Montgomery Bus Boycott and the role of Rosa Parks Flashcards
Montgomery Bus Boycott and role of Rosa Parks
Introducing the rise of the movement
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the first major act by a large group.
late 1955, Rosa Parks (CR activist and member of the NAACP) decided not to vacate her seat for a White person on the bus.
Word of a bus boycott spread after her arrest and a people’s movement developed.
The result was an almost year-long boycott of buses by Montgomery’s 40,000-strong Black community (which made up most of the bus’s customers).
Montgomery Bus Boycott and role of Rosa Parks
- Rosa parks effect on supporting the Boycott
- Introduction of the MIA
The White reaction to the bus boycott included beatings and bombings.
As Rosa Parks was a well-educated and well-spoken woman who was supported by a White lawyer, Clifford Durr, this violent White reaction saw many ‘moderate’ Whites sympathise with the Black community and support the boycott (Some even driving the Black people to work).
A photo of Rosa Parks being finger-printed appeared on the front page of the New York Times which increased awareness in the North.
The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was born out of the boycott.
The boycotts Effect
- MLK joining the face of MIA
- Boycott had a widened impact
- Montgomery buses didnt budge, Supreme court ruled segretation on buses
Martin Luther King Jr was chosen as the face of the MIA.
MLK was a relatively unknown quantity at this point being new to Montgomery, so this was a crucial step in his emergence as a civil rights leader.
The boycott had a wider impact as other cities enacted similar boycotts (Dallas and Tallahassee).
By the end of the boycott,
- 341 days, involving 40,000 people.
- Montgomery segregated buses lost 60% of income
However, montgomery buses refused to budge. It was, again, the Supreme Court who stepped in to rule segregation on buses unconstitutional and so the boycott ended.
The boycott showed that the power of the people and the Supreme Court could institute change.
