African American History 3

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

🗓 December 5, 1955 – December 20, 1956
📍Montgomery, Alabama
📌 Sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man.
🚌 African Americans boycotted city buses for over a year.
📣 Organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), led by a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr.
📜 Led to the Browder v. Gayle court decision that declared bus segregation unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks

🗓 Arrested December 1, 1955
👩🏽 Seamstress and longtime NAACP member
📌 Her peaceful defiance became the symbol of resistance against segregation in public transportation.

Claudette Colvin

🗓 March 2, 1955
📌 A 15-year-old girl who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus — nine months before Rosa Parks.
⚖ Later became one of the plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle.

Browder v. Gayle, 142 F. Supp. 707 (1956)

🗓 Filed February 1, 1956 – Decided June 5, 1956
📌 Federal lawsuit filed by four African American women: Aurelia Browder, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, and Susie McDonald.
⚖ Supreme Court ruled Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.
💥 Legally ended segregation on public buses in Montgomery.

Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

🗓 Founded December 5, 1955
📌 Organization formed to coordinate the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
🗣 Led by Martin Luther King Jr. and E. D. Nixon, president of the local NAACP.
🚗 Organized carpools and community “rolling churches” to support the boycott.

“Rolling Churches”

🚗 Carpools operated by local churches during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
📌 Helped Black workers avoid using segregated public buses.
💥 Demonstrated community solidarity and logistical strategy.

Highlander Folk School

📍Tennessee
🎓 A grassroots education center for activists in civil rights and labor movements.
📌 Rosa Parks attended training here shortly before her arrest.

Martin Luther King Jr.

🗓 1929–1968
📌 Became nationally known during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
📣 Preached nonviolence and moral resistance, inspired by Gandhi.
⚖ Led SCLC, wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, and gave the “I Have a Dream” speech.

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (Comic Book)

🗓 1958
📘 Comic book published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR)
📌 Explained MLK’s philosophy of nonviolence and the events of the bus boycott.
📊 250,000 copies were distributed to inspire nonviolent resistance across the South.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

🗓 Founded January 1957
📌 Civil rights organization led by King and ministers across the South.
🎯 Promoted nonviolent civil disobedience to fight segregation and inequality.

E. D. Nixon

🗓 1899–1987
📌 President of the Montgomery NAACP and a key figure in initiating the bus boycott.
🧠 Recruited Rosa Parks and helped bail her out of jail.

Jo Ann Robinson / Women’s Political Council

📌 Group of Black women educators and professionals in Montgomery.
🗣 Jo Ann Robinson (president) organized and mimeographed over 50,000 flyers calling for the boycott the night of Parks’ arrest.

Non-violent Civil Disobedience

📌 Peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws, inspired by Gandhi’s philosophy.
🗣 Emphasized by MLK and the SCLC: marching, sit-ins, and boycotts without physical retaliation.

Passive Resistance

📌 Form of protest without active aggression — includes refusal to comply, sit-ins, silent protests.
🧠 Aimed to expose injustice by upholding moral high ground.