The Montgomery Bus Boycott And The Civil Rights Movement

The Montgomery Bus Boycott is considered one of the first large-scale demonstrations against segregation in the United States during the civil-rights movement (History). Beginning in 1955, african americans stopped riding the public busses in protest of being made to sit in the back of the bus in the “colored section.” Instead, they either rode in cars, rode bikes, or walked to show that they no longer wanted to be treated as second class citizens. The boycott was important to the civil rights movement, and really began when a woman named Rosa Parks decided that she would not give up her seat on the bus and move to the back. It was her belief that black people, like all people, were humans and deserved to be free and treated with respect.

The city of Montgomery, Alabama had a law that required black people to sit in the back of city busses. On December 1, 1955, an african american woman named Rosa Parks was asked to move to the back of the bus, but she refused. Rosa Parks is quoted as saying, “As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin.” (Brainy Quote). She was arrested that day, and was bailed out by black community leaders, who decided to use her case to challenge the city bus law. The boycott by african americans began on the day of Rosa Park’s trial, December 5th, 1955. As news spread about the boycott, it began to have an