Historical Empathy Project Part 2 First Person Narrative Faith Brock HIST151 April 12th, 2024 Introduction: The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a 13-month-long protest that began on December 5th, 1955. The protest against the bus system originated when a young seamstress and civil rights activist, Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat to a white man. The bus driver’s demand being denied led to the arrival of local law enforcement, who took Parks into custody. This sparked the beginning of one of the largest protests to date. E. D. Nixon, Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy, and Martin Luther King Jr. banded together to create the Montgomery Improvement Association, also known as the MIA. The MIA, with Dr. King leading the charge, officially began the …show more content…
Many were fired for showing up late or even simply caught walking to work. The Ku Klux Klan also made an appearance and went as far as to bomb the residence of Dr. King and his family ("The Civil Rights Movement: Taking a Stand"). However, these obstacles did not deter them from continuing, and by 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Montgomery bus segregation laws were unconstitutional and that buses would no longer be separated by race. What drew me to this topic was Rosa Parks. Ever since I was a young girl, her legacy and courage have always been a lingering thought in the back of my mind. Her unwavering dedication to equality inspired hundreds of African Americans during the boycott and led them one step closer to true freedom. In the face of adversity and strife, Rosa stood up for herself and her people, and in doing so she has continued to empower women to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. By putting myself in her shoes, I hope to not only learn more about the events and efforts that led to the success of the Montgomery Boycott, but to also better understand Rosa Parks and to embody a newfound appreciation for her life and
The Montgomery Bus Boycott is a civil rights movement of the blacks boycotting in the bus in Montgomery during the period of civil rights. A group of blacks started the movement to protest city by city because they felt like Whites discriminates them too much. This boycott happen after a Rosa Park refused to get off the bus for Whites which she beat up and arrested; therefore, it is against segregation between Whites and Blacks. The Liberation Theology mean people use religions to make or create movement and protest to change the society. Montgomery Bus Boycott and Liberation Theology are similar because they found out that there is inequality happening in the society and people take actions to change or against situations. Also, they are
History shows that all protest movements rely on symbols - boycotts, strikes, sit-ins, flags, songs. Symbolic action on whatever scale - from the Tallahassee Bus Boycott to wearing a simple wristband - is designed to disrupt our everyday complacency and force people to think. You have to be careful how you're using the word boycott. Boycotters in Tallahassee achieved an important victory in the struggle for civil rights.
(3) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): After the supreme court decided to end segregation, African Americans started to speak out more about their racial opinions. In Montgomery, Alabama, a bus boycott ended with a victory for the African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama segregation laws were unconstitutional. During the boycott a young African American Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. became well known. Throughout the long contest he advised African Americans to avoid violence no matter had badly provoked by whites. Rosa Parks tired of sitting in the back of the bus, and giving up her seat to white men. One weary day she refused to move from the front of the bus, and she became one of history's heroes in the Civil Rights Act movement.
On December 5, 1955, thousands of African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama walked, carpooled, or hitchhiked to work in an act of rebellion against segregation on buses. This bus boycott was not the first of its kind – black citizens of Baton-Rouge, Louisiana had implemented the same two years prior – but the bus boycott in Montgomery was a critical battle of the Civil Rights Movement. Though the original intent of the boycott was to economically cripple the bus system until local politicians agreed to integrate the city’s buses, the Montgomery Bus Boycott impacted the fabric of society in a much deeper way. Instead of only changing the symptoms of a much larger problem, this yearlong protest was the first step in transforming the way all Americans perceived freedom and equality. Though the boycott ended when the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional, this was not directly caused by the refusal to ride buses, and thus cannot be defined as the primary triumph of the boycott. Instead, the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded in changing the consciousness of millions of Americans, specifically southern blacks. A revolution of the mind was the greatest success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and this transformation occurred due to the small validations throughout the boycott that African Americans, as unified, free citizens, had power.
Parks was immediately arrested, which sparked “…a yearlong bus boycott, [which was] the beginning of the mass phase of the civil rights movement in the South” (Foner 954). Her arrest resulted in the meeting of hundreds of blacks, all of which gathered in local churches, who called for a boycott. After “…381 days” (Foner 955) of blacks choosing to walk to their destinations rather than ride the bus, the boycott ended and in November of 1956, the Supreme Court called for the end of segregation on public transportation, deeming it as unconstitutional. During the Montgomery bus boycott, the Civil Rights Movement also witnesses the rise of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the pastor soon became the face of the movement. King used Christian values and beliefs in his calls for action, stressing that no violence must be used. He quickly became an influential figure, for he “…presented the case for black rights in a vocabulary that merged the black experience with that of the nation” (Foner 956). He called for a Christian movement, which “…resonated deeply in both black communities and the broader culture” (Foner 956), and became an important leader of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. Overall, the 1950s led to the growing momentum of the Civil Rights Movement in the due
Just think, it all would have never happened if one person, Mrs. Rosa Parks, would have let the bus driver trample over her and not stand up for what she knows is right. In Martin Luther King Jr’s book, Stride Towards Freedom, he sums up the whole boycott very nicely. “The Story of Montgomery is the story of 50,000 Negroes who were willing to substitute tired feet for tired souls and walk the streets of Montgomery until the walls of segregation were finally battered by the forces of justice. ”5 End Notes 1Taylor Branch Parting the Water: America in the King Years, 1954-1963 (New York:
Thousands of Americans gathered and marched peacefully in August 28, 1963 to Washington which was the greatest assemblage for human rights in the history of the United States. They marched for justice, equality and peace. According to the article, “The 1963 March on Washington” Yussuf Simmonds describes, “…An unprecedented gathering of blacks and Whites exposing society 's ills and demanding that the government enforce the laws equally to protect all its citizens regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity or any other superficial differences that had been place by human beings on other human beings” (1). Dr. King delivered his historic speech “I Have a Dream” which is one of the most influential speeches against racial segregation
Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more
In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case, during which the “separate but equal” doctrine was created and abused. One year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launched a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama after Ms. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat in the “colored section”. This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to the desegregation of buses in 1956. Group efforts greatly contributed to the success of the movement.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott stands as a powerful testament to the resilience and empowerment of individuals in the Civil Rights Movement, showcasing their unwavering determination to challenge injustice and effect change. At the heart of this pivotal event lies the **resilience** of the African American community in Montgomery, Alabama, as they united to protest against racial segregation on city buses. Moreover, the boycott exemplifies the **empowerment** of ordinary individuals who, through collective action and nonviolent resistance, transformed their indignation into a catalyst for social reform. One attribute of **resilience** that defined the Montgomery Bus Boycott was the community's ability to endure hardship and persevere in the face of adversity. The boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, a seamstress and NAACP activist, for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus (Doc 2).
In January 1957, four churches and homes of African Americans were bombed and 7 people, all members of the KKK, were arrested. Two years earlier, the city of Moungumery was losing 30,000 fares a day. December 5th 1955, due to a woman named Rosa Parks, the protest Montgomery bus boycott struck. Where in Montgomery, Alabama there were around 40,000 protesters and it lasted a little over a year. To gain a deeper understanding of the Montgomery bus boycott, it is necessary to examine its causes, details, and impact on American society.
...ivil rights in America, galvanized by the landmark Brown vs. Board of Educa2tion of Topeka decision of 1954.” The Montgomery bus boycott happened on “December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks... who refused to give up her sear to a white passenger on a bus” she was arrested. Later, the Supreme Court ruled “segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in November 1956.”
Montgomery Bus Boycotts: Role of Women in the Civil Rights Movement. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1950's and 60's, women played an undeniably significant role in forging the path against discrimination and oppression. Rosa Parks and Jo Ann Robinson were individual women whose efforts deserve recognition for instigating and coordinating the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycotts that would lay precedent for years to come that all people deserve equal treatment despite the color of their skin. The WPC, NAACP, and the Montgomery Churches provided the channels to organize the black public into a group that could not be ignored as well supported the black community throughout the difficult time of the boycott.
According to Fred Gray, a former civil rights attorney, she “gave all of us moral courage”. If she had not done what she did, I am not sure that we would have been able to mount the support for Mrs. Parks” (University of Idaho). Nine months later, when Rosa Parks famously followed suit, she was “arrested.a consequence of the Jim Crow laws, legislation designed to codify racism and marginalize black Americans” (BBC). These laws were established within the 1856 court ruling of Plessy vs. Ferguson, which introduced a new era of “separate but equal” for the United States (Library of Congress), legalizing segregated facilities. Both women challenged inequitable societal customs and defied unjust rulings, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott that ultimately contributed to the abolishment of the Jim Crow laws through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Harvard University).
Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson, and David J. Garrow. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It: the Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1987. Print.