Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was an important episode in the U.S. civil rights movement. The campaign began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses was unconstitutional.
Asked by Erin Bode in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which took place from Dec. 5, 1955, to Dec. 20, 1956, was a civil rights protest during which many African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to challenge the segregated seating laws. The boycott came four days after Rosa Parks was famously arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus.
The boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., proved to be very effective, and on June 5, 1956, a U.S. District Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this decision on appeal.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
When was the Montgomery bus boycott?

The Montgomery bus boycott began on December 5, 1955,
four days after Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give her bus
seat to a white man. Although the boycott was originally planned to
last only one day, the organizers of the boycott, led by Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., decided to extend it until the practice of public
transportation segregation was outlawed.
The boycott ended 381 days later, on December 20,
1956, the day the city of Montgomery received a court order
demanding immediate integration of the buses. The order was issued
because the US Supreme Court upheld a US District Court decision
(Browder v. Gayle, (1956)) that declared segregation on the
city buses was unconstitutional.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What was the cause and effects of the Montgomery bus boycott?

The Montgomery bus boycott began in response to Rosa
Parks' December 1, 1955 arrest for refusing to give her seat to
a white man.
The original organizers were Jo Ann Robinson, an English
instructor at Alabama State College and President of Montgomery's
Women's Political Council, and E. D. Nixon, President of the
Montgomery chapter of the NAACP.
On December 4, they called a meeting of community leaders to
discuss holding a one-day boycott of Montgomery City Lines, Inc.,
bus company. During the meeting, the group formed a new alliance,
the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), to which Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected Chairman and President. Dr.
King subsequently became the leader of the civil rights action that
lasted 381 days, resulting in a US Supreme Court ruling (Browder v.
Gayle, (1956)) denouncing segregation as unconstitutional.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
When did the US Supreme Court end the Montgomery bus boycott by declaring segregation on public buses unconstitutional?

The case Browder v. Gayle, (1956) challenged the state of
Alabama and city of Montgomery's segregation policy on intrastate
bus travel that resulted in the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott.
Although Rosa Parks was not a party to the case, her December 1,
1955, arrest for refusing to allow a white man to take her seat was
the catalyst for both the boycott and the Browder case.
The US Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the US District
Court for the Middle District of Alabama in the case of Browder
v. Gayle, on November 13, 1956, and declared segregation
on buses unconstitutional. On December 20, 1956, the city of
Montgomery received a court order mandating integration.
Case Citation:
Browder v. Gayle, 352 US 903 (1956)
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What caused the Montgomery bus boycott?

More Information
Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, for refusing to
give up her bus seat to a white man. Ms. Parks was well-respected
within the African-American community, arousing outrage at the way
she was treated by the bus company and police. African-American
community leaders, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., met to
discuss the situation on December 4, and planned a one-day boycott
of the Montgomery public transit system for December 5, 1955. What
started as a one-day event eventually stretched 381 days, until
December 20, 1956, as the community determined not to ride the
buses again until they were integrated.
Rosa Parks unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of
the segregation law in the Alabama state courts, where the appeals
process threatened to drag on for years.
Local attorneys Fred Gray and Charles Lang ford consulted with
NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys, Robert Carter and Thur good
Marshall, whose successful campaign against segregation in
education lead to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board
of Education, (1954). Carter and Marshall suggested choosing a
new group of plaintiffs who had been discriminated against and
abused by the busing company.
The resulting suit, Browder v. Gayle, (1956), resulted in
the Supreme Court affirming the US District Court for the Middle
District of Alabama's ruling that the bus segregation was
unconstitutional.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
How long was the Montgomery bus boycott planned to last?

The boycott was originally intended to be a one-day protest,
beginning and ending on December 5, 1955, but there was so much
participation Martin Luther King and the other leaders decided to
continue until the buses were integrated. The boycott ended
December 20, 1956, after the Supreme Court declared segregation in
public transportation unconstitutional and the District Court
issued an order mandating desegregation of the city buses.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
How long did the Montgomery bus boycott last?

The Bus Boycott was inspired by Rosa Parks, when on 1 December
1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, she was arrested for refusing to give
her seat to a white man because she was tired, and her feet
hurt.
It began on Monday 5 December 1955, and ended on December 20,
1956, 381 days, or nearly 13 months, later.
It was started by the Montgomery Improvement Association (M.I.A)
which Martin Luther King Jr. was president of at the time. It was
Martin Luther King's first Black Rights job.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
Who organized the Montgomery bus boycott?

The Montgomery bus boycott began in response to Rosa
Parks' December 1, 1955, arrest for refusing to give her seat
to a white man.
The original organizers were Jo Ann Robinson, an English
instructor at Alabama State College and President of Montgomery's
Women's Political Council, and E. D. Nixon, President of the
Montgomery chapter of the NAACP.
On December 4, they called a meeting of community leaders to
discuss holding a one-day boycott of the Montgomery City Lines,
Inc., bus company. During the meeting, the group formed a new
alliance, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), to which
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected Chairman and
President. Dr. King subsequently became the leader of the civil
rights action that lasted 381 days, resulting in a US Supreme Court
ruling (Browder v. Gayle, (1956)) denouncing segregation as
unconstitutional.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
Was the Montgomery bus boycott a turning point for the civil rights movement?

Absolutely it was. Not only was it the first time black people
showed solidarity in their cause for civil rights, it was
cripplingly expensive to the bus companies as most of their riders
were black women taking the bus to mostly housekeeping-type jobs
out in the "white" suburbs. White women, faced with having no
domestic help that they were used to, were often reduced to going
to collect their help, because the only alternative to the bus for
many of the black women would be to walk. They had no cars. Whether
the bus companies themselves applied political pressure I don't
know, but faced with almost certain bankruptcy I would suspect they
were lobbying long and hard.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What is a short summary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest by the
African-Americans about the buses in the Montgomery area.
The buses had a policy that white people sat at the front and
African-Americans sat at the back. The African-Americans were angry
because they couldn't walk through the White's 'zone' and that they
had to pay at the front of the bus, get out of the bus and then get
back in through a rear door. Sometimes the bus driver would drive
away before they could get back in.
The start of it began when outrage occurred when Rosa Parks, an
African-American woman, was arrested for not giving up her seat for
a white man. (She was next to the window, so there was space).
African-American Leaders got together and said to the
African-American population to boycott (not use) the buses for a
day, but it was more of a success than they thought it would be.
The boycott lasted for 381 days (a bit more than a year), until the
US Supreme Court said segregation on buses is unconstitutional and
ordered a change.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
Did Martin Luther King Jr lead the Montgomery bus boycott during the Civil Rights Movement?

Yes. The boycott was inspired by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing
to give up her bus seat to for a white man on December 1,
1955.
The original organizers were Jo Ann Robinson, an English instructor
at Alabama State College and President of Montgomery's Women's
Political Council, and E. D. Nixon, President of the Montgomery
chapter of the NAACP.
On December 4, they called a meeting of community leaders to
discuss holding a one-day boycott of the Montgomery City Lines,
Inc., bus company. During the meeting, the group formed a new
alliance, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), to which
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected Chairman and
President. Dr. King subsequently became the leader of the civil
rights action that lasted 381 days, resulting in a US Supreme Court
ruling (Browder v. Gayle, (1956)) denouncing segregation as
unconstitutional.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
How did the Montgomery bus boycott begin?

The Montgomery bus boycott began on December 5, 1955, four days
after Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give her bus seat to a
white man. Although the boycott was originally planned to last only
one day, the organizers of the boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., decided to extend it until the practice of public
transportation segregation was outlawed. The boycott ended 381 days
later, on December 20, 1956, the day the city of Montgomery
received a court order demanding immediate integration of the
buses.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What is a poem about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott?

Rosa was a little tired after work in December
She hopped on the bus, a ride to remember
Paid in the front, and boarded in the back
Rosa got herself a seat, but the bus was packed. A man
thought he had more right than her to the seat that she sat
in
She was a little tired from workin'
and very tired of being judged, by the color of her
skin
Rosa wouldn't get up, so they threw her in the
slammer
This happened a lot down in Montgomery, Alabama But
she was well known in the African American Community
Used to work for the President of the NAACP
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor of a local
church
Called a meeting and said, the only way to fight is
for
no one, to ride the bus to work.
She believed that "Quiet Strength" was the "Pathway to
Freedom" It took a year for the Supreme Court to agree with
her
Segregation on transportation is unconstitutional
In the land of the free, separate can't be equal
Mother of the Civil Rights Movement
She wears the crown
Standing up for her rights just by sitting down
Rosa Parks, can't you see you changed history
As a nation we are grateful for eternity Like a rose,
your lesson grows more and more each day
The bus you rode has miles to go but we are on our way to be
free
One woman holding a candle in the dark
and her name was Rosa Parks
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
Why did the Montgomery bus boycott start?

The Montgomery bus boycott was caused when Rosa Parks, an
African American woman, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a
white man. Because she refused, police came and arrested her. Soon
after, Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott against the public
transportation system because it was unfair. Eventually the issue
was brought to the supreme court and racial segregation on buses
was deemed unconstotutional. Soon after,King was seen sharing a bus
seat with Rev. Glen Smiley, a white man.
Asked in Montgomery Bus Boycott
What was the purpose of the Montgomery bus boycott?

The purpose of the Montgomery bus boycott was to end racial
segregation on the city bus system in a non-violent way, by
creating economic hardship for the company. When African-Americans
in the city of Montgomery, Alabama stopped riding the buses after
Rosa Parks' arrest, ridership decreased by 80%. The bus company
stubbornly held its ground, however, because they expected local
police and politicians to disrupt the civil rights protest and
dismantle the informal taxi system created by the African-American
community. Both the city and the bus line hoped to coerce
African-Americans into riding the buses instead of changing their
segregation policies.
The boycott finally ended after 381 days, when the US Supreme
Court held segregation in public transportation is unconstitutional
in the case Browder v. Gayle, (1956).