Montgomery Bus Boycott

Question 1

What happened?

Answer 1

• on 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to move from the ‘whites only’ section. She was arrested
• local black community leaders agreed to call a boycott of all city buses. Church preacher Martin Luther King led the boycott

Question 2

What impact did that have on the buses?

Answer 2

the boycott lasted many moths. African-Americans had provided 75 per cent of the bus company’s business, which was soon in financial difficulty

Question 3

What influence did King have on the boycott?

Answer 3

King told the black community to remain peaceful. He believed that non-violent protest, or ‘direct action’, was the best way to achieve equal rights

Question 4

What was the outcome?

Answer 4

In 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses, like schools, were illegal. This was a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement and for peaceful direct action