A black person aboard a
Montgomery, Alabama, city bus had been ordered by a white bus driver to
surrender his or her seat to a white passenger. For the most part, blacks
obeyed this order without visible resistance. To behave in any other manner
meant violating a city ordinance, resulting in probable arrest and possible
violence. But this time was different. A black woman passenger refused to give
up her seat and was arrested. This act signaled the beginning of the Montgomery
Bus Boycott and the start of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a
381-day protest by African Americans against segregation on city buses. From
December 5, 1955 to December 20 of the next year, blacks in the capital city
walked and formed car pools to get to their destinations, rather than ride the
segregated vehicles. Their actions demonstrated that they were a determined
people, willing to risk personal safety and comfort in order to confront an
unjust system. Not only did their actions lead to the destruction of this
system; they also led to a challenge of racial discrimination throughout the
South.
Montgomery, Alabama, city bus had been ordered by a white bus driver to
surrender his or her seat to a white passenger. For the most part, blacks
obeyed this order without visible resistance. To behave in any other manner
meant violating a city ordinance, resulting in probable arrest and possible
violence. But this time was different. A black woman passenger refused to give
up her seat and was arrested. This act signaled the beginning of the Montgomery
Bus Boycott and the start of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a
381-day protest by African Americans against segregation on city buses. From
December 5, 1955 to December 20 of the next year, blacks in the capital city
walked and formed car pools to get to their destinations, rather than ride the
segregated vehicles. Their actions demonstrated that they were a determined
people, willing to risk personal safety and comfort in order to confront an
unjust system. Not only did their actions lead to the destruction of this
system; they also led to a challenge of racial discrimination throughout the
South.