بدء مقاطعة الحافلات - التاريخ

كان مجلس المواطنين البيض في وسط ألاباما غاضبًا من استمرار المقاطعة. قال سيناتور الولاية سام إنغلهارت من مقاطعة ماكون ، رئيس مجلس مواطني ألاباما المركزي ، "إذا نجح هؤلاء الأشخاص [الذين أدينوا] في إقناع زنوج مونتغمري بخرق هذا القانون ، والإفلات من العقاب ، إذن من سيقول ما العمل غير القانوني الذي سيدعون إليه بعد ذلك؟ "

عكست روزا باركس مشاعر المجتمع الأسود في ذلك اليوم من خلال ملاحظة: "حاول أنصار الفصل العنصري البيض الضغط لإيقافنا. بدلاً من إيقافنا ، سيشجعوننا على الاستمرار ".

هذه الأحداث ، كما تم توثيقها من خلال مجموعة مختارة من قصاصات الصحف التي تم تجميعها في سجل قصاصات مدير الحافلة ، تمثل الأشهر الثلاثة الأولى فقط من مقاطعة الحافلات في مونتغمري. استمرت المقاطعة لأكثر من عام - 381 يومًا على وجه الدقة - حيث عانى أفراد المجتمع الأسود من الاعتقالات المستمرة والتفجيرات والسجن والتهديدات والمضايقات العامة حتى أعلنت المحكمة العليا الأمريكية أخيرًا أن الفصل العنصري في حافلات ألاباما غير دستوري. . قبل أن تنتهي ، كانت ستصبح ما أشار إليه جوليان بوند في كتابه على أنه "صراع لتحقيق الديمقراطية في منتصف القرن العشرين".

دونا برادن هي أمينة الحياة العامة في فندق هنري فورد. شكرًا جزيلًا أيضًا لـ Hannah Glodich ، مصمم الجرافيك في The Henry Ford ، لتكييف صفحات سجل القصاصات الأصلية مع الصور الموضحة في هذا المنشور.

اشترك في نشراتنا الإخبارية الإلكترونية

احصل على آخر الأخبار من The Henry Ford. من العروض الخاصة إلى سلسلتنا من الرسائل الإخبارية الإلكترونية الشائعة للمتحمسين ، يمكنك تخصيص المعلومات التي تريد منا توصيلها مباشرةً إلى صندوق الوارد الخاص بك.

54 ب. روزا باركس ومقاطعة حافلات مونتغمري

في إحدى أمسيات ديسمبر الباردة في عام 1955 ، حرضت روزا باركس بهدوء على ثورة و [مدش] بمجرد الجلوس.

كانت متعبة بعد أن أمضت اليوم في العمل كخياطة في متجر متعدد الأقسام. صعدت إلى الحافلة للعودة إلى المنزل وجلست في الصف الخامس و [مدش] الصف الأول من "القسم الملون".

في مونتغمري ، ألاباما ، عندما امتلأت الحافلة ، تم منح المقاعد القريبة من الأمام للركاب البيض.

أمر جيمس بليك ، سائق الحافلة في مونتغمري ، باركس وثلاثة أمريكيين أفارقة آخرين جالسين في مكان قريب بالتحرك ("انقلوا جميعًا ، أريد هذين المقعدين") إلى الجزء الخلفي من الحافلة.

امتثل ثلاثة فرسان لم باركس.

المقتطف التالي لما حدث بعد ذلك هو من سيرة روزا بارك لدوغلاس برينكلي لعام 2000.

"هل ستقف؟" طالب السائق. نظرت إليه روزا باركس مباشرة وقالت: "لا". أجاب بليك مرتبكًا ، ولست متأكدًا تمامًا مما يجب فعله ، "حسنًا ، سأقوم بإلقاء القبض عليك." وأجاب باركس ، الذي كان لا يزال جالسًا بجوار النافذة ، بهدوء: "يمكنك فعل ذلك".

بعد رفض باركس التحرك ، ألقي القبض عليها وغرمت 10 دولارات. أدت سلسلة الأحداث التي أثارها اعتقالها إلى تغيير الولايات المتحدة.

الملك وأبرناثي ومقاطعة مؤتمر القيادة المسيحية الجنوبية

في عام 1955 ، قاد وزير غير معروف يُدعى مارتن لوثر كينغ جونيور كنيسة دكستر أفينيو المعمدانية في مونتغمري.

درس كينغ كتابات وممارسات هنري ديفيد ثورو ومهندس غاندي. دعت تعاليمهم إلى العصيان المدني والمقاومة اللاعنفية للظلم الاجتماعي.

كان كينج من أشد المؤمنين باللاعنف ، وكان كينج وزميله رالف أبرناثي جزءًا من منظمة مجتمعية ، وهي جمعية مونتجومري للتحسين (MIA) ، التي نظمت مقاطعة حافلات مونتغمري.

كانت المطالب التي قدموها بسيطة: يجب معاملة الركاب السود بلطف. يجب تخصيص المقاعد على أساس من يأتي أولاً يخدم أولاً ، حيث يجلس الركاب البيض من الأمام إلى الخلف والركاب السود يجلسون من الخلف إلى الأمام. ويجب على السائقين الأمريكيين من أصل أفريقي قيادة الطرق التي تخدم في المقام الأول الأمريكيين من أصل أفريقي. يوم الاثنين 5 ديسمبر 1955 دخلت المقاطعة حيز التنفيذ.

لا تركب الحافلة

في عام 1955 ، أصدر المجلس السياسي للمرأة منشورًا يدعو إلى مقاطعة حافلات مونتغمري.

لا تركب الحافلة إلى العمل أو المدينة أو المدرسة أو أي مكان يوم الإثنين 5 ديسمبر.

تم القبض على امرأة زنجية أخرى ووضعها في السجن لأنها رفضت التخلي عن مقعدها في الحافلة.

لا تستقل الحافلات للذهاب إلى المدينة أو المدرسة أو أي مكان آخر يوم الاثنين. إذا كنت تعمل ، أو تأخذ سيارة أجرة ، أو تشترك في الركوب ، أو تمشي.

تعال إلى اجتماع جماعي ، يوم الاثنين الساعة 7:00 مساءً. في الكنيسة المعمدانية هولت ستريت لمزيد من التعليمات.

لم يتوقف مسؤولو مونتغمري عن أي شيء في محاولة تخريب المقاطعة. تم القبض على كينغ وأبرناثي. بدأ العنف أثناء العمل واستمر بعد انتهائه. تم قصف أربع كنائس و [مدش] وكذلك منازل الملك وأبرناثي و [مدش]. لكن المقاطعة استمرت.

كان MIA يأمل في الحصول على معدل دعم بنسبة 50 في المائة بين الأمريكيين من أصل أفريقي. ولدهشتهم وسعادتهم ، رفض 99 بالمائة من الأمريكيين الأفارقة في المدينة ركوب الحافلات. كان الناس يمشون إلى العمل أو يركبون دراجاتهم ، وتم إنشاء مرافقي سيارات لمساعدة كبار السن. عانت شركة الحافلات من خسائر في الإيرادات تقدر بآلاف الدولارات.

أخيرًا ، في 23 نوفمبر 1956 ، حكمت المحكمة العليا لصالح وزارة الداخلية. أُعلن أن النقل المعزول غير دستوري. وافق مسؤولو المدينة على مضض على الامتثال لحكم المحكمة. كان مجتمع السود في مونتغومري ثابتًا في تصميمهم.

تسببت مقاطعة الحافلات في مونتغمري في اندلاع عاصفة نارية في الجنوب. عبر المنطقة ، قاوم السود "الانتقال إلى مؤخرة الحافلة". اندلعت أعمال مماثلة في مدن أخرى. وضعت المقاطعة مارتن لوثر كينغ جونيور في دائرة الضوء الوطنية. أصبح الزعيم المعترف به لحركة الحقوق المدنية الوليدة.

مع رالف أبيرناثي ، شكل كينغ مؤتمر القيادة المسيحية الجنوبية (SCLC).

كانت هذه المنظمة مكرسة لمحاربة الفصل العنصري في جيم كرو. أعلن الأمريكيون الأفارقة بجرأة لبقية البلاد أن حركتهم ستكون سلمية ومنظمة ومصممة.

بالنسبة للعيون الحديثة ، قد لا يبدو الحصول على مقعد في الحافلة إنجازًا رائعًا. لكن في عام 1955 ، كان الجلوس يمثل الخطوة الأولى في الثورة.

(1955) مارتن لوثر كينغ جونيور ، & # 8220 مقاطعة حافلات مونتغمري & # 8221

يُعد خطاب مقاطعة حافلات مونتغومري الذي أعيد طباعته أدناه أحد العناوين الرئيسية الأولى للدكتور مارتن لوثر كينج. تحدث الدكتور كينغ إلى ما يقرب من 5000 شخص في كنيسة هولت ستريت المعمدانية في مونتغمري في 5 ديسمبر 1955 ، بعد أربعة أيام فقط من اعتقال السيدة روزا باركس لرفضها التخلي عن مقعدها في حافلة مدينة مونتغمري. أدى هذا الاعتقال إلى أول حملة حقوق مدنية كبرى في عمق الجنوب منذ نصف قرن. في هذا الخطاب يحث الملك الجمهور الذي صوت للتو على مقاطعة الحافلات على الاستمرار في تلك الحملة حتى يحققوا هدفهم المتمثل في إنهاء إذلال وتهذيب المواطنين السود هناك وفي أماكن أخرى في مونتغمري أو استخدام كلماته ، & # 8220 .. تحقيق العدالة في حافلات المدينة. & # 8221

أصدقائي ، نحن بالتأكيد سعداء للغاية لرؤية كل واحد منكم في الخارج هذا المساء. نحن هنا هذا المساء للعمل الجاد. نحن هنا بشكل عام لأننا أولاً وقبل كل شيء مواطنون أمريكيون ونحن مصممون على تطبيق جنسيتنا على أكمل وجه معناها. نحن هنا أيضًا بسبب حبنا للديمقراطية ، بسبب إيماننا الراسخ بأن الديمقراطية تحولت من ورقة رقيقة إلى عمل كثيف هي أعظم أشكال الحكم على وجه الأرض.

لكننا هنا بمعنى محدد ، بسبب حالة الحافلات في مونتغمري. نحن هنا لأننا مصممون على تصحيح الوضع. هذا الوضع ليس جديدا على الإطلاق. المشكلة موجودة على مدى سنوات لا نهاية لها. لسنوات عديدة حتى الآن ، أصيب الزنوج في مونتغمري والعديد من المناطق الأخرى بالشلل الناجم عن المخاوف المعوقة على الحافلات في مجتمعنا. في العديد من المناسبات ، تعرض الزنوج للترهيب والإذلال والاضطهاد - بسبب حقيقة أنهم كانوا زنوج. ليس لدي وقت هذا المساء للدخول في تاريخ هذه الحالات العديدة. الكثير منهم ضاع الآن وسط ضباب النسيان الكثيف ولكن واحد منهم على الأقل يقف أمامنا الآن بأبعاد صارخة.

فقط في اليوم الآخر ، الخميس الماضي بالضبط على وجه الدقة ، واحدة من أفضل المواطنين في مونتغومري ليست واحدة من أفضل المواطنين السود ، ولكنها واحدة من أفضل المواطنين في مونتغمري - تم نقلها من حافلة وتم نقلها إلى السجن ولأنها رفضت ذلك انهض لمنح مقعدها لشخص أبيض. الآن تريدنا الصحافة أن نصدق أنها رفضت مغادرة قسم محجوز للزنوج لكني أريدك أن تعرف هذا المساء أنه لا يوجد قسم محجوز. لم يتم توضيح القانون في تلك المرحلة. الآن أعتقد أنني أتحدث مع ، بسلطة قانونية - ليس لدي أي سلطة قانونية ، لكني أعتقد أنني أتحدث مع سلطة قانونية ورائي - أن القانون ، المرسوم ، مرسوم المدينة لم يتم توضيحه تمامًا.

السيدة روزا باركس شخص جيد. وبما أنه كان يجب أن يحدث ، فقد كنت سعيدًا لأن هذا حدث لشخص مثل السيدة باركس ، لأنه لا يمكن لأي شخص أن يشك في التواصل اللامحدود لنزاهتها. لا أحد يستطيع أن يشك في ذروة شخصيتها ولا يمكن لأحد أن يشك في عمق التزامها المسيحي وتفانيها لتعاليم يسوع. وأنا سعيد منذ أن حدث ذلك ، حدث لشخص لا يمكن لأحد أن يعتبره عاملاً مزعجًا في المجتمع. السيدة باركس شخصية مسيحية جيدة ، متواضعة ، ومع ذلك هناك نزاهة وشخصية هناك. ولأنها رفضت النهوض ، تم القبض عليها.

وكما تعلمون ، يا أصدقائي ، يأتي وقت يتعب فيه الناس من أن تُداس عليهم أقدام القمع الحديدية. There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November. There comes a time.

We are here, we are here this evening because we’re tired now. And I want to say that we are not here advocating violence. We have never done that. I want it to be known throughout Montgomery and throughout this nation that we are Christian people. We believe in the Christian religion. We believe in the teachings of Jesus. The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest. That’s all.

And certainly, certainly, this is the glory of America, with all of its faults. This is the glory of our democracy. If we were incarcerated behind the iron curtains of a Communistic nation we couldn’t do this. If we were dropped in the dungeon of a totalitarian regime we couldn’t do this. But the great glory of American democracy is the right to protest for right. My friends, don’t let anybody make us feel that we are
to be compared in our actions with the Ku Klux Klan or with the White Citizens Council. There will be no crosses burned at any bus stops in Montgomery. There will be no white persons pulled out of their homes and taken out on some distant road and lynched for not cooperating. There will be nobody amid, among us who will stand up and defy the Constitution of this nation. We only assemble here because of our desire to see right exist. My friends, I want it to be known that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city.

And we are not wrong, we are not wrong in what we are doing. If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie. Love has no meaning. And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I want to say that in all of our actions we must stick together. Unity is the great need of the hour, and if we are united we can get many of the things that we not only desire but which we justly deserve. And don’t let anybody frighten you. We are not afraid of what we are doing because we are doing it within the law. There is never a time in our American democracy that we must ever think we’re wrong when we protest. We reserve that right. When labor all over this nation came to see that it would be trampled over by capitalistic power, it was nothing wrong with labor getting together and organizing and
protesting for its rights.

We, the disinherited of this land, we who have been oppressed so long, are tired of going through the long night of captivity. And now we are reaching out for the daybreak of freedom and justice and equality. May I say to you my friends, as I come to a close, and just giving some idea of why we are assembled here, that we must keep-and I want to stress this, in all of our doings, in all of our deliberations here this evening and all of the week and while—whatever we do, we must keep God in the forefront. Let us be Christian in all of our actions. But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian face, faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.

The Almighty God himself is not the only, not the, not the God just standing out saying through Hosea, “I love you, Israel.” He’s also the God that stands up before the nations and said: “Be still and know that I’m God, that if you don’t obey me I will break the backbone of your power and slap you out of the orbits of your international and national relationships.” Standing beside love is always justice, and we are only using the tools of justice. Not only are we using the tools of persuasion, but we’ve come to see that we’ve got to use the tools of coercion. Not only is this thing a process of education, but it is also a process of legislation.

As we stand and sit here this evening and as we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead, let us go out with a grim and bold determination that we are going to stick together. We are going to work together. Right here in Montgomery, when the history books are written in the future somebody will have to say, “There lived a race of people a black people, ‘fleecy locks and black complexion’, a people who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights. And thereby they injected a new meaning into the veins of history and of civilization.” And we’re gonna do that. God grant that we will do it before it is too late. As we proceed with our program let us think of these things.

But just before leaving I want to say this. I want to urge you. You have voted [for this boycott], and you have done it with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I want to express my appreciation to you, on behalf of everybody here. Now let us go out to stick together and stay with this thing until the end. Now it means sacrificing, yes, it means sacrificing at points. But there are some things that we’ve got to learn to sacrifice for. And we’ve got to come to the point that we are determined not to accept a lot of things that we have been accepting in the past.

So I’m urging you now. We have the facilities for you to get to your jobs, and we are putting, we have the cabs there at your service. Automobiles will be at your service, and don’t be afraid to use up any of the gas. If you have it, if you are fortunate enough to have a little money, use it for a good cause. Now my automobile is gonna be in it, it has been in it, and I’m not concerned about how much gas I’m gonna use. I want to see this thing work. And we will not be content until oppression is wiped out of Montgomery, and really out of America. We won’t be content until that is done. We are merely insisting on the dignity and worth of every human personality. And I don’t stand here, I’m not arguing for any selfish person. I’ve never been on a bus in Montgomery. But I would be less than a Christian if I stood back and said, because I don’t ride the bus, I don’t have to ride a bus, that it doesn’t concern me. I will not be content. I can hear a voice saying, “If you do it unto the least of these, my brother, you do it unto me.”

And I won’t rest I will face intimidation, and everything else, along with these other stalwart fighters for democracy and for citizenship. We don’t mind it, so long as justice comes out of it. And I’ve come to see now that as we struggle for our rights, maybe some of them will have to die. But somebody said, if a man doesn’t have something that he’ll die for, he isn’t fit to live.

People, Locations, Episodes

On this date in 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott occurred. This was one of the pivotal starting points of the modern American Civil Rights movement.

In Montgomery, Alabama, segregation was a part of everyday life. Blacks who lived there faced Jim Crow Laws in places such as parks, schools, restrooms, theaters, and buses. The laws of the country made it hard for Blacks to register and participate in elections. The justice system discriminated against them, unjustly jailing and prosecuting many while banning them from holding public office. One particular area of bitterness among Montgomery Blacks of that era was the segregation law of the bus system. Although Blacks were the majority, they were forced to adhere to oppressive conditions on buses. The bus drivers, all of whom were white, treated Blacks with racist and abusive attitudes, often calling their passenger's derogatory names such as "nigger,” "Black cow," and "Black ape."

They often required Blacks to pay their fares in the front of the bus, and then walk to the back door to board the bus. Sometimes, though, bus drivers would take off before the passenger could get on, leaving their passenger behind. While this practice often angered Blacks, the practices of "White-only" seating angered them even more. The law stated that Blacks could not sit in front of the bus, regardless of whether the seats were empty or not.

After Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, the news of this event spread through the Black community. Community members decided that a boycott of the bus system was long overdue. Jo-Ann Robinson of the Women's Political Committee began to organize a one-day protest. When the word spread about the protest, several other Black leaders wanted to convene.

Under the leadership of E.D. Nixon, former chair of the NAACP of Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, H.H. Hubbard, and Ms. A.W. West an organized movement got underway. To resourcefully carry out this goal, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed, with King as their leader. The MIA adopted a plan of action for the protest that was officially to begin on December 5th. The resolution stated three demands: 1) Blacks would not ride the buses until polite treatment by bus drivers were guaranteed to them. 2) Segregation must be abolished on buses and a first-come-first-served policy adapted and 3) Black bus drivers must be employed. Deciding that they could no longer fight the county of Montgomery, Black leaders filed a federal lawsuit against Montgomery's segregation laws, because they were not in accordance with the 14th amendment.

On May 11, 1956, the case was heard before a three-panel federal court. About three weeks later in a two to one decision, the court decided that the segregation laws were indeed unconstitutional. The Montgomery County lawyers immediately appealed the decision in the Supreme Court. While the boycotters were waiting for the Supreme Court to rule, the protest continued.

During that time, incidents continued to try to intimidate the leaders to end the movement. Reverend Robert Graetz, a white minister, who served a predominately Black church, had his house bombed. The mayor denounced the incident as a publicity stunt by Blacks and reiterated that whites did not care if the boycott lasted forever. Harassment by cops increased and insurance policies continued to be canceled. The law was making it almost impossible for the carpool system to take place and eventually the city filed suit against leaders of the movement, citing that the carpool was a "public nuisance" and an illegal "private enterprise." On November 13, 1956, leaders readied to face one of the darkest days of the movement, knowing that without the car-pool system people might be forced to ride the buses.

While in Montgomery waiting for the decision about the carpools, King received a message from the federal court. It simply stated that "the motion to affirm is granted and the judgment is affirmed,” meaning that the Supreme Court supported the decision that segregation on the buses was illegal. The next night the official boycott was called to a conclusion, but it was soon revealed that the order would not reach Montgomery for about a month. Faced with the obstacle of not being able to participate in carpools, a “share a ride” system was worked out and the buses remained empty for another 30 days.

On December 20, 1956, the mandate came to Montgomery. The next day, King, Abernathy, and Nixon were the first to integrate the buses. The boycott was over.

المرجعي:
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History
Volume 1, ISBN #0-02-897345-3, Pg 175
Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

The first large scale demonstration opposing segregation was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott began on December 5, 1955, and lasted until December 20, 1956. During this civil rights protest, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to use the city bus system. While the black community had been fed up with the discriminatory busing system for years, the straw that broke the camels back came on December 1, 1955.

After a long day’s work, the 42-year-old Rosa Parks climbed onto the Cleveland Avenue bus in downtown Montgomery. She sat near the middle of the bus, behind the ten seats reserved for white passengers. As the bus traveled along its route, the white-only seats began to fill up quickly. The driver of the bus, James F. Blake, went to the middle of the bus and moved the “colored” sign further back to allow more white passengers a place to sit. Blake told Parks and three other black individuals to get up, so the white passengers could sit. Parks refused to give in to his demand, an action that would leave a permanent mark on history and the civil rights movement.

After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, she was arrested. Parks was charged with a violation of Chapter 6, Section 11 segregation law of Montgomery City code. After her arrest and booking, Clifford Durr and Edgar Nixon, the president of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, bailed Parks out of jail. Four days later, members of the Women’s Political Council (WPC) came together to begin the Montgomery bus boycott. After a year-long struggle, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that the city of Montgomery had to desegregate public transportation.

Bus Boycott Begins - History

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the major events in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It signaled that a peaceful protest could result in the changing of laws to protect the equal rights of all people regardless of race.

Before 1955, segregation between the races was common in the south. This meant that public areas such as schools, rest rooms, water fountains, and restaurants had separate areas for black people and white people. This was also true of public transportation such as buses and trains. There were areas where black people could sit and other areas where white people could sit.

On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was taking the bus home from work in Montgomery, Alabama. She was already sitting down and was in the row closest to the front for black people. When the bus began to fill up, the driver told the people in Rosa's row to move back in order to make room for a white passenger. Rosa was tired of being treated like a second class person. She refused to move. Rosa was then arrested and fined $10.

Although other people had been arrested for similar infractions, it was Rosa's arrest that sparked a protest against segregation. Civil rights leaders and ministers got together to organize a day to boycott the buses. That meant that for one day black people would not ride the buses. They picked December 5th. They handed out pamphlets so people would know what to do and on December 5th around 90% of black people in Montgomery did not ride the buses.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The boycott was planned at a meeting in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church. They formed a group called the Montgomery Improvement Association with Martin Luther King, Jr. as the leader. After the first day of the boycott, the group voted to continue the boycott. King made a speech about the boycott where he said "If we are wrong, the Supreme Court is wrong, …the Constitution is wrong, . God Almighty is wrong."

In order to get to work, black people carpooled, walked, rode bicycles, and used horse-drawn buggies. Black taxi drivers lowered their fares to ten cents, which was the same price as a bus fare. Despite not riding the bus, black people found ways to travel by organizing and working together.

Some white people were not happy with the boycott. The government got involved by fining taxi drivers who did not charge at least 45 cents for a ride. They also indicted many of the leaders on the grounds that they were interfering with a business. Martin Luther King Jr. was ordered to pay a $500 fine. He ended up getting arrested and spent two weeks in jail.

Some of the white citizens turned to violence. They firebombed Martin Luther King Jr.'s home as well as several black churches. Sometimes the boycotters were attacked while walking. Despite this, King was adamant that the protests remain non-violent. In a speech to some angry protesters he said "We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us."

How long did the boycott last?

The boycott lasted for over a year. It finally ended on December 20, 1956 after 381 days.

President Obama in the Rosa Parks Bus
by Pete Souza

The Montgomery Bus Boycott brought the subject of racial segregation to the forefront of American politics. A lawsuit was filed against the racial segregation laws. On June 4, 1956 the laws were determined unconstitutional. The boycott had worked in that black people were now allowed to sit wherever they wanted to on the bus. In addition, the boycott had created a new leader for the civil rights movement in Martin Luther King, Jr.

محتويات

Not only were buses segregated, with white riders at the front and black ones in the back, if there were no free black seats black riders had to stand, even if there were free white seats. Furthermore, if there were more white riders than white seats, black riders had to surrender their seats. [3] : 184

Jakes and Patterson boarded a city bus and sat in the only open seats, which were next to a white woman. The driver declared that the two women could not sit where they were sitting, and Jakes agreed to get off the bus if she received her bus fare in return. The driver would not return Jakes' bus fare and drove to a service station, where he then called the police, who subsequently arrested the women. Later that day, the students were bailed out by the Dean of Students. [4]

The day after the incident, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in front of the women's residence. [2] : 28 News of the cross-burning quickly spread throughout the campus, and Student Government Association officers, led by Brodes Hartley, called for a meeting of the student body. The incidents (the cross-burning and the arrest) were discussed in the meeting. Student leaders called for the withdrawal of student support of the bus company and for students to seek participation in the boycott throughout the community. Reverend Steele, a member of the Tallahassee Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA) and leader in the NAACP, organized a mass meeting that night. In the meeting, the Inter-Civic Council (ICC) was born from the joining of the NAACP, IMA, and Tallahassee Civic League. The ICC was formed in response to community fear that a NAACP-led protest would be met with state repression. Its leaders held weekly meetings and the Council was highly active in Civil Rights-related activism. The NAACP became involved well after the boycott had been started, when leaders sent a lawyer to defend drivers of boycotters (carpool drivers) who were arrested for driving unlicensed "for hire" vehicles. [4]

Three months into the boycott, the demand for the employment of black bus drivers was met. For months after Browder v. Gayle, the government upheld بحكم الواقع segregation, with the instantiation of an ordinance mandating assigned seats on buses. That led to arrests of blacks who did not sit in the seats assigned to them. Efforts persisted in resisting bus segregation and enforcement of the ordinance became less strict, when blacks again rode the buses.

In 1959, members of the Tallahassee InterCivic Council tested the success of the boycott by riding the newly-integrated buses they found that the integration was successful. [4]

Sociologist Lewis Killian points out that organizational and community leaders did not gather until after the initiation of the boycott, which highlights the spontaneity of the student-initiated boycott. Furthermore, the boycott was initiated during a time in which Tallahassee's civil rights-related organizational activity was markedly low and the black community in Tallahassee was unprepared for a protest as large as the boycott.

The creation of the ICC provides an example of the emergence of new norms and structures. Although it is widely believed that the centers of Civil Rights Movement activity were organizational and structural bodies such as the black church and the NAACP, a new normative structure emerged in the Tallahassee Bus Boycott.

The boycott presents an overlooked departure from the circumstances of the Montgomery bus boycott, which was planned and precipitated by active individuals and organizations in addition, the Tallahassee boycott, at least in its initial stages, was separate from and did not model the latter.

Killian finds the formation of the ICC and the spontaneous and irregular nature of the boycott's initiation commensurate with traditional collective behavior theory, which includes such superficially irrational elements as spontaneity. [4] [5]

Bloody Sunday, demonstration in Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, on Sunday, January 30, 1972, by Roman Catholic civil rights supporters that turned violent when British paratroopers opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 14 others (one of the injured later died).

Eventually, the march went on unimpeded — and the echoes of its significance reverberated so loudly in Washington, D.C., that Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which secured the right to vote for millions and ensured that Selma was a turning point in the battle for justice and equality in the United States.