How important was the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955–56 in the Civil Rights Movement in the USA?

The Montgomery bus boycott has been seen by historians as one of the most significant events in the 20th century. It was significant because it changed the methodology of protest in the civil rights movement and had residence over time. It was a crucial stepping stone on the journey to attain equality. The Montgomery Bus boycott 1955-56 was important in the civil rights movement because it began extremely effective, organized, peaceful protests. It did not only help progress the black civil rights movement but also began a process of evolving protests for other organizations.

The Boycott was one of the USA civil rights movement’s first victories. Not only could the black people in Montgomery ride the buses as equals, but now blacks in other places could too. The boycott started a movement that opened up countless opportunities for many blacks to prove that they were not a lower race and should not be deemed so. It proved that one Jim Crow law was unlawful, thus people began to wonder if maybe all Jim Crow laws were unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott started a revolution in America that will never be forgotten in the pages of history.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to make room for a white passenger. She was secretary of the Montgomery NAACP and had recently returned from a meeting at the Highlander Centre. Rosa Parks was arrested, tried, and then convicted for bad conduct and violating a local law. After word of this incident reached the black community, many leaders gathered and organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott to demand a more humane bus system. Edgar Daniel Nixon pushed for full desegregation of public buses and to do this, he enlisted the help of a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King. King was the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), and he began to organise the peaceful protest.

The boycott started on Monday, December 5, 1955. Very few blacks rode the bus that day, but instead walked, cycled or used the arranged car pool (car owners transporting people to various places in Montgomery). Thus, it was decided to continue the boycott. The effectiveness of the boycott was due to the fact that the majority of passengers that rode the buses were black, and without enough passengers the bus companies experienced immense financial problems. Over ninety percent of African Americans in Montgomery took part in the boycotts, which reduced bus revenue by 65%. The Montgomery state officials tried to stop carpools by forcing local insurance companies to stop insuring the cars used in the carpools. Due to this, boycott leaders arranged policies with a British insurance market (Lloyds).

After about six months on June 4, 1956, the federal district court ruled that Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional. But, the case was appealed and the segregation laws were kept until November 13, 1956. The boycott finally ended on December 20, 1956 after they had attained their goal.

An extremely important cause to its significance was how it eventually led to the change of laws through two very important acts in the fight against racism; the civil rights act of 1957 and 1964. These acts entitled any black person to a right to vote and outlawed any major forms of discrimination against blacks and women (such as education), leading the USA, into a new era of equality. This meant that there was no more segregation on the transport, and all states had to abide to the same rules.

Furthermore, the boycott managed to establish a legal precedence through a court case appeal. After that, they could use this precedence to reinforce other cases, which helped the movement’s progress immensely. In effect, the black civil rights movement had managed to undermine segregation and had pierced through year old traditions, to achieve their freedom.

In addition, it made Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks national figures. It also highlighted Malcolm X’s violent approach to dire situations which could have easily been averted with peace. Malcolm X showed his virtues and beliefs through ‘Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.’ He thought the boycott would prove to be ineffective and that they should have retaliated with aggression.

From the ashes of the boycott, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) were born, in aid of the black civil rights movement. Furthermore, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks both reached the world stage and became iconic role models. King received a Nobel peace prize for his efforts; to which he said as he held it ‘the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.’

One pivotal reason why the boycott was extremely significant was because of the way it turned around the situations and hearts of the black people in the USA. It led the people out of their states of resignation and despair, of the fact that they would never be equal, and brought them into a feat of optimism. They began to believe that it was their right to be equal and that nobody should take that away from them. As Ben Walsh dictates on pg 381 ‘It showed how powerful black people working together can be.’ This shows the people had the power to fight for their rights and that it would be better reinforced, if they cooperated together in non-violent protest. The Montgomery bus boycott was a small victory but was one that would ignite the strength to fight harder against oppressors. It led to Little Rock, by giving the school children the courage to fight for their rights, even though they were going into unmarked territory, and possible death.

Another major reason for its significance was the media and its resonance through time. Through the media, the boycott drew attention from the south to the north, exposing various acts of cruelty to the blacks. This resulted in many more people supporting their cause, including other white followers. This had shown that the human race could overcome the colours of the skin; as white supporters showed their disgust to witnessing the inhumane forms of violence committed, by the white public. In addition, the Montgomery bus boycott has been resonating throughout time, which also explains why it seems key to the movement. It had filled a permanent spot in history that had never been forgotten, and was therefore deemed important to the progress of the civil rights movement, as a whole.

One fundamental reason to why the boycott was so important was the fact that it changed the methodology of the civil rights movement. It shook the foundations of violent protests to the core, as it began to teach new techniques of demonstrating which was equally effective, if not more so. It taught that mass, passive protests could be more effective because ‘These oppressors may be able to silence one, two, or maybe even a hundred of us, but never thousands.’ A variety of sit-ins, protests, speeches, marches, court cases and boycotts, left the white racist unable to counter. Other organisations from different movements (such as women’s rights) began to apply these techniques too and also succeeded. This displays how significant the boycott was, for it had not only changed the history of black rights, but also other parts of history in different movements. If non-violent protest hadn’t been discovered

and renewed at that time; we may have reached the 21st century with no ounce of the modern society, which we have today.

However, in some ways the boycott was insignificant compared to the whole black civil rights movement. For one thing, it didn’t change the attitudes of white people towards the blacks. They still believed that black people were inferior and had no right to live. This meant that although the boycott could shift laws to desegregate the country, a lot more time would be needed to change the racist upbringing of the people. Martin Luther King acknowledged this and in a response to the President said ‘It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me.’ Additionally, the Montgomery bus boycott was not the first boycott and nor was it the last. It was one of many that had and would take place in due time.

The Montgomery bus boycott was exceptionally important to the civil rights movement. It helped enforce laws, which disallowed segregation in the whole of the USA and it turned Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King into the role models that they are today. The boycott created new organizations to fight the war against inequality and brought itself into resonance over time, through the media and in the way that we all remembered it. On the other hand, it was insignificant in some ways, but that did not change the fact that without the boycott we would not be where we are today. The most

It was a vital cog in the mechanics of the history of movements all over the world.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott had implications that reached far beyond the desegregation of public buses. The protest propelled the Civil Rights Movement into national consciousness and Martin Luther King Jr. into the public eye. In the words of King: "We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon—nonviolent resistance."

The Montgomery bus boycott was extremely significant because of the fact that

The part that Rosa Parks played was not significant in itself, but was made important by the fact that she had numerous NAACP contacts. History is made significant by the way we remember it. We remember her as a hero and therefore, she was a significant part of this whole scheme.

Significance – changed movement and methods – protest etc Conclusion – pull your arguments together

To this end, they formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and elected King

as its president. That evening 7,000 blacks crowded into Holt Street Baptist Church, where

King inspired the audience with his words: "There comes a time when people get tired of

being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression."

With this speech, King was able to spark the black residents’ collective outrage into a

grassroots movement that would sustain the boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott followed

King’s credo of nonviolent resistance, even in the face of a police crackdown and attempts by

white supremacists to undermine the protest. Montgomery police threatened to arrest taxi

drivers giving discount rates to the black riders, and when the MIA arranged carpools, the

police systematically harassed drivers, arresting them for allegedly going too fast or too slow.

Meanwhile, the boycott leaders squared off at the bargaining table with the local officials. The

MIA presented its modest demands for bus seating by race, with no mobile area, and "Negro

routes" with black drivers. They were met with unconditional refusal.

n June a federal court ruled segregated seating unconstitutional, and the case went on appeal

to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, King and the MIA leadership went to the Montgomery

court to try to stave off an injunction against the carpools. They were in court when they were

handed a notice from the Associated Press wire announcing the Supreme Court decision that

ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional. King addressed a euphoric crowd

that night, and over the next week celebrities such as singer Mahalia Jackson and New York

minister Gardner C. Taylor came to Montgomery to celebrate. On December 20, 1956, when

the federal ruling took effect, an integrated group of Montgomery Bus Boycott supporters,

including King, Abernathy, Fred Gray, and Glenn Smiley, rode the city buses.

It was significant because this one event inspired others to take place. Not only for black rights but for woman’s rights, also. This one event inspired other pages of history to be filled