Skitgomery Bus Boycott Analysis

Maddie Durmowicz

Period: 8

Montgomery Bus Boycott Script

Scene 1:

In this scene we will ask our interviewee specific questions about Rosa Parks, the beginning of the Boycott, and their personal experiences with bus segregation.

Questions:

How were you treated on public buses before the boycott? Did you ever have to give up your seat?

How was Rosa Parks a beginning of the boycott? Did you see her as a leader?

What would you say the atmosphere was like after Rosa Parks’s arrest and prior or during the boycott?

Scene 2:

In this scene Rosa Parks will refuse to give up her seat to a White man on a bus. The police will be called and she will be arrested.

Title Slide: December 1st, 1955

White man 1: “ Hey, all of the seats up front are

taken ”
Bus Driver: (gets up and turns around) “You guys, in the middle, y’all get up and move back”
4 others: (Rise from their seats and move to the back of the bus where they need to stand)
Rosa Parks: (Stares out window while sitting)
Bus driver: “Hey you, did you hear me? Get up and move!”
Rosa Parks: “No.”
Bus driver: (Exits the bus and then walks back in with a police officer with him)
Police officer: (Immediately arrests Rosa Parks)
Bus Driver: “That’s what you get for breaking segregation laws!”

Scene 3:

Audio: “Jo Ann Robinson was born in Culloden, Georgia on April 17, 1912.

After earning a master’s degree, she moved to Montgomery Alabama to teach at Alabama State College. In the the late 1940’s Robinson experienced racial segregation when she was yelled at for sitting in the empty white section of a bus. Robinson eventually went on to become the president of the Women’s Political Council and met with the mayor of Montgomery, William A. Gayle. However, the city wasn’t denied their demands to integrate buses so Robinson, MLK, E.D. Nixon and the local leaders get together to plan a boycott.

While Narrator speaks…

Picture of Jo Ann, Alabama State College, then a bus

Jo Ann shows overall plan of boycott on blackboard, leader nod heads and clap.

Jo Ann, MLK, ED Nixon and other local leaders shake hands

Flyer that says “Don't ride the bus to work, to town, to school, or any place Monday, December 5.

Another Negro Woman has been arrested and put in jail because she refused to give up her bus

seat.
Don't ride the buses to work to town, to school, or any where on Monday. If you work, take a cab, or share a ride, or walk.
Come to a mass meeting, Monday at 7:00 P.M. at the Holt Street Baptist Church for further instruction.”)

Scene 4:
In this scene Jo Ann Robinson and other women make flyers and distribute them. There will again be a voice over throughout all of the action.

Audio: “On December 3rd, 1955 the Women’s Political Council took to the streets in order to publicize the upcoming boycott. Jo Ann Robinson and the other members of the WPC put huge efforts into making the bus boycott a success. They made and distributed lots of leaflets and flyers for the boycott. The also received support from Montgomery Religious leaders. Posters could be seen throughout the city. An ad was even published in the paper on December 4th, 1955.”

Slide: December 3rd, 1955
Jo Ann Robinson: (Passes out flyers on the street)
Other Women: (Make and distribute flyers)
Priest: (Talks about boycott and distributes flyers)

Scene 5:
In this scene two white men (White man 2 and White man 3) will be on the bus with other white people having a discussion about why the bus is almost empty.

Slide: December 5th, 1955
Child: (gets on bus and sits down in the front. Turns around and notices no African Americans are in the back. Turns to the man next to him) “Mama why is the bus so empty?”
Mother: “It is because there are no Blacks on the bus.”
Child: “Well Mama, why are there no blacks on the bus?”
Mother: “There is this silly thing called a boycott. Don’t talk to daddy about it. You know how he owns most of the bus system? Well, daddy doesn’t like the boycotters because then he gets no more money.”

Scene 6:
In this seen there is a short voiceover discusses the continuation of the boycott and the Formation of the MIA. In the background there will be photos of the actual boycott and MIA meetings.

Audio: “The Boycott was a huge success. 90% of the African Americans residing in Montgomery, Alabama stayed off of the public buses on December 5th, 1955. Civil Rights leaders were impressed with the boycott’s success and decided to prolong the boycott in order to obtain the results they wanted. The leaders were willing and ready to fight for the victory they would create. In order to complete this task the Montgomery Improvement Association or the MIA was formed. The elected leader of the MIA would be no other than Dr. Martin Luther King jr. (who had recently moved to preach at a church in Montgomery, Alabama). There were other local leaders involved as well as E.D. Nixon, another well known civil rights leader. Later, the MIA would also support other events that promoted integration in Montgomery and not only the bus boycott.

Visuals will be pictures of the actual events that took place.

Scene 7:
In Scene 7 the demands of the MIA are created and MLK goes to Reporters in order to outline and share their demands.

MLK: (speaking to crowd) “I would like to open the floor in this Democratic meeting. Since we are going to continue with the Boycott, What is it you want as a result?”
Townsperson 1: “I want to be treated nicely!”
Townsperson 2: “I want to sit where I would like to!”
Townsperson 3: “I want the possibility to get a job as a bus driver.”
Narrator: (this will be a voice over. In the background the meeting will be continued) “Martin Luther King jr. took note of what the people of Montgomery wanted and what he himself wanted for the future. On December 6th, 1955 MLK approached reporters. To share his demands and the demands of those in the MIA”
Reporter: “What would you like to speak to us about”
MLK: “Today, I would like to outline our demands and what we would like to come out of this Boycott.”
Reporter: “Okay. Go Ahead.”
MLK: “We the Montgomery Improvement Association would like three demands to be met by the city (1) courteous treatment by the bus operators was guaranteed; (2) passengers were seated on a first-come, first-served basis – Negroes seating from the back of the bus toward the front while whites seated from the front toward the back; (3) Negro bus operators were employed on predominantly Negro routes.”
Narrator: (In the background MLK is still speaking to reporters) “The city refused to meet the demands of Martin Luther King and the MIA. This fueled the want for bus segregation to be ended altogether, so the bus boycott continued.”

Scene 8:
In this scene there is another MIA meeting which is going to work to determine how the bus boycott can be continued. There will be another meeting scene and a voiceover outlining what will happen. Then in the scene workers can be seen getting into a taxi with a lowered fare.

Narrator: (In the background there is the 2nd meeting of the MIA) “One of the biggest questions that needed to be answered at this meeting was “How do we get to and from work? and What transportation should we use if we can’t use the buses?” The answer to this question would be found when taxis offered low fares to those participating in the boycott.”
Townsperson 4: “Hey, lets catch a taxi. I’ve heard that the are charging less because of the boycott.”
Townsperson 5: (Nods)
Townsperson 6: “Sounds good to me”
Townsperson 4: (flags down taxi)
Taxi driver: (Pulls a taxi over to the side) “You need a ride. Where to?
Townsperson 5: “We’re going to _____”
Taxi driver: “That will only be 10 cents.

Thank you for staying off of the buses.”

Narrator: (Taxi drives off in the background) “The taxi system worked very well until the city started to demand that taxi drivers charge the standard 45 cents opposed to the 10 cents that was being charged. If they refused to do so the cab driver would be be arrested. Most boycotters could no longer afford to pay for taxis and had no good transportation solution.”

Scene 9:

In this scene there is another MIA meeting where it is discussed how to continue the boycott. The narrator will explain with a voice over the meeting. There will then be a carpool scene where townspeople are all carpooling in a Taxi.

Narrator: (MIA meeting in the background) “Another MIA meeting was held in order to figure out what we can do in order to transport everyone. A system of carpools was decided on. The carpool system was incredibly complex and there were 300+ cars involved. The carpool system was put into effect in early 1956.”

Townsperson 4: “He/She should be arriving any time now to take us to work.”

Townsperson 5: “Oh! There he/she is!”

Townsperson 4, 5 and 6: (Look up the

road)
Townsperson 7: (pulls car over to the side) “If you need a ride hop on in.”
All townspeople: (Enter car) “This was really easy and it’s working out really well.”

Scene 10:
In this scene we will again ask questions about some of the struggles of participating in the boycott.

Questions:
What were some of the struggles you personally faced during the boycott? Were they resolved?
Were there any major events that occurred during the boycott that affected you greatly?

There will again be photos of the event and if possible film of the interviewee.

Scene 11:
In this scene a Narrator discusses some of the negatives of the boycott and the mistreatment of those participating in the boycott by Whites. The bombing of MLK’s house will be included. Real photographs from the time will be incorporated.

Audio: “Along with the success the boycott, there was lots of tragedy as well. Many whites tried to stop the boycott by harming and harassing those involved in the Boycott. On January 30th, 1956, Martin Luther King jr. house’s was bombed by white segregationists. It was meant as a retaliation against the success of the Boycott. An angry crowd gathered outside of King’s house but, MLK pleaded for nonviolence “My intimidations are a small price if victory can be won.” Two days later another Civil Rights Leader E. D. Nixon’s house was bombed.”

The Visuals will be pictures of the event.

Scene 12:
In this scene we will discuss the court case Browder vs Gayle and the results of the case. We will also portray the ending of the bus boycott. There will be a Narrator and actors in the background.

Audio: “Aurelia S. Browder vs. William A. Gayle or as it is commonly known, Browder vs. Gayle, is a court case that was filed against Mayor William A. Gayle because of the mistreatment of four women (Claudette Colvin, Aurelia S. Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise smith) on the Montgomery Public Bus system. The court case challenged the segregation policies on the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. The case made it to the Supreme Court. On June 5th, 1956 the US Supreme Court ruled that the policies on buses in Montgomery were unconstitutional. Martin Luther King was pleased by the victory, but would not call off the boycott until the integration policies were implemented. On December 20th, 1956 the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. That same day Martin Luther King jr. and the MIA voted to finally end the boycott. The Montgomery bus boycott had lasted 381 days. On December 21st, 1956 buses in Montgomery were fully integrated.”

Aurelia Browden: (Sits on one side of the room)
Claudette Colvin: (Sits with her)
Mary Louise Smith: (sitting with Browden)
Susie McDonald: (sits with Browden)
Lawyer 1: (Argues in front of the panel of judges for the 4 women. Stands up makes case and then sits down)
William A. Gayle: (Sits on the other side of the room)
Lawyer 2: (argues in front of panel of judges for William A. Gayle. Stands up makes case sits down)
Judges 1, 2 and 3: (Take notes and nod. Judges confer and reach verdict)
Judge 1: (Stands and announces verdict to the court)
People: (stand and cheer behind the 4 women)

MLK: (Announces to crowd that the boycott won’t stop)
Judges: (Talk with officials in Montgomery)
Montgomery Official: (Talk with judges)

MLK: (Announces End of Boycott)
People: (Cheer!!)

Scene 13:
In this scene we will portray the continuation of Racial prejudice after the boycott ended. we will have a Narrator doing a voiceover while photographs of the actual events are shown in the background.

Narrator: “Despite the joy over the end of the successful boycott, many tragic events occurred due to the racial prejudices that still existed, and the white anger over the desegregation. On December 23rd, 1956 a shot was fired into Reverend Dr. Martin Luther KIng’s home. No one was harmed. On December 24th, 1956 a 15 year-old African American woman was beat up at a bus station by several white men. On December 25th, 1956 Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth's house was bombed in Birmington, Alabama. Reverend Shuttlesworth was a civil rights activist working to integrate the bus system in Birmingham, Alabama. On December 26th, 1956 Snipers targeted Montgomery Buses. On December 28th 1956 Rosa Jordan, a pregnant black woman, is shot while riding a bus. All of these tragic events happened after the desegregation, and show that despite the victory in this particular movement, there was still much improvement needed in order for there to be equality.”

Visuals of the events will be shown.

Scene 14:
This scene will include the final thoughts from our interviewee, and their opinion on the bus boycott.

Questions:
How did you feel when the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended?
How did you react when you continued to hear about that racism and violence on the public buses? Did you ever experience it?
Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

Cast List:
(In no particular order)
*Interviewee: (Possibilities include Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, Fred Gray and more)
*Rosa Parks: Julia
*White Man 1: Carter
*Bus Driver: Jackson
*Police Man: Pete
Jo Ann Robinson: Carter
Priest: Dalton
Mother: Maddie
Child: Chris (Joyce’s little brother)
*Martin Luther King Jr.: Pete
*Narrators: Maddie, Julia, Joyce, Carter, Pete, Dalton, Jackson
*Townsperson 1: Joyce
*Townsperson 2: Jackson
*Townsperson 3: Julia
*Reporter: Maddie
*Townsperson 4: Jackson
*Townsperson 5: Joyce
*Townsperson 6: Carter
*Taxi Driver: Dalton
*Townsperson 7 (Carpool driver): Pete
Aurelia Browden: Julia
Claudette Colvin: Joyce
Mary Louise Smith: Maddie
Susie McDonald: Carter
Lawyer 1: Extra
Lawyer 2: Extra
Judge 1: Dalton
Judge 2: Jackson
Judge 3: Pete
William A. Gayle: Chris