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Montgomery Bus Boycott: Cities
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The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. The ensuing struggle lasted from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses unconstitutional.
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The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political protest campaign in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama , intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. The ensuing struggle eventually led to a United States Supreme Court decision on November 13 , 1956 , that declared illegal the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated bus es.
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The heroism of those involved in the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott is presented here in poignant and thorough detail. The untold stories of those, both black and white, whose lives were forever changed by the boycott are shared, along with a chilling glimpse into the world of the white council members who tried to stop them. In the end, the boycott brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to prominence and improved the lives of all black Americans. Based on extensive interviews conducted over decades and culled from thousands of exclusive documents, this behind-the-scenes examination details the history of violence and abuse on the city buses. A look at Martin Luther King Jr.'s trial, an examination of how black and white lawyers worked together to overturn segregation in the courtroom, and even firsthand accounts from the segregationists who bombed the homes of some of Montgomery's most progressive ministers are included. This fast-moving story reads like a legal thriller but is based solely on documented facts and firsthand accounts, presenting the compelling and never-before-told stories of the beginning of the end of segregation.
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Montgomery's black residents stayed off of the buses through 1956, as city officials and white citizens sought to defeat the boycott. Black taxi drivers were penalized if they charged less than forty-five cents, as they had begun charging ten cents—the regular bus fare—in support of the boycott. In addition, the homes of both King and Ralph Abernathy were bombed, and the membership of the local White Citizen's Council doubled. City officials obtained injunctions against the boycott in February 1956 and arrested 156 protesters under a 1921 law prohibiting the hindrance of a bus. King was tried and convicted on the charge and ordered to pay $1000 or serve 386 days in jail. Despite this resistance, the boycott continued.
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The black community of Montgomery started using the buses again on December 21st 1956. However, the argument used by the city’s leaders in court came true. Buses were shot at, four churches were bombed, and a bomb was found on the porch of Martin Luther King’s home. Seven white men were arrested for these but no-one was ever found guilty – a deal was done whereby those blacks arrested under the anti-boycott laws had their charges dropped while the seven men had their charges dropped (though King still had to pay his $500 fine).
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During the Montgomery bus boycott, blacks and others opposed to the segregation ordinance refused to ride city buses which had been their primary source of transportation. Many men and women who participated in the boycott did so at great personal sacrifice walking miles to work through hostile neighborhoods and in poor weather rather than riding the bus.
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