In 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott began with the act of one woman, but it grew into more than that. The African American community had already begun to organize to fight unequal treatment in the city with organizations such as the Women's Political Council and the NAACP. After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat, the city's African American population rallied together, not only for a seat on the bus, but to protest years of unequal treatment in Montgomery. Initially, the community answered the call of the NAACP and the Women's Political Council to boycott the buses for one day. The Montgomery Improvement Association formed under the leadership of a young minister named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to continue the boycott and the fight against segregation. After thirteen months, the boycott ended with the Supreme Court ordering the desegregation of city buses. The success of the boycott led Dr. King and others to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to continue the fight against racism and segregation.

Many people across the South applauded the determined and brave Montgomery citizens, as their successful boycott sparked multiple nonviolent protests in other communities. These protests became the trademark of the civil rights movement throughout the next decade.

Read More About:
Jo Ann Robinson
E.D. Nixon
Rosa Parks
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ralph Abernathy
Clifford and Virginia Durr
Montgomery Improvement Association
Southern Christian Leadership Conference