The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Montgomery is the capital of Alabama.
In 1956, the population consisted of 70,000 white residents and 50,000 black residents.
Segregation of schools, libraries, restaurants, and transportation was enforced by Jim Crow Laws.

The average black income in Montgomery was 970$ per year, half that of white people.
Black people were primarily employed in low-paying jobs such as maids and laborers due to:
- Lack of educational opportunities
- Exclusion from many professions
- Discriminatory hiring practices

White people sat at the front of the bus (the first 4 rows).
Black people sat at the back, even if the front was unoccupied.
If a white person wanted to sit, a black person was obliged to give up their seat.
The Alabama bus company only employed white drivers.
The drivers often abused and harassed black passengers.

A 15-year-old girl who refused to move to the rear of a city bus was found guilty of assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and violating a city ordinance.
She was declared a ward of the state and placed on probation.

In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus.
December 1, 1955, Parks boarded a bus after work and sat at the back.
When all the white seats were full, she was asked to give up her seat to a white man but she refused without arguing.
The driver called the police, and Parks was arrested.

From jail, Rosa Parks phoned her friend Edgar Daniel Nixon, the leader of the NAACP in Alabama, who paid her bail.
She was due to appear in court on December 5.
Nixon wanted to use her case to fight to end segregation and challenge racism in the courts.
Parks, after discussing it with her husband and mother, decided to go ahead with a lawsuit to test whether the segregation law violated the Constitution.

Nixon contacted other black leaders, including Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rev. Martin Luther King, to secure their support.
Jo Ann Robinson, leader of the Women’s Political Council, organized a one-day boycott for December 5, 1955.
35,000 leaflets were printed to spread the word about the boycott.

King’s house was bombed.
Even so, King stated, "We do not support violence. We want to love our enemies. What we are doing is right."

Parks was found guilty and fined $10.
Nixon immediately appealed the decision.
King attended the court session.
The bus boycott was a huge success, with buses all over the city running empty as black people found alternative ways to get to work.

A permanent organization, the MIA, was established to run the boycott.
Martin Luther King was elected as the leader.
Due to the boycott's success, leaders decided to continue it beyond the initial day.

The MIA had 3 demands:
- Black drivers must be employed.
- Drivers must be courteous to all passengers.
- Segregation on buses must end.

A Transportation Committee was set up to form carpools.
When local agents tried to cancel their insurance, they obtained it from Lloyds of London.
Money was collected to buy station wagons for a private taxi company.
Black churches raised 30,000 for the carpool and acted as pick-up points for black people needing transport.
King met with Mayor W.A. ‘Tacky’ Gayle and representatives from the bus company at city hall.
The bus company refused to change segregation seating, anticipating the end of the boycott with the first rainy day.

City bosses:
- Threatened to shut down taxi drivers who charged the same as the bus (10 cents).
- Falsely announced to the media that the boycott was over on January 22.
- Spread rumors that King was misusing MIA funds.
Police:
- Regularly stopped those carpooling.
- King was arrested for doing 25 mph in a 30 mph zone.
- In Feb '56, 89 black leaders were arrested under an old law that banned boycotting.
The KKK (Ku Klux Klan):
- Marched through the streets.
- Poured acid on cars in carpools.
- Attacked black churches and homes of black leaders, including King's.

Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a bus months before Rosa Parks.
On March 2, 1955, she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
She was arrested and became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which challenged Montgomery's segregated bus system as unconstitutional.
The NAACP briefly considered using Colvin's case to challenge segregation laws, but decided against it due to her age and pregnancy.

Lawyers for the city of Montgomery filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.
A panel of 3 Federal Judges ruled the bus laws were unconstitutional in June 1956.
The city sued the MIA for damages, seeking 15,000 in compensation.
On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregation on buses was unconstitutional, effective December 20.

On December 21, 1956, King and others took their seats at the front of the bus, marking the end of the boycott.
The white community retaliated with buses being shot at and churches being burned.

Lasted 381 days.
Cost the MIA 225,000.
The bus company lost 250,000$$ in revenue.
Showed that non-violent protest and well-organized movements can succeed.
King rose to prominence.
TV and media coverage made white America aware of the plight of the black community.
The boycott succeeded because it was combined with a legal challenge.

Fred Gray, civil rights attorney, emphasized that the legal system can be used to bring about justice and reform.
The power of law as a tool for social change.