Montgomery Bus Boycott

Intro

5 December 1955 marked the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On this day the citizens of Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the city's buses in protest to desegregate them. Instead of taking the bus to where they needed to be, they walked, stayed at home, carpooled or caught a taxi. The protest unexpectedly lasted 13 months and in this time taxi drivers reduced their fares to that of buses to make the boycott less of an inconvenience for the African American population. It was a significant event in the course of the civil rights movement with many causes. The main ones being Jim crow laws, unfair treatment of Black people, those who challenged jim crow laws and the actions of rosa parks. of course, the event also resulted in many consequences the main ones being White backlash, legal success, the expansion of the civil rights and Martin Luther King Jr emerging as a leader. The Montgomery Bus boycott was not only a significant event in the civil rights movement but a significant event in history.

Civil Rights Movement expanded

Because people could see that non-violence could be successful through the Montgomery bus boycott, the civil rights movement expanded, especially for students. in 1960 4 students sat at a lunch counter for whites only. They were denied service but refused to moveand were arrested. Their actions sparked a sit-in movement which spread across 55 cities in 13 states over the course of two months with the goal to desegregate lunch counters. Then in May 1961, 13 civil rights activists launched freedom summer or the freedom rides, a series of bus rides across the southern united states to desegregate interstate bus terminals. Both protests were successful. Thanks to the proven success of the Montgomery Bus boycott, the civil rights movement was enabled to expand creating a freeer society for African American people.

Rosa Parks

Finally, the actions of Rosa Parks directly caused the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On the 1st of December 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress and member of the National Association for the advancement of coloured people sat on a seat in the middle section of a bus in Montgomery. The bus filled up and Rosa Parks was asked to give up her seat. She refused, not because she was "physically tired" but "tired of giving in." She was arrested and charged $10 with violation on section 6 chapter 11 of the Montgomery city code. In addition she was charged $4 in court fines. On this night of her arrest, the National Association for the advancement of coloured people began to organise a boycott of the city's buses.

Leagal Succrees

Fortunately, as a consequence of the boycott, its goal to desegregate bused was achieved. This proved that nonviolence could be a successful tactic. On the 5th of June 1956, the mONTGOMERY Federal court ruled that racially segregated seating was a ciolation of the 14th amendment which "guarantees all citizens regardless of race have equal rights and protection under state and federal laws." The city then appealed to the supreme court on the 20th of December 1956and on the 2st of Decemeber, Montogomery's buses were leagally integrated which brought an end to the boycott. This proved to Americans that non-violence could achieve change and could be a successful tactic in the course of the civil rights movement.

Jim Crow Laws

One of the main causes of the Montgomery bus boycott. Laws enforcing segregation established in 1877 when reconstruction ended. Reconstruction was a period of rebuilding the United Sates of America after the Civil War. The Jim Crow Laws were enforced in over 15 southern states up until the 1960s. They separated Blacks from whites in every aspect of life. They had separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, shops, and schools. Though these facilities were meant to be "separate but equal" they were not. Black people were disadvantaged when it came to Jim Crow laws, they were even denied the right to vote. And though there wee not separate buses for Black and White people, buses were segregated. The back 10 seats of the bus were reserved for Black people and the front 10 seats were reserved for whites. The middle section was to be filled back to front by blacks and front to back by blacks. However, if there were any white people standing, Black people would be ordered to give up their seat. These Jim Crow Laws created a reason for the Montgomery Bus Boycott to take place to end segregation on buses.

King eMERGED AS leader

The final main consequence of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was king emerging as a leader of the civil rights movement. King was actively involved throughout the Montgomery bus boycott and he, as a result, established popularity with other protestors. tHSI ALLOWED him to, on the 11th of January 1957 establish the southern Christian leadership conference, an African-American civil rights organization. from here he lead the Birmingham campaign to make segregation illegal from January to May 1963. King also lead the March on Washington 1963 in support of the civil rights bill where he gave his famous speech "i have a dream". Through his work established in the Montgomery bus boycott King was the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel peace prize in 1964 aged 35. Because of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, King was enabled to become the amazing leader he was and make a huge footprint in history.

White Backlash

The first consequence of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was white Backlash. Because Black people made up 70% of the bus population, the city (white people) lost thousands in revenue. This made them angry and caused them to respond violently to the boycott. Police would harass carpoolers and the houses of boYCOTT LEADERS Martin Luther King Jr and E.D. Nixon were bombed. Following the integration of buses, snipers would fire at them, one shattering both the legs of a pregnant woman. In January 1957, 4 black churches were bombed. Thankfully, the majority of bus related violence came to an end when seven members of the Ku Klus Klan were arrested on the 30th of January 1957. The violence in response to the boycott affected the lives of many.

Those who challenged Jim Crow Laws

Those who challenged Jim crow Laws also helped cause the Montgomery Bus Boycott. in 1890, there was a Louisiana law that requiring railroads to have "s e p a n r a t e b u t e q u a l a c c om m o d a t i o n s f o r t h e w h i t e a n n d c o l o u r e d r a c e s." Jane Homer Plessy, an African American woman challenged this law by sitting in a seat designated for white people, she refused to move when asked and was arrested. However, the Judge, john H. Ferguson upheld the Law as he believed like Plessy that the accommodations were not "separate but equal" and on the 1 8 M a y 1 8 9 6, segregation was ruled unconstitutional. But not a lot changed. So in 1954 the Brown vs Board case was held. Oliver Brown had a daughter, Linda Brown who couldn't go to the local school two blocks away because it was for white people. Instead, she had to walk 10 blocks and cross a dangerous railroad to get to a school that did not even have enough supplies for all of its students. Oliver Brown believed that this was a violation of the 14th amendment of the constitution, and so did the National Association for the Advancement of coloured people's lawyer, Thurgood Marshall. He took Brown's case along with several others along to the supreme court who publically agreed on the 17th May 1954. And in 1955, the supreme court demanded primary schools to be integrated with "all deliberate speed." The cases of Brown vs. Board and Plessy vs Ferguson proved that Jim Crow Laws could be overcome causing the people of Montgomery to believe that the Montgomery Bus Boycott would cause change and there was, therefore, a reason for it to take place.

White intimidation

Unfair treatment of African Americans was another cause of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the Southern United States of America, white people considered themselves "superior" to African Americans. They, therefore, took it upon themselves to "keep negroes in their place." This included not only verbally and physically attacking them but lynchings took place and the homes of African Americans were burnt down by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Unfortunately, a 14-year-old boy, Emmet Till, experienced this brutal violence first hand in the August of 1955. Till was visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi in southern America, from Chicago, Illinois in Northern America, when he said "Bye Baby" to a white woman in a store. Because he was from the North, he did not understand what this would bring upon him. He was kidnapped by the woman's brother and husband. They mutilated him and shot him before sinking his body in the Tallahatchie river. The murder highlighted the brutal treatment of Black people by whites. Though the treatment of African Americans on buses was not to the same extent, they were treated unfairly. For example, they had to pay at the front of the bus but then get off to re-board at the back. Bus drivers would often drive off before African American people had a chance to get to the back door. This unfair and often brutal treatment not only motivated the African American citizens of Montgomery to boycott the buses but highlighted the need for change.