The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sparked by an injustice moment in history, The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful in its movement to demand equal rights for African-Americans.

On December 1, 1955, an African American seamstress named Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. After hearing about Parks’ arrest, the Women’s Political Council (WPC), who wanted to improve the city’s busing condition for over a decade, viewed Parks’ arrest as the perfect time to begin a boycott. With flyers spreading around town in Montgomery, the boycott started four days later, on December 5, 1955. It was intended only to be a one-day boycott, but the buses were dependent on African American bus riders. The purpose of the boycott was to demand courtesy, hire Black bus drivers, and ask for a first-come-first serving seating instead of black riders starting in the rear and white passengers beginning in the front of the bus. Many African American leaders shared their support and helped with the issue. About 40,000 African American bus riders boycotted the busing system and walked to their destinations. Although there was violence involved in the boycott, all continued to fight for their rights. Finally, after a year of boycotting, the Montgomery federal court declared segregated bus seating was unconstitutional and went into effect on December 20, 1956.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott became national news and had success in achieving their goals. The boycott impacted the reason for fighting for racial discrimination set the path for changing the Civil Rights Movement.