The
Montgomery Bus Boycott, which took place from December 5, 1955 to December 20,
1956, was one of the best organized and executed protests of the 20th
Century against the policies of segregation known primarily in the American
South at the time. Prompted by the arrests of Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin,
the boycott began after a mass meeting of Civil Rights activists at the Holt
Street Baptist Church on December 5th with originally small demands
of white city officials. Biography covered the organization of the
boycotts in their 2014 video Montgomery Bus Boycott- American
Freedom Stories. City officials, afraid that initial concessions would lead
to larger demands, may have worked against themselves with their refusal to
concede to the boycott. The immediate decrease in ridership concerned the
Montgomery City Bus Lines. However, both positions were difficult for the
transportation company as they too were required to bend to state and local
segregation law. With no power to change the policy, control of the situation
lay in the hands of the city, who had no immediate interest in the loss in
profits as the National City Lines were not owned by the City of Montgomery.
This particular set of circumstances led to the conditions which would make the
boycott drag on for more than a year and cost the National City Lines nearly
$750,000, which resulted in their eventual ruin.
During
the year in which the African-American citizens of Montgomery were boycotting
the bus lines, they began to face many struggles. The city had, by many
standards, been one which treated African-Americans moderately, but the bussing
issue became quickly contentious. By
January 1956 the city had implemented what they coined their “Get Tough” policy
which resulted in the bombing of Martin Luther King’s church provided residence
at the end of the month. Only after these drastic actions from the city and
community did the protesters push for full desegregation of the bussing system,
rather than their previous stance asking to end particular seating policies.
The pressure placed on the bussing companies began to hurt them severely by
March and April, but the City never broke from their strict legalistic
position. The City never broke from their stance, and the boycott only came to
an end because of the work of the NAACP’s legal filings at the state level.
Thurgood Marshall and Fred Gray filed the Browder v. Gayle case in April
of 1956, and it was heard by three judges in May. It wouldn’t be until November
13th that the Supreme Court ruled the practice unconstitutional.
The
boycott ended on December 20, 1956 in the same place where it began, the Holt
Street Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned against
violence, and called for those present to “evince calm dignity and wise
restraint” in the face of potential aggression while integrating the
transportation system for the first time. Though the court order applied only
to Montgomery at the time, other communities saw it as a sign that
desegregation would be coming to their cites as well.
The
Montgomery Bus Boycott is a strong example of the power of active,
participatory protest. Two years earlier the Supreme Court had faced segregation
in Brown v. Board of Education, but that case was primarily a legal one,
not impacted by putting stress on the daily lives of community change makers.
As King went through this experience firsthand, it is clear that he brought
these ideas into the later sit in movement that brought about even more change
in the 1960’s.
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| Rosa Parks is fingerprinted upon her arrest in 1955 by Sherriff’s Deputy D.H. Lackey in Montgomery, AL |
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the earlier events in the Civil Rights Movement to gain equality for Black Americans and to right the social injustice and oppression against them. It was interesting to learn that a second person, Claudette Colvin, was also arrested, not just Rosa Parks. Additionally, I was surprised to learn the financial impact of $750,000 on the city lines. I agree that it was a strong example of the power of active protests. My blog topic, Bloody Sunday, also showed the power of peaceful protests when black Americans marched from Selma Alabama to Montgomery to stand up for the blacks right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr, was involved in both protests and was a central figure for black civil rights.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Montgomery Bus Boycott is obviously much more well known and was much more influential, I think there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn to the protests that took place at Oregon State University roughly a decade later. Both protests started over something very minor in the grand scheme of things, sitting in the wrong seat on a bus or refusing to shave facial hair, but through active participation in the protests, were able to make real change. Although it was on a much smaller scale, the African-American community at Oregon State came together in much the same way that the community of Montgomery did. I think in both cases this really emphasizes the community aspect of Gaudium et Spes. The protesters were worried about protecting the rights of their fellow citizens, as well as their own, which is one of the core ideals of Gaudium.
ReplyDeleteThis is from Brandon:
ReplyDeleteThis post is one of my favorites because you can see the huge impact that the protest had. To think that it would cost the city line 750,000 dollars goes to show the power of a well organized boycott. In Gaudium et spes it says “it is legitimate for them to defend their own rights and the rights of their fellow citizens against the abuse of this authority, while keeping within those limits drawn by natural law”. This is a good example because in both of our posts they found a peaceful approach and were able to win over their rights instead of resorting to violence.