This boycott would probably be successful since 70% of the riders were black. The bus company did not take them seriously, because if there was bad weather, they would have to take the bus. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was established to co-ordinate the boycott. They had a special agreement with black cab companies, in which they were allowed to get a ride for a much cheaper price than normal. Blacks had to walk to work, and so they did not have time to do any shopping and therefore the sales decreased dramatically.
Rosa Parks was born Rosa McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama. No one really knew about her childhood, they only knew about the how she refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. The boycott first started when Rosa Parks didn?t give up her seat after asked about two or three times. Rosa Parks is known for touching off the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 that led to the extreme popularity of Dr. King. The Montgomery improvement association, which is best known as the M.I.A, organized a car pool of nearly three hundred cars to drive people that need transportation.
For years, the black community had complained that the situation was unfair. Parks said, "My resisting being mistreated on the bus did not begin with that particular arrest, I did a lot of walking in Montgomery”. Rosa Louise McCauley was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". One day in 1943, Parks boarded the bus and paid the fare. She then moved to her seat but driver James F. Blake told her to follow city rules and enter the bus again from the back door.
The involvement of women in politics only angered the white segregationists further. The boycott, which was originally intended to last only a single day, lasted for a total 381 days and it only ended when the American Supreme Court ruled that segregation on the buses was unconstitutional. This would have had a rather large impact on the business economy within Montgomery and possibly even Alabama. Montgomery subsequently changed its laws so that buses were integrated. Even though the supreme court ruled that segregation on the buses was unconstitutional it did not overturn all of the segregation laws.
“I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.” says Rosa Parks ( Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott). The African Americans Civil Rights were not fulfilled by the white people who rode the buses with them. She stood up for her rights when nobody else wanted to. Even when she was arrested she did not give up her rights as a human. When the boycott started everybody in the state of Alabama was living in segregation.
In the case of a white man coming onboard when the bus was fully occupied the black passenger closest to the front of the bus was required to vacate that seat for them. It was not until December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man that an outburst against this racial inequality came to being. This resulted in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Many African American followed this boycott, while other couldn’t because they needed it very badly and because many couldn’t afford to buy their own vehicle. The bus business lost a lot of money in Montgomery since most African Americans use buses to go to work, office, school, and etc.
Segregation during the civil rights movement was hard for African Americans because they were not allowed to attend schools with whites, eat at the same resturants as whites, or even sit in the same section on public bus transportation with whites. In 1945 education had racism and segregation, African Americans also lived in the poorest areas with no economic oppurtunity. A general philosophy that developed after the civil war is that if African Americans were kept ill minded they would stay ‘in their place’ (Education and Civil Rights.) In 1956, there was a supreme court case over education called Brown vs. Board of Education that overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson. Brown vs. Board of Education said “seperate but equal” was unconstitutional (Dunigan.)
A common misconception is that all white citizens hated and disrespected black citizens; however, “Even when the Jim Crow laws were being enacted, many people (including white people) felt that they were not fair. They believed that blacks and whites should have equal access to opportunity” (The Impact of Jim Crow Laws on Education 1). The Jim Crow Laws legally separated black citizens and white citizens with segregation in schools, public bathrooms, water fountains, and many more public places. Signs that read “Colored Only” or “White Only” were visible everywhere during that time period (Racial Segregation in the American South: Jim Crow Laws 1). Shockingly, in South Carolina, black textile workers could not even enter through the same door as a white man, let alone work in the same room (A Brief History of Jim Crow 1).
For 382 days King led the Montgomery City Bus Boycott. This was the first major protest that King led and therefore gave him a bit more publicity as a civil rights activist. It was the spark that caught fire and spread as a wildfire. A large portion of the bus line costumers were African Americans and they were all forced to sit in the back which was usually a cramped area. The situation came to light when Rosa Parks didn't want to give up her seat to a white man because she was tired from working all day.
On December 1st, 1955, something extraordinary happened. An African American seamstress known as Rosa Parks preformed a bold action when she chose not to abandon her seat on the bus to a white man who needed it. In modern times, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. However, back in the 1900s, when there was an immense amount of racial segregation, it was a huge deal. Any African American who disobeyed a white could be severely punished.