The Montgomery Bus Boycott was African Essay

Submitted By BillyBobbyPhilly
Words: 694
Pages: 3
Open Document
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was African-American's in Montgomery, Alabama protesting segregation on buses in the south. Segregation on buses in the south was first challenged by the Women's Political Council or WPC (a group of Afro- American women) in a council meeting with the Mayor at the time, W. A. Gayle. When Gayle refused the requested alterations, Jo Ann Robinson sent a letter to him informing him of the group’s plan to begin boycotting buses. The first African- American women to challenge segregation on buses was Claudette Colvin, she was only 15 at the time. Not too long after, 18 yr. old Mary L. Smith was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. Rosa Park's story comes into play later in 1955. Rosa's story is significant because she was a leader in society and brought the spotlight to an issue that was important at the time. Rose Parks is known as the "first lady of civil rights" and "mother of the freedom movement". On December 1, 1955 Rosa was approached by a James F. Blake, the bus driver of bus 2857, and told to move further back on the bus so a white passenger could take her seat. Using civil disobedience Rosa simply refused to move. This is small snip-it form Rosa's auto-biography: ".... Blake said, "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Three of them complied. Parks said, "The driver wanted us to stand up, the four of us. We didn't move at the beginning, but he says, 'Let me have these seats.' And the other three people moved, but I didn't." The black man sitting next to her gave up his seat. Parks moved, but toward the window seat; she did not get up to move to the designated colored section. Blake said, "Why don't you stand up?" Parks responded, "I don't think I should have to stand up." Blake called the police to arrest Parks. When recalling the incident for Eyes on the Prize, a 1987 public television series on the Civil Rights Movement, Parks said, "When he saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up, and I said, 'No, I'm not.' And he said, 'Well, if you don't stand up, I'm going to have to call the police and have you arrested.' I said, 'You may do that.'..." . Rosa was arrested for taking her stand but by her small refusal she started a huge movement for justice in the black community. 40,000 Afro- American bus riders boycotted the city buses of Montgomery on December 5, 1955. The boycott lasted from December 5, 1955- December 20, 1956, cost the town of Montgomery, AL over $100,000.00 because
Show More

Related Documents: The Montgomery Bus Boycott was African Essay

The Montgomery Bus Boycott And The Civil Rights Movement

the buses of Montgomery, Alabama. They Montgomery Bus Boycott took place because of unfair segregation on buses. The Montgomery bus boycott took a stand in history because they were not being treated equally or fairly so they boycotted the buses to change that. The Montgomery bus boycott was caused because it was unfair to the African Americans. They had to sit on the very back of the bus because of their skin color while the white people got to sit wherever they wanted. Many African Americans were…

Words 1008 - Pages 5

Comparing The Montgomery Bus Boycott's Contribution To The Civil Rights Movement

Was the Montgomery Bus Boycott really that prominent to the Civil Rights Movement? Montgomery Bus Boycott was a overall protest against the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama by leaders of civil rights and supporters that led to a 1956 Supreme Court determination that segregation on buses were unconstitutional. Due to the Montgomery Bus Boycott it led up to a 1956 Supreme Court stating that Montgomery’s segregation laws on buses were unconstitutional. If Rosa Parks would have gave up her seat…

Words 1283 - Pages 6

Montgomery Alabama Civil Rights Movement

slavery was abolished by president Lincoln. However from 1953-1956 in Montgomery Alabama, the black community decided to go against racial segregation via bus boycotts. Now bus boycotting doesn’t sound like a significant civil rights move, but as you read my essay you will see how effective this was. Without this event, African American rights within the U.S. may not be the same as they are today. The yearlong span that the Montgomery boycotts took place, which included about 50,000 African Americans…

Words 1031 - Pages 5

Rough Draft 3 Essay

Rachel Wright 3rd hour In The 1950s, African Americans were forced to sit in the back half of the bus if the front half was full with whites. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. She was arrested and fined. Although Parks has sometimes been depicted as a woman with no history of civil rights activism at the time of her arrest, she and her husband, Raymond , were, active in the local chapter of the Natio…

Words 493 - Pages 2

Civil Rights Movement Achievements

improved the economic conditions of African Americans. The Civil Rights Movement was a mass movement to secure the rights for African American to have the access and opportunity to do and have that many others have. The The Civil Right Movement started around the 19th century it lead through the 1950s and 1960s.Many events happened during and after the the Civil Rights Movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major part. There was also the Little Rock Nine which was also a major event in the Civil…

Words 805 - Pages 4

Montgomery Bus Boycott Outline

On December 1, 1955, four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to yield her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. She was arrested and fined. The boycott of public buses by blacks in Montgomery began on the day of Parks' court hearing and lasted 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating, took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded…

Words 837 - Pages 4

How Did Rosa Parks Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

seat to a white passenger. She was arrested and sent to jail. After that happened, it sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Ever since the bus boycott happened it angered thousands of African Americans. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. The Montgomery City Code required that all public transportation be segregated and that bus drivers had the "powers of a police officer of the city while in actual charge of any bus for the purposes of carrying…

Words 738 - Pages 3

The Civil Rights Movement: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

movement was a movement to end racial segregation. It was made to secure African American’s equal access to opportunities for basic privileges in the United States. The prize of this movement was what all African American wanted. They all wanted freedom. The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance. Nonviolent protests were held between 1955 and 1968. Government authorities had to often respond immediately to these situations that highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans…

Words 305 - Pages 2

Jo Ann Robinson Research Paper

Jo Ann Robinson was the valedictorian of her class, and went on to be the first person in her family to graduate college. She then went on to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher, and moved to Montgomery to teach at Alabama State College. Once moving to Montgomery, she became an active member of the Women’s Political Council, which was a local civic organization to motivate African American women to get involved in civil rights, help increase voter registration in African American communities…

Words 416 - Pages 2

The Civil Rights Movement: The Rosa Parks Movement

Movement started on December 1, 1955 when a African American woman named Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, AL for a white man. This action started a boycott to support Park’s decision by protesting the municipal bus company. After 381 days the boycott was stopped because the United States Supreme Court agreed to remove the Montgomery bus ordinance which separated African Americans from white people on the bus . In the bus boycott, African Americans were motivated by the statement…

Words 123 - Pages 1