Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Huge Event In The Civil Rights Movement

The Montgomery bus boycott, a huge event in the Civil Rights Movement, was a protest against the radical policy of segregation on the transportation system in Montgomery. Featured above is an illustration of African Americans walking down a main street in protest of the bus system in Montgomery. In 1955, African Americans were required to sit in the back of the buses and give up their seats to white people if the front seats were already filled. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, rode the bus home from her job at a local department store. She sat in the front row of the colored section. When the white section filled, the driver asked Parks and three others to vacate their seats. The other African-American readily complied, knowing the consequences of refusing, but Parks refused (Thornton 2). She was arrested and fined $10, which was a lot of money back then, plus $4 in court fees. As news of the boycott spread, African-American leaders across Montgomery began giving their support.

On December 5, a group of black leaders met to form the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Martin Luther King Jr., the 26-year-old-pastor of Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, was elected as the president. He decided to continue the boycott until the city met the people’s demands. The Montgomery Bus Boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, lasting for 381 days. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system, which led to the order of schools to be integrated as