete. Your teacher will provide additional details regarding the task timeline and due dates. F. Scoring: Your work will be scored using the Montgomery Bus Boycott Argumentative Writing in History 9-­‐12 Rubric. You should make sure you are familiar with the language that describes the expectations for proficient performance. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
2 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project Subject area/course: History/U.S. History Grade level/band: 9-­‐12 Task source: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), Author: Daisy Martin Montgomery Bus Boycott TEACHER'S GUIDE A. Task overview: Students will write an essay that uses evidence from primary sources and their own background knowledge to make an argument and answer an historical question. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were responsible for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Do you agree with this explanation of the Boycott’s success? Why or why not? Use and cite evidence from the documents to support your explanation of the boycott’s success. Students will need to read and analyze a set of primary sources to create a thesis-­‐driven essay. They will also locate and choose an additional primary source to use in their essay. This will be part of the scaffolding and instructional activities they will participate in before writing their final argumentative essay. B. Aligned standards: 1. Common Core State Standards CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.9-­‐10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.11-­‐12.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.WHST.11-­‐12.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-­‐specific content. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.WHST.11-­‐12.1.A Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.WHST.11-­‐12.1.B Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-­‐
appropriate form that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.WHST.9-­‐10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
1 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project 2. Critical abilities Analysis of Information: Integrate and synthesize multiple sources of information (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to address a question, make informed decisions, understand a process, phenomenon, or concept, and solve problems while evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data. Communication in Many Forms: Use oral and written communication skills to learn, evaluate, and express ideas for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, and rewriting while considering the audience. 3. Other standards C3 Framework D2.His.14.9-­‐12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past. D2.His.15.9-­‐12. Distinguish between long-­‐term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument. D2.His.16.9-­‐12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past. D1.5.9-­‐12. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources. C. Time/schedule requirements: 3-­‐6 class periods. D. Materials/resources: Students will need: • Access to the Internet • Item A: Chronology, Documents A and B, Graphic Organizer • Item B: Documents C-­‐H • Item C: Selecting a Source • Item D. Peer Review Sheet Document/source credits: Stanford School of Education and Center for History and New Media, Rosa Parks Inquiry, http://historicalthinkingmatters.org. The Martin Luther King Jr. Education and Research Institute, King Online Encyclopedia, http://mlk-­‐kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia_contents This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
2 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project Document F: Laura Gray, “Freedom is Rising” The Militant, March 26, 1956. From holtlaborlibrary.org, page created by Shannon Sheppard & Carrie Kahn, 12/01/05 revised 01/22/09. E. Prior knowledge: Students should • Have some understanding of the social, political, and economic contexts of post-­‐war America • Have some experience with using and analyzing multiple sources, including primary sources and timelines • Have some experience with using evidence to support claims F. Connection to curriculum: This task connects to study of the Civil Rights Movement and post-­‐War America as well as the study of social change and movements. G. Teacher instructions: Timing is approximate. DAY 1 1. Introduce the task Include: • the point that history is an evidence-­‐based argument; and • some information about the historical period. (For example Over the next few days, you will become the historian, looking at documents from the 1950s to figure out a historical problem and write an argumentative essay. That problem will be about the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Remember that this boycott followed decades of legal segregation in the Southern United States. These segregationist policies helped keep African-­‐
Americans in an unequal position in society even after slavery was abolished and the Constitution was amended to ensure every person equal protection of the laws. African-­‐Americans fought discrimination and inequality in varied ways before the 1950s. In 1955, one of our most familiar stories of Civil Rights activism began with the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery Alabama for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger.) 2. Set historical context more specifically Introduce the topic (the Montgomery Bus Boycott) and time (1950s) by telling a story using some of the following tools. • Show the video at http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/rosaparks/ • Tell a story using the Key Events Chronology. • Use photos to help tell the story. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
3 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project o http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAjimcrow.htm: Use the photo at end of essay to remind students about Jim Crow laws. o http://www.sites.si.edu/images/exhibits/381/new/pages/parks_jpg.htm : Use this photo to remind students about Rosa Parks’ arrest. (Even though this photo was taken two months after her Dec. 1 arrest, it can still serve this pedagogical purpose and will be especially helpful when used with Document A: the Police Report of her arrest.) o http://www.sites.si.edu/images/exhibits/381/new/pages/walkers_jpg.ht
m : Use this photo to introduce the Bus Boycott. o More photos available at http://www.sites.si.edu/images/exhibits/381/new/index.htm. 3. Warm-­‐up activity: Analyzing two documents a. Introduce the day’s central question: “What was the role of women in the Montgomery Bus Boycott?” • Check to see that students know what a “boycott” is. b. Hand out Chronology, Document A (Police Report) and Document B (Robinson) and Tool A (graphic organizer), all of which are bundled together in Item A. c. (Whole class) Teacher Models Document Analysis using Document A: Use the central question and graphic organizer. Read the document aloud. Include some version of the following steps: • First read the title and then ask sourcing questions: What kind of source is this? When was it written? Where was it published? Explain that you are going to the bottom of the document first to find out information about the origins of the document. Read that information aloud. Then show that this information helps you answer the first question on the graphic organizer (Tool A). • Show the other questions on Tool A and explain that you will need to read to answer those questions. • Model reading the document with purpose. While reading, you can also notice loaded words, ask questions of the text, summarize its meaning, and use background information to understand the text. • (Whole class) Answer the questions in writing on Tool A for Document A. d. (Pair work) Students read document B in pairs and complete Tool A. e. Whole class: Teacher leads discussion of central question: What was the role of women in the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Make the following two points at some point in the discussion: • Stop and Source! Sourcing is important to reading and understanding these documents. In other words, noticing the date and origin of documents is important to accurately analyze the source. For example, Robinson’s letter threatening a boycott was written before Rosa Parks’ arrest which shows that the boycott was not purely a spontaneous event resulting only from Parks’ arrest. • Use evidence from the document to support your claims/conclusions. Ask students to support their answers with evidence from the text. In at least two This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
4 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project instances, ask students some version of the following questions: What in the text supports that idea? Where do you see that in your document? What is the evidence of that? 4. Close: Ask: How does analyzing these documents challenge or support the story of Rosa Parks that you have heard before? Possible closing script: This is what historians have to do when they investigate the past—
compare and look across documents to figure out the most complete and accurate story. Rosa Parks was important to the Bus Boycott, but her story isn’t the whole story. Tomorrow we will be working on investigating the reasons the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded. DAY 2 1. Remind students about prior lesson and task Include reminders about the reading skills you made explicit on Day 1. 2. Pairs: Read and analyze documents. a. Get students into pairs. b. Pass out Item B (Documents C-­‐F) to each pair. You could pair the political cartoon (Document F) with Document H to balance the reading loads. c. (Pair Work) Students • Read, annotate, and discuss assigned document • Answer reading questions on the document: o What does this document tell you about the reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott? o What evidence supports your answer? • Prepare 1-­‐2 minute presentation for the class that includes: o The name of your document; o What your document says and implies about the reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott? 3. Share-­‐out & feedback Randomly select pairs to present their document until each of the six documents (C-­‐H) has been shared. Tell students to listen for what they learn about the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. When appropriate, ask students to back up their statements with evidence from the document or clarify their statements. If incorrect information is shared, ask for input from another pair who read the same document or correct it. Note: At the end of this activity, each student has read three documents: A, B and the document from C-­‐H that he or she read today. They have heard reports on all of the documents. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
5 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project 4. Closing activity Ask students to summarize what they heard about the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. DAY 3 1. Selecting an additional source Students use “Selecting an Additional Source” (Item C) to find another source to understand this event and reference and use in their essay. 2. Preview the writing task Explain to students that they will be writing an argumentative essay about the reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Students should bring their work from these instructional days to class for the next few days. Pass out or project the rubric. Read and talk through the proficient descriptors, explain that these are expectations students should try to meet when they write argumentative essays. DAY 4 Students receive or review the prompt (on the Student Instructions) and write an essay in response. DAY 5 Students share essays, do peer review (Item D), and revise their essays. H. Student support: Additional Scaffolding for Day 1: • Share a map that shows the location of Montgomery Alabama and ask students what life in the South was like for African-­‐Americans in the 1940s and 50s. • Ask students to summarize main point of each article. • After pair work, project Document B on a screen and have one or a few students show how they annotated that document and made sense of it. Less Scaffolding for Day 1: • Eliminate modeling step and have students analyze documents without your example. Additional Scaffolding for Day 2: • Use heterogeneous groupings. • Project each document before a pair reports on that document. Ask students to be prepared to show evidence they used to answer the questions on that projected document (Step 2C). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
6 Innovation Lab Network Performance Assessment Project •
•
Have a more extended discussion about the rubric. Include samples of proficient work related to specific rubric dimensions from essays done on another topic. Extend the analysis of the documents so all students read and talk about more than three before writing. Pairs or groups could examine all documents using the two guiding questions while the teacher checks their understanding through pair check-­‐
ins. Less Scaffolding for Day 2: • Students work individually with single document. They then pair up and share their document. Call on individual students to share their analysis of their single document (Steps 2 & 3). Additional Scaffolding for Day 3: • Model searching on a site to find a relevant document. • Select one of the sites for all students to explore. • Pair students to do this activity. General • Additional time may be allotted. • Extended time and additional supports and tools may be provided. (e.g., an Essay Planning tool). • All instructions and questions can be shared in writing and orally. I. Extensions or variations: None provided. J. Scoring: Student work can be scored using the Montgomery Bus Boycott Argumentative Writing in History 9-­‐12 Rubric. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-­‐NonCommerical-­‐NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
7 Key Events Surrounding Montgomery Bus Boycott
Chronology
Jan. 1863
Emancipation Proclamation
July 1868
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is passed.
May 1896
Plessy v. Ferguson decision; Supreme Court rules 'Separate but Equal' is
constitutional.
May 1909
Niagara Movement meets and pledges to promote racial equality (later
becomes the NAACP [National Association for the Advanced of Colored
People])
1946
Women’s Political Council in Montgomery, Alabama is created.
June 1953
African-Americans in Baton-Rouge, Louisiana boycott segregated city
buses for two weeks. They have some success.
May 1954
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas Supreme Court decision
August 1955
Murder of Emmett Till
Dec. 1, 1955
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat and is arrested.
Dec. 2, 1955
Women’s Political Council calls for bus boycott.
Dec. 5, 1955
First day of bus boycott. Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)
formed, Martin Luther King, Jr. named President.
Jan. 30, 1956
Martin Luther King Jr.’s home is bombed.
Nov. 1956
Supreme Court affirms decision in Browder v. Gayle which found bus
segregation laws unconstitutional.
Dec. 1956
Supreme Court rejects city and state appeals on its decision. Buses are
desegregated in Montgomery.
Document A: Police Report (Modified)
Date 12-1-1955
Complainant: J.F. Blacke (white male)
Address: 27 North Lewis St.
Offense: Miscellaneous
Date and Time Offense Committed: 12-1-55 6:06 pm
Place of Occurrence: In Front of Empire Theatre (On Montgomery Street)....
We received a call. Upon arrival the bus operator said he had a colored female sitting in the white section
of the bus, and would not move back.
We (Day & Mixon) also saw her.
The bus operator signed a warrant for her. Rosa Parks, (colored female) 634 Cleveland Boulevard.
Rosa Parks (colored female) was charged with chapter 6 section 11 of the Montgomery City Code.
Warrant #14254
Officers: F. B. Day, D. W. Mixon
Division: Patrol
Time: 7:00 pm
Source: Police Department, City of Montgomery. December 1, 1955.
DOCUMENT B: Robinson (Modified)
The Women’s Political Council was an African-American political organization in Montgomery,
Alabama. It was founded in 1946 to work against racist policies. Jo Ann Robinson, an English professor
at the all-black Alabama State College, was its second President. Here she writes the Mayor of
Montgomery.
Honorable Mayor W. Gayle
City Hall
Montgomery, Alabama
Dear Sir:
The Women’s Political Council is very grateful to you and the City Commissioners for the hearing you
allowed our representative when the “bus-fare case” was being reviewed two months ago. There were
several things the Council asked for:
1. A city law that would make it possible for Negroes to sit from back toward front, and whites from
front toward back until all the seats are taken.
2. That Negroes not be forced to pay fare at front and go to the rear of the bus to enter.
3. That buses stop at every corner in Negro communities as they do in communities where whites
live.
We are happy to report that buses have begun stopping at more corners now in some sections where
Negroes live than before. However, the same practices in seating and boarding the bus continue.
Mayor Gayle, three-fourths of bus riders are Negroes. If Negroes did not ride them, they could not
possibly run.
More and more of our people are riding with friends and neighbors to keep from being insulted and
humiliated by bus drivers.
There has been talk from 25 or more local organizations of planning a city-wide boycott of buses. We, sir,
do not feel that forceful actions are necessary in asking for something which is right for all bus
passengers.
Please consider this plea [request], and if possible, act upon it, for even now plans are being made to ride
less, or not at all, on our buses. We do not want this.
Respectfully yours,
The Women’s Political Council
Jo Ann Robinson, President
Source: Excerpt from a letter written by Jo Ann Robinson, May 21, 1954. Montgomery, Alabama.
Tool A Rosa Parks Warm-­‐Up Activity Organizer What was the role of women in the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Publication Audience Document date? for Type of document? document? Police Report What action against segregated buses does this document include? Write a quotation or specific information from the source that illustrates your answer. Robinson DOCUMENT C: Leaflet (Modified)
Here, Jo Ann Robinson explains how she and others wrote and delivered the leaflet calling for a boycott
in time for thousands of African Americans to stay off the buses on Monday morning, December 5, 1955.
Just before she began this work, Robinson and E.D. Nixon had decided over the phone to call for a
boycott. E.D. Nixon was a former President of the Car Porters Union and leader of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Montgomery.
I sat down and quickly wrote a message and then called a good friend who could use the college’s
copying equipment. When I told him that the WPC [Women’s Political Council] was staging a boycott
and needed to run off the leaflets, he told me that he too had suffered embarrassment on the city buses.
Along with two of my most trusted students, we quickly agreed to meet right away in the middle of the
night, at the college’s copying room. We were able to get three messages to a page in order to produce the
thousands of leaflets we needed. By 4 a.m. Friday, the sheets had been copied and cut in thirds.
Between 4 and 7 a.m., the two students and I mapped out delivery routes for the leaflets. We had planned
before how and where to deliver thousands of leaflets in case of a boycott, and those plans now came in
handy.
After class my two students and I quickly finalized our plans for distributing the thousands of leaflets so
that one would reach every black home in Montgomery. I took out the WPC membership roster and called
them. I asked for their help in giving out the leaflets.
Throughout the late morning and early afternoon hours we dropped off tens of thousands of leaflets.
Some of the leaflets were dropped off at schools. Leaflets were also dropped off at business places, stores,
beauty parlors, beer halls, factories, barber shops, and every other available place. Workers would pass
along notices both to other employees as well as to customers.
By 2 o’clock thousands of the copied leaflets had changed hands many times. Practically every black
man, woman, and child in Montgomery knew the plan and was passing the word along.
Source: Excerpt from Jo Ann Robinson’s memoir, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who
Started It, pp. 45-47, 1987. Knoxville, Tennessee.
DOCUMENT D: Abernathy (Modified)
Here, Reverend Ralph Abernathy remembers the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Improvement
Association (MIA) at a local Baptist church on the first day of the boycott. After this, the MIA held
regular weekly meetings until the boycott ended.
M.L. King and I went to the meeting together. I was given instructions: one, to call off the protest, or two,
to continue the protest until our requests were granted. We had had a successful “one-day protest,” but we
feared that if we extended it beyond the first day, we might fail; it might be better to call the protest off,
and then we could hold this “one-day boycott” as a threat for future talks. However, we were to decide
whether to continue the protest by the size of the crowds.
When we got about 20 blocks from the church we saw cars parked solid. As we got closer to the church
we saw a great mass of people. The Montgomery Advertiser estimated the crowd at about 7,000 persons
all trying to get in a church that will fit less than 1,000. It took us about 15 minutes to work our way
through the crowd by pleading: “Please let us through—we are Reverend King and Reverend Abernathy.”
Those inside the church applauded for at least ten minutes.
It was obvious that the people were with us. It was then that all of the ministers who had previously
refused to take part in the program came up to Reverend King and me to offer their services. This
expression of togetherness on the part of the masses was obviously an inspiration to the leadership.
We began the meeting by singing Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War.
Mrs. Rosa Parks was presented to the meeting because we wanted her to become symbolic of our protest
movement. Following her we presented Mr. Daniels, who happily for our meeting had been arrested on
that day. The appearance of these persons created enthusiasm, thereby giving momentum to the
movement.
We then heard the motions calling for the continuation of the boycott, unanimously and enthusiastically
adopted by the 7,000 people both inside and outside the church.
Source: Excerpt from Ralph Abernathy’s Thesis for his Master’s degree, The Natural History of a Social
Movement, 1958. Atlanta, Georgia.
DOCUMENT E: King (Modified)
At this Montgomery Improvement Association [MIA] weekly meeting, King speaks to the crowd.
Democracy gives us this right to protest and that is all we’re doing. We can say honestly that we have not
promoted violence, have not practiced it and have gone courageously on with a Christian movement. Ours
is a spiritual movement depending on moral and spiritual strength. The protest is still going on.
(Applause)
Freedom doesn’t come on a silver platter. With every great movement toward freedom there will always
be trials. Somebody will have to have the courage to sacrifice. You don’t get to the Promised Land
without going through the Wilderness. You don’t get there without crossing over hills and mountains, but
if you keep on keeping on, you can’t help but reach it. We won’t all see it, but it’s coming and it’s
because God is for it. . .
We won’t back down. We are going on with our movement.
Let us continue with the same spirit, with the same order, with the same discipline, with the same
Christian approach. I believe that God is using Montgomery as his proving ground. God be praised for
you, for your loyalty, for your determination. God bless you and keep you, and may God be with us as we
go on.
Source: Excerpts from a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., given at Holt Street Baptist Church, March
22, 1956. Montgomery, Alabama.
Document F: Freedom is Rising
This political cartoon appeared in The Militant a socialist newspaper. Source: Published in The Militant, March 26, 1956. Drawn by Laura Gray.
DOCUMENT G: Rustin (Modified)
Bayard Rustin, an African American civil rights activist, traveled to Montgomery to advise Dr. King and
support the bus boycott. He kept a diary of what he found.
February 24
42,000 Negroes have not ridden the buses since December 5. On December 6, the police began to harass,
bully, and arrest Negro taxi drivers who were helping get these people to work. The Negro leaders had to
find an alternative—the car pool. They set up 23 centers where people gather to wait for free
transportation.
This morning Rufus Lewis, director of the pool, invited me to attend the meeting of the drivers. On the
way, he explained that there are three methods in addition to the car pool, for moving the Negro
population:
1) Hitch-hiking.
2) The transportation of servants by white housewives.
3) Walking.
Later he introduced me to two men, one of whom has walked 7 miles and the other 14 miles, every day
since December 5.
“The success of the car pool is at the heart of the movement,” Lewis said at the meeting. “It must not be
stopped.”
I wondered what the response of the drivers would be, since 28 of them had just been arrested on charges
of plotting to destroy the bus company. One by one, they pledged that, if necessary, they would be
arrested again and again.
Source: Excerpt from Bayard Rustin’s Montgomery Diary, February 24, 1956. Montgomery, Alabama.
DOCUMENT H: “Me, too” (Modified)
Researchers from Fisk University visited Montgomery, Alabama, during the boycott to learn more and to
document the movement. Here a woman shares her ideas about the boycott during an interview at a car
pool dispatch center.
Maid: This stuff has been going on for a long time. To tell you the truth, it’s been happening ever since I
came here before World War II. But here in the last few years they’ve been getting worse and worse.
When you get on the bus they yell: “Get on back there.” Then they make you get up so white men could
sit down where there were no seats in the back.
And you know about a year ago they put one of the high school girls in jail ‘cause she wouldn’t move.
They should have boycotted the buses then. But we are sure fixing ‘em now and I hope we don’t ever
start back riding.
We are people, we are not dogs or cats. All we want ‘em to do is treat us right. They shouldn’t make me
get up for some white person when I paid the same fare and I got on first. And they should stop being so
nasty. We pay just like the white folks.
The bus companies are the ones losing the money and our preachers say we will not ride unless they give
us what we want. You see the business men are losing money too, because people only go to town when
they have to. When you do something to my people you do it to me, too.
Source: Excerpt from an interview conducted by Willie Lee, January 1956. Montgomery, Alabama.
Selecting an Additional Relevant Source Your task: Find an additional historical source relevant to the question: Why did the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeed? Once you have read and analyzed that source, use it in your final essay to strengthen or complicate your argument. Follow the steps below. 1. Browse websites: You can find primary sources about the Civil Rights Movement at the following sites. http://www.crmvet.org/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/02_bus.html http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/ 2. Select a source at one of these sites that helps you understand the success of the boycott or the historical background and context of the event. 3. Answer the questions below about your selected source. a. At what URL can you locate this source? b. What type of source is it (newspaper article/photo/oral history, etc.)? c. Identify the author of the source, the date it was created, and the place it was created. d. How do the circumstances of the source’s creation/origins matter to understanding it’s content? e. What does this document tell you about the reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott? f. What evidence supports your answer? g. How does this source fit with the other accounts/sources that you read about the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Plan to cite and use this source in your final essay and argument. Peer Feedback Goal: Crafting a Strong, Accurate Historical Argument Directions: Answer the following questions about your classmate’s essay. Be specific and focused in your feedback. When appropriate, tell them the paragraph or sentence that your comments apply to. Remember, • the rubric helps you identify what’s necessary in the essay (there are also reminders in the student instructions to the task), and most importantly, • you are helping your classmate craft a strong, accurate historical argument. 1. Using the rubric, cite and explain two things that the author does well in this essay. 2. Using the rubric, identify and explain two things that need to be included or improved in the essay. Montgomery Bus Boycott Argumentative Writing in History Rubric (Gr 9-­‐12) A central, precise, and knowledgeable thesis clearly and convincingly answers the prompt. Perspectives An alternate perspective or counter claim is thoroughly developed, and refuted or used to sharpen the argument. All documents are used and introduced by referring to their origins (e.g., author/date/genre). The dates and origins of documents are used (as appropriate) to understand the authors’ perspectives and purposes, and discuss the limitations of the sources. Significant and nuanced connections between documents are made and these deepen or extend the argument. Evidence, including information and quotations, is synthesized and explained to thoroughly develop and convincingly support the thesis. Argument is strengthened by evidence from an additional relevant source selected by the author and that adds additional information or perspective. Documents Thesis/Primary Claim Organization Using and Introducing Documents Sourcing Comparing Documents Evidence Selecting a useful source • Essay logically sequences related claims, reasons, and evidence. • Essay’s organization supports a coherent and convincing argument. Developing (3) Basic (1) 2.5 Proficient (5) 4.5 Advanced (7) 6.5 Dimension A central thesis clearly answers the prompt. Thesis is partially developed or answers part of the prompt. Thesis that guides argument is not clearly stated. • Essay clearly presents related claims, reasons, and evidence. • Essay’s organization clearly guides reader through parts of the argument. • Essay presents claim(s), and evidence. • Essay is loosely organized to present an argument. An alternate perspective or counter claim is clearly distinguished from the thesis, and developed with evidence or reasons. Most documents are used and introduced by referring to their origins (e.g., author/date/genre). An alternate perspective or counter claim is included, but not clearly challenged nor integrated into the argument. • Essay includes claims and information, but clear connections between them are missing. • Essay’s organization lacks focus and is hard to follow. Alternate perspective or counterclaim is absent or not clearly related to the thesis. Most documents are used and some are introduced by referring to their origins (e.g., author/date/genre). There are significant errors in referencing documents. The dates and origins of documents are used (as appropriate) to understand the authors’ perspectives and purposes and to evaluate the reliability of their contents. Connections between documents are made by grouping similar positions or identifying differences between documents. Evidence, including information and quotations, is explained to thoroughly develop and logically support the thesis. The date and origins of a document are used (as appropriate) to understand the author’s perspective and purpose and to evaluate the reliability of it’s contents. Documents are described and discussed but rarely compared. Date and origins of documents needs to be considered. Thesis is supported by evidence, including information and quotations. Evidence used to support thesis is not relevant or inaccurate. Argument integrates evidence from an additional relevant source selected by the author. Argument includes an additional source selected by the author. Argument references only the documents provided. One document dominates the entire argument. © Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) and New York City Department of Education. 2013. Local Measures High School Project. Montgomery Bus Boycott Argumentative Writing in History Rubric (Gr 9-­‐12) Causation Argument explains multiple reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and evaluates their relative significance. Argument explains multiple reasons for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott or thoroughly explains a primary reason. Argument identifies more than one reason for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott . Argument identifies only one reason for success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Historical Information and Concepts Substantial historical knowledge or concepts accurately and logically inform the argument and are used to challenge sources or relevant arguments. Substantial historical knowledge or concepts accurately and logically informs and supports the argument with only minor errors. Accurate and relevant historical information is included with only minor errors. Demonstrates significant confusion about relevant historical information or concepts. © Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) and New York City Department of Education. 2013. Local Measures High School Project. Sample Student Response: Montgomery Bus Boycott Prompt: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were responsible for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Do you agree with this explanation of the boycott’s success? Why or why not? Use and cite evidence from the documents to support your explanation of the boycott’s success. [originally handwritten] Historians have explained the success of the Montgomery Bus boycott in varied ways.
The Montgomery bus boycott changed the way we as a unity changed today. There were
struggles and Hardship that African Americans had to face to lead to the success of the
Montgomery bus boycott. There were also key people such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa
Parks who were present during the Bus Boycott which were known as activist. But there were
many others who made the boycott a success.
After the Civil war African Americans gained rights. There were three Amendments that
were passed which was the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth Amendment. These Amendments
helped give rights to African Americans such as the thirteenth Amendment in which African
Americans were no longer slaves, also they gained citizenship in which the fourteenth
Amendment was passed and they also gave African American males to Vote, which was the
fifteenth Amendment. However African American gained rights but still were treated horrible
and cruel. African Americans had to deal with Jim Crow laws, Black Codes, Grandfather clause
literacy test and so on. Jim Crow laws were laws in which blacks were segregated from whites.
African Americans couldn’t go or attend whites schools, share the same water fountains, Get
good jobs as the whites and they even had to sit on the back of the bus while whites sit in the
front. Even though African Americans had the right to vote, there were things that they had to do
because knowing that slaves couldn’t read or write during slavery, they formed a literacy test
before they can vote. There was the grandfather clause which meant that if your ancestor was
black that obviously they weren’t able to vote. They treated blacks so bad to the point that when
they got on the bus they had to pay their fare then get off the bus and go to the back. Sometimes
the driver wouldn’t even stop for the blacks who were waiting for the bus.
There were many reasons for the success of the Montgomery bus boycott. The Bus
Boycott was intended for African Americans to get the rights not only that they already have but
to respect their rights and keep the whites from violating them. One of the reasons for the success
of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was to map out distribution routes, to finalize their plans and to
drop leaflets everywhere to let everyone know about the bus boycott. It was successful because
thousands of the copied leaflets changed hands many times. Mostly everyone in Montgomery
knew the plan and was passing the word along as stated in Document C. Another reason for the
success of the bus boycott was the protesting that African Americans did, the meetings they had
containing the bus boycott, the key speakers dealing with the situation and the enthusiasm the
people gave. It was successful because in Document D it states “We heard the resolution calling
for the continuation of the boycott.” Another reason for the Montgomery bus boycott was the
1 way the African Americans acted toward the whites during the bus boycott. These African
Americans were brave, strong, determined and ready to fight, they couldn’t be held down. It was
successful because in the cartoon the African American was able to break through the rope and
wasn’t able to be held by the southern government.
Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were responsible for the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. I disagree with this statement because Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks weren’t the
only two people that made the Montgomery Bus Boycott successful. Martin Luther King, Jr. was
a African American who speech about the rights of the African Americans, he helped the (MIA)
Montgomery Improvement Associated created. Rosa Parks plan to refuse to give her seat up on
the busy on Dec. 1, 1955 to help start the Montgomery bus boycott. Both Martin Luther King, Jr.
and Rosa Parks were both activist who help to make the Montgomery bus boycott successful,
they didn’t make it successful on their own. In fact, there were other people who tried to
desegregate buses before King and Parks. In June 1953 African Americans in Baton Rouge,
Lousanna boycott segregated city buses for two weeks. In 1946, the women’s political council in
Montgomery, Alabama was created which was also helped the Montgomery Bus Boycott
successful. Nine months before Rosa Parks was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus,
15 year old Claudette Colvin was arrested for doing the same, but the leaders didn’t want a
“rebellious teenager” to be the face of the movement (Henrickson 1998). Jo Ann Robinson and
others wrote and delivered leaflets calling for a boycott in time for thousands of African
Americans to stay off buses in 1955 as stated in Document C. E.D. Nixon was the leader of the
(NACCP) National Association for the advancement of colored people in Montgomery, He also
helped made the Bus boycott successful. Reverend Ralph Abernathy made sure the meetings for
the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was held weekly until the bus boycott was
ended. Bayard Rustin was also a African American activist who advised Dr. King and supported
the busy boycott he kept a diary of what he found as stated in document D. Many different
African Americans helped made the Montgomery bus boycott successful. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Rosa Parks were just two people that really stood out during the time of the
Montgomery Bus Boycott.
As you can see, the Montgomery Bus boycott was successful. If you look at the way we
are today we are no longer are segregated on buses. Even though when blacks teen, kids walk on
the bus and go to the back, it is their option because us black and whites get the same rights. In
some places there are still racism happening but it is not like it was back in the time of the Jim
Crow laws. African Americans have overcome the discrimination and segregation and they
fought until they got what they wanted which was the right to be equal. We are all equal today.
The Montgomery bus boycott was very successful it was also a turning point in United States
history.
Works Cited
Paul Hendrickson (12 April 1998). “The Ladies Before Rosa: They Too Wouldn’t Give up Their
Seats. Let Us Now Praise Unfamous Women.” The Washington Post.
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