Montgomery Bus Boycott
The beginnings can be traced to the following two events: The Brown vs the Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court and Ms Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott (for a very moving film about the latter, see "The Long Walk Home." (see the 2nd link below, please)
"But in the mid-1950s, two historic events heralded the beginning of the modern civil rights struggle: the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The 1954 Brown ruling occurred at the height of the McCarthy’s witch-hunt and the Cold War. Nevertheless, led by Republican Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional and ordered segregated school districts to desegregate …show more content…
In early December 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman with a long history of political activity in Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white person. She was arrested, and soon after, the most famous boycott in U.S. history was organized--the Montgomery bus boycott.
It was led by a group of Black ministers calling themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association. A young minister, newly arrived in Montgomery from Atlanta--Martin Luther King Jr.--became their leader. During the course of the yearlong boycott, virtually the entire Black population of Montgomery walked or car-pooled to work and other activities, rather than ride the public buses.
Despite threats, bombings and government harassment, Black residents emerged victorious after 13 months of boycotting--the segregation of Blacks and whites on Montgomery’s buses was abolished. “The Montgomery bus boycott was a crucial turning point in the black struggle of the ’50s--the crucial turning point where Blacks scored an important an unequivocal victory over whites,” wrote sociologist Jack
"But in the mid-1950s, two historic events heralded the beginning of the modern civil rights struggle: the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The 1954 Brown ruling occurred at the height of the McCarthy’s witch-hunt and the Cold War. Nevertheless, led by Republican Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional and ordered segregated school districts to desegregate …show more content…
In early December 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman with a long history of political activity in Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white person. She was arrested, and soon after, the most famous boycott in U.S. history was organized--the Montgomery bus boycott.
It was led by a group of Black ministers calling themselves the Montgomery Improvement Association. A young minister, newly arrived in Montgomery from Atlanta--Martin Luther King Jr.--became their leader. During the course of the yearlong boycott, virtually the entire Black population of Montgomery walked or car-pooled to work and other activities, rather than ride the public buses.
Despite threats, bombings and government harassment, Black residents emerged victorious after 13 months of boycotting--the segregation of Blacks and whites on Montgomery’s buses was abolished. “The Montgomery bus boycott was a crucial turning point in the black struggle of the ’50s--the crucial turning point where Blacks scored an important an unequivocal victory over whites,” wrote sociologist Jack