Civil Rights Dbq

Annabelle Wintson
Bower
History 8A
March 12, 2018

Title

Although the slavery was abolished in 1865, the rights given to African Americans were not nearly equal to those of white Americans. After slavery was abolished, inequality in American society ran high, and many laws were put in place to restrict the rights and abilities of African Americans. Some laws include the Jim Crow Laws (1870 to 1950s) and the Supreme Court Ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that ruled that there could be “separate but equal” facilities and services for people of color and white Americans. These policies and laws were unfair and discriminatory towards people of color and change was desperately needed. The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 to 1965 pushed the Civil

History, but is was longest. Prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Reverend T.J. Jemison lead a bus boycott in Baton Rouge, but it lasted only two weeks. In addition to the boycott in Baton Rouge, there were more bus boycotts, but they did not last long enough to make an impact. Many people had an impact on the movement before the Boycott 1955 such as Jackie Robinson, Emmett Till, and Harry Truman, who all either supported the Civil Rights Movement or were victimized by the harsh ways of racists. Also, leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, many things sparked anger and frustration in African Americans such as widespread inequality, and extreme

With King as the new leader of the NAACP, he spoke with other leaders on the community, crafted a plan for the boycott and created a flyer to the spread the word. The flyer stated, “Don 't ride the bus to work, to town, to school, or any place Monday, December 5. Another Negro woman has been arrested and put in jail because she refused to give up her bus seat. Don 't ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere on Monday. If you work, take a cab, or share a ride or walk. Come to a mass meeting, Monday at 7:00 P.M., at the Holt Street Baptist Church for further instruction.” Due to the fact that over seventy-five percent of bus riders were African Americans, the bus company lost over $750,000: over seven million dollars today. Many African Americans carpooled or walked when they needed to travel. The participaters in the boycott persisted though peaceful protesting, demonstrating the power peaceful protests had. Eventually, King had come up with three things that he would show to the city commissioners, “the black citizens of the city would not return to the buses until: courteous treatment by the bus operators was guaranteed; passengers were seated on a first-come, first-served basis; and black bus operators were employed on predominantly black routes.” King promised that the