Key Events in the Civil Rights Movement

The first four rows of seats on a Montgomery bus were reserved for whites. Buses had "colored" sections for African Americans usually in the rear of the bus. African Americans could sit in the middle rows until the white section filled. African Americans could not sit in the same row or across the aisle as white people. For years, the black community had complained that the situation was unfair.

Black communities, even organized a car-pooling so that every African-American can get to their destination, instead of having to ride the bus; which led to the ruling that declared segregation on the buses unconstitutional. The protest challenged the policy of bus segregation. On the day of the Parks had to attend court almost whole black community did not ride the busses at all. The protest hurt the bus systems, because more African Americans ride the buses to where they have to go than white people therefore, most of the income for the buses decreased when black riders stop riding the bus until they won equal rights just as whites. On December 13, 1955 no African American Negro rode the segregated bus they carpool, walk, cancel plans, or used any type of way except ride the bus to get to their destination.

Thousands boycotted the buses for more than a year, and despite segregationist violence against them, King grounded their protests on his deeply held belief in nonviolence. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to provide integrated seating on public buses. In the following year, King and other African American ministers founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to carry forward the nonviolent struggle against segregation and legal discrimination. As protests grew, so did the unhappiness of King and his associates with the unwillingness of the president and Congress to support civil rights. The SCLC, therefore, organized massive demonstrations in Montgomery (King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" during these demonstrations).

Edgar Daniel Nixon, head of the NAACP in Montgomery, posted a $100 bond to get her released. Although Mrs. Parks was not the first black person to get arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus, Mr. Nixon decided that she wouldn't be the last. He called a meeting of black leaders to see what action they should take. By the end of the meeting, the leaders agreed to call a one-day boycott of all the city buses for Monday Dec.5.

On December 1, 1955 Rosa parks got arrested by the police in Montgomery because people thought she violated the segregation. She sat in the middle of the bus and refused to give up her seat to a white man when the bus was starting to get full. Because of this, a boycott began in the city of Montgomery. Most people regard Rosa parks as the mother of civil rights. 75% of the bus system in Montgomery was African American so they lost lots of profit when the boycott started.

Enraged by Mrs. Parks arrest the black community of Montgomery united together and organized a boycott of the bus system until the city buses were integrated. The black men and women stayed of the buses until December 20, 1956, almost thirteen months after the boycott their goal was reached. The Montgomery Bus Boycott can be considered a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement because it made Martin Luther King Jr. public leader in the movement, starting point for non-violent protest as an effective tool in the fight for civil rights, showed that African-Americans united for a cause could stand up to segregation. Being president of the Montgomery Improvement Association taught Martin Luther the skills and gave the exposure to become a great leader of a movement as large as the civil rights movement.

For over a year, the black community would not ride the buses. This ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional. This victory, without a doubt, made all African Americans confident to continue the Civil Rights Movement. Even before Rosa's arrest, Montgomery's black leaders had been discussing a boycott from the buses. They used her arrest as "a spark to light the fire that is the boycott".

That all changed with Rosa parks. She refused to give up her seat and sparked a movement. The community in Montgomery was so moved by her 90% of blacks stayed of the bus in order to boycott the bus line. The organizer thought the boycott was effective so they made martin Luther king president of the movement and led a yearlong boycott ending with the desegregation of public bus lines. The Civil rights is also important because movement also led to the voting rights act.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott America took its first steps towards racial integration in 1954 when the Supreme Court declared segregated school unconstitutional but America’s attitude toward their black brethren was far from friendly. Blacks still found themselves banned from swimming pools and hotels, separation among the races still an accepted practice. The civil rights movement had been bubbling to the surface of the racial volcano slowly but surely for years finally the revolution was sparked on December 1st 1955. “For a number of years, the negro passengers on the city bus lines with Montgomery have been humiliated and intimidated And faced threat on this bus line Just the other day one of the fine citizens of our community Misses Rosa parks was arrested because she refused to give up her seat for a white passenger Misses Rosa parks was arrested And taken down to jail taken from the bus just because she refused to give up her seat at present we are in the midst of a protest the negro citizens of Montgomery representing some 44% percent of the population. 90 percent at least of the regular negro bus passengers are staying off the buses and we plan to continue until something is done” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Discussing the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Before Rosa Parks was arrest, Montgomery’s black leaders had been discussing about the city bus. Parks allowed the leaders to use her arrest to speak a boycott of the bus system. Martin Luther king ,Jr. then was a Baptist minister in Montgomery, then was chosen as president. For 382 days, from 12/5/1955 to 12/20/1956 thousands of blacks refused to ride the buses. The boycott ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated seating on the city’s buses unconstitutional.