Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956



Rosa Park (Middle of the picture) after Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were abolished.



Start of Montgomery Bus Boycott

People still walking during the rainy season

African-American Civil Rights movement occurred from 1955 to 1968 until our leader Martin Luther King was assassinated. The movement started after Rosa Parks who was the black woman was arrested by refusing to give up her seat to the white people in Montgomery from Alabama State. At that time, we were supposed to sit on the backseats and were not allowed to sit on the all-white seats Martin Luther King who was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association suggested Montgomery Bus Boycott. Montgomery Bus Boycott was a social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery intended to oppose the city’s policy of racial segregation. Our method was not to take buses which were under the policy of racial segregation. A day later the movement started, we all didn’t use the public transportations, and we all walked when we go for the work. Even the old people had no intention to ride on the bus. Bus companies came unglued by the Montgomery Bus Boycott because most of the passengers of their buses were black citizens. They threatened our leader but our leader rejected their option. So at last, MLK (Martin Luther King) and other 156 protesters were arrested by ‘hindering’ the buses. He ended up staying in the jail for the 2 weeks. But we won. On June 4, 1956, Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were abolished. Although some places didn’t follow the new law but the Supreme Court upheld the new laws that they had no choices but to follow it. So starting from 20^th of December in 1956, we had our rights to sit any seats including the all-white seats. The boycott resulted in the African-American Civil Rights movement gaining one victory and got lots of national attention.