According to Robert A. Divine and other authors of America Past and Present, the arrest of Rosa Parks sparked a massive protest movement that witnessed the emergence of Martin Luther King, Jr., as an eloquent new spokesman for African Americans. King led a prominent bus boycott in honor of Mrs. Parks. The boycott successfully ended a year later when the Supreme Court ruled the Alabama segregated law unconstitutional. As a result, King became well known around the world with his belief of passive resistance.
After his degree, however King decided to become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott later becoming father of their four children Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine, In December,1955, King was elected to the Montgomery Improvement Association, a group to lead the bus boycott . King's house was bombed and King was arrested and jailed on charges of being connected with the boycott. Yet King continued to preach that non-violent protests were the answer. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of desegregation of the buses in 1966 giving King his first victory enforcing his belief in the power of the black community.
(Smith 2). Five days after Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's rules concerning bus segregation, African-American residents of Montgomery, Alabama launched a bus boycott. They elected Martin Luther King, Jr. as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. (Phillips 3). King received national prominence as the boycott continued, due to his personal courage and exceptional oratical skills.
The Kerner Commission report has some truth when it comes to blacks and politics, but overall the movement was a success because blacks have achieved more politically than before they began. Before the movement, blacks had almost no political power due to laws designed to prevent blacks from voting, like poll taxes, literacy tests and the Grandfather Clause. Also when some blacks went to vote, people simply wouldn't let them register. Due to lack of voting ability, no blacks were elected into office and therefore, blacks had no say in the government. Also, blacks were not allowed to serve on juries, yet they were almost always found guilty in court, even if the evidence was clearly against them.
It was so successful that a law was made against bus segregation. This law took place December 21st, 1956. Which was the day after the boycott ended. Eventually the bus related violence and segregation ended. The boycott brought attention to the civil rights movements and their struggles.
He played very big role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. King played a role in the Montgomery bus boycott due to the fact that he lived in Montgomery. Dr. King’s involvement in the Civil Rights movement started before the 1960s. He really got involved shortly after Rosa Parks was arrested for failure to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus.This event took place on December 1, 1955; which was 60 years ago. Rosa Parks was the secretary of Montgomery’s NAACP (National Association for the Advancement for Colored People).
Because of this arrest ,and later on Rosa Parks, boycott was in the near future. This report will tell the story of the Montgomery Boycott; how it became,how word of the boycott came around, what action was taken, and the result. The Montgomery Boycott was thought about being done by E.D Nixon and Jo Ann Robinson. E.d. Nixon was a Pullman train porter who led the state chapter of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, he had worked for better conditions for blacks for years.With the assistance of Clifford Durr, a white attorney, Nixon was able to bail out Rosa Parks on the same evening of her arrest on Dec. 1.
It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children. This case over turned the "Separate but equal" doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in 1896. (3) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): After the supreme court decided to end segregation, African Americans started to speak out more about their racial opinions. In Montgomery, Alabama, a bus boycott ended with a victory for the African Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama segregation laws were unconstitutional.
By the end of this scholarly journey, the core of King's philosophy of nonviolent protest had been formed, based on the ideals of Mohand as K. Gandhi. King returned to the south and accepted the pastorate of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In December of 1955, the black community of Montgomery was outraged when a woman on her way home from work, Rosa Lee Parks, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a municipal bus to a white man. King was chosen to organize a boycott to end racial segregation in public transportation. Although King gained national prominence as a result of his exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage, during the course of the 381-day action, his home was bombed, many threats were made against his life, and he was arrested, jailed, and convicted on charges of conspiring to interfere with the bus company's operations.
Black civil rights leaders and activists in Montgomery were motivated by Parks’ act of defiance, allowing the city’s African-American community to successfully organize a boycott of the Montgomery’s segregated busing system (Textbook, pg 822). The boycott put economic pressure on the bus company as most members of the black community in Montgomery found other means of transportation for about a year. As a clear result of Rosa Park’s rebellious act against an unjust system, the Supreme Court would go on to declare segregation in public transportation to be illegal in all states in 1956 (Notes, Lesson 2: Civil Rights Continued, 4/23/14). The bus boycott also led to the establishing of a new prominent leader in... ... middle of paper ... ...movements for social change were guided by influential figures that drew attention and support from throughout the nation. The African American, anti-war, and gay movements were all prime examples of how specific leaders who advocate for change are vital and beneficial to the cause.