Montgomery Bus Boycott (Essay Sample)

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Montgomery Bus Boycott
Racism is not a new in the United States. In fact, slaves that worked tirelessly in tobacco plantations built the economy of America’s Southern States. While Abraham Lincoln led to an abolition of slavery in 1865, the rights of people of color were limited. 20th-century wars prompted revolution, as the minorities became increasingly aware of their rights. As women successfully lobbied for inclusive governance, American minorities forged for equal rights. African-American civil rights movement that began in 1954 was more pronounced. Specifically, Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 captured the attention of policymakers, given its extensive impact on the country’s economy. Besides, the boycott led by Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr. dented the country’s image as it exposed dissatisfaction, vulnerabilities, and flaws in the country’s legal system.
A well-coordinated Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for more than 13 months before the Supreme Court ruled against segregation in bus stations. African Americans refused to ride Alabama buses thus crippling the state’s economy and prompting immediate action to reverse the situation. Four days prior to the protests, Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat to a white Caucasian man in one of Montgomery buses. The event resulted in her arrest and a subsequent imposition of fines. Public bus system boycott began during the first day of Rosa Parks’ court hearings and lasted for more than 380 days. Eventually, the United States Supreme Court ordered authorities at Montgomery and the greater Alabama State to effectively integrate their bus system. It was at this time that Martin Luther King Jr. gained his prominence as an American Civil Rights Movement’s national leader in the wake of the gruesome act (Kauppinen 352).
Parks’ Refusal to Vacate Bus Seat
In 1955, Alabama’s laws required blacks to sit in the rear half of the bus and yield their seats to whites if the reserved seats in the front half are full. On 1st of December 1955, Rosa Parks (African-American seamstress) had just finished her job at a Cleveland departmental store. She took a bus ride home at Cleveland Avenue bus station. Rosa Parks sat in the front row of the ‘Non-Whites’ section. J. Blake Fred, the bus driver, asked Rosa parks and the other black individuals to yield their seats. As parks refused to vacate her seat, three other blacks complied with the driver’s orders. This resulted in her arrest. She was later fined $ 10 for disobedience and an additional amount of $4 to cater for the cost of court proceedings (Augustine 269). Blake reiterated that the encounter with Rosa Parker was not a first. Parker claimed that more than a decade earlier, Blake pulled her out of the bus though she had paid her fare. She decided to use the rear door reserved for the black to enter the bus, only to be pulled away.
Notably, Claudette Colvin (15 years old) was arrested earlier in Alabama’s Montgomery on similar charges as Rosa Parks. Preparations for protests were ripe at the time but were halted on a discovery of Claudette’s pregnancy. She was deemed inappropriate as a symbol for the cause. Therefore, it is arguable that the civil rights movement was a time-ticking bomb awaiting a triggering event.
Experts depict Rosa Parks as lacking a history of civil rights activism, especially in her early years prior to the bus station standoff. However, records show that indeed, she and her husband Raymond were active members of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In fact, Rosa Parks served as a secretary of the Association’s local chapter (Riches 37). Rosa Parks made a phone call to Nixon E. D., a prominent leader of the black community. Nixon is credited for bailing Rosa Parks out of jail. Besides, he was one of the leaders that decided that she would be a sympathetic and an upstanding plaintiff if a legal battle on segregation ordinance was to be launched. Black leaders employed other effective tactics as well to attack the ordinance. For instance, they rallied WPC (The Women Political Council) to circulate flyers that called for bus system boycott commencing on 5th December the same year. The day contrasted with the commencement of Rosa Parks’ trial. Women working for civil right cause formed WPC.
Mobilization of African Americans
Boycott news spread rapidly. Leaders of the black community in Alabama’s Capital City, Montgomery initiated a process of offering support. Ministers of churches dominated by African American population announced boycott commencement date during Sunday services. In addition, Montgomery Advertiser, a newspaper that covers general interests, published an article about the planned action on the front page. The following day, more than 40, 000 African Americans boycotted the bus system. This indicated the level of success and the effect that the segregation had on American minority groups. It symbolized the divisions existing in the society and the need to address them before probable mutation to national catastrophes.
During an afternoon December 5th, 1955, leaders of African Americans held a meeting that resulted in the formation of MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association). The leaders elected Martin Luther King Jr. as a symbolic figure and a leader of the newly formed movement. He was a 26 –year- old Dexter Avenue Baptist Church pastor. Today, Martin Luther King Jr. is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Alabama’s history. As the president of the civil rights movement, he made a decision to continue the boycott until the demands of the black society are met.
Initial demands did not incorporate a push for alteration of segregation laws. Rather, the movement leaders demanded courtesy and respect. Other demands included an introduction of a first-come-first-seated policy, and the need to hire black drivers to ensure equality. The rule regarding an entry of African American passengers from t...