THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT Flashcards
What caused the Montgomery bus boycott?
1st December 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger
What happened after Rosa Parks was arrested?
The Women’s Political Council(WPC)in Montgomery called
for all AA’s to boycott all busses on the day of Rosa’s trial 5th of December.
Churches and colleges helped publicise it
Was the Boycott a success?
The boycott was a huge success:
90%of AA’s did not use the buses that day, which made CRA to realise they had found a useful method to stimulate change
What happened on the evening of 5th December 1955?
A large group gathered at HOLT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH and set up the MIA on the evening of 5th DEC 1955
What was the aim of the MIA?
To improve integration throughout Montgomery starting with bus desegregation
Who was the chairman of the MIA?
A local minister MLK
After the creation of the MIA,What did they decide to do?
To continue the boycott until their demand were met
(respect for black passengers/ AA shouldn’t have to abandoned their seats for white passengers/
What did the MIA do after they decided to continue the boycott, until all their demands were met?
They met with the bus company who refused all their demands, a decision that resulted them loosing 3000 pounds a day for 381 days
(demands hardened-) complete end to desegregation.
What were the methods the MIA used to maintain the boycott?
Arranged for black taxi companies to charge lower fares
Some white employers gave their AA employees lifts
Why did the first methods of the MIA to maintain the boycott prove to be ineffective?
An old law was restored that raised minumum taxi fares to make them too expensive for AA
The white community pressurising the people who had been giving AA lifts to stop
What did the MIA then decide to do after their first methods stopped working?
The MIA began to organise a carpooling system, where people shared cars.
and developing various pick of and drop of points around the city
Were the MIA’s role in the boycott the most significant in its success?
NO, The support of several churches in Montgomery was also essential for the boycott’s success
What was the role of churches in the MBB?
The churches BROUGHT and RAISED money for cars to be used for the carpools,
MOST AA’s attended church so it was the PERFECT place for CREATING SUPPORT for the boycott and ENCORAGING people to keep going on
PROVIDED MEETING PLACES FOR PLANNING AND DISCUSSION
Even brought SHOES for people as they wore out quickly
What was some of the direct negatives of the MBB?(violence)
Boycotters were verbally/physically abused by furious whites from Montgomery
Drivers from shared cars often arrested for minor offences
Explain the MAIN significance of the MBB
The case, Browder v. Gayle, finally ended racial segregation on Alabama’s buses, and state and city appeals that occurred later in 1956 were rejected. Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), a civil rights organization that had promoted the bus boycott, voted to end the boycott.
