Who Supported The Birmingham Bus Boycott And Why?

The Birmingham Bus Boycott, which took place in Alabama from 1956 to 1958, was led by the late minister and civil rights activist Dr. Fred Shuttlesworth and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. The boycott was met with violent resistance, including the bombing of Shuttlesworth's home, but it laid the groundwork for the Black civil rights community and bolstered their movement. While the boycott was not as effective as other similar protests across the Deep South, it lasted for two years and ended officially in November 1958.

The boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, on December 1, 1955. Parks, a seamstress and secretary for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus. Parks was seated in the front row of the "colored section" when the white seats filled up, and the bus driver demanded that she and three other Black riders vacate their seats. The other riders complied, but Parks refused and was subsequently arrested and fined $10, plus $4 in court fees. This incident occurred just four days before the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a political and social protest campaign against racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama.

The boycott, which lasted from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, was a significant event in the civil rights movement in the United States. During this time, African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery to protest segregated seating. The protest was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, but it was also influenced by previous incidents of racial violence and legal cases challenging segregation. For example, nine months before Parks' arrest, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested in Montgomery for the same act of defiance. Additionally, the year before the boycott, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional, which sparked discontent among white southerners.

The boycott was organized by the Women's Political Council (WPC), a group of Black women working for civil rights. On the day of Parks' trial, December 5, the WPC circulated flyers calling for a boycott of the bus system. The protest was also led by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), a group formed by Black leaders in the city. The MIA elected Martin Luther King Jr., a young pastor, as its president. King emerged as a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement as a result of his role in the boycott.

The demands of the boycott included courteous treatment by bus operators, a first-come, first-served seating policy, and the hiring of Black bus drivers. While the initial demands did not include changing the segregation laws, the boycott ultimately led to a legal challenge of the city's bus segregation laws. A group of five Montgomery women, represented by attorney Fred D. Gray and the NAACP, sued the city in U.S. District Court, arguing that the bus segregation laws violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

The boycott was extremely effective, causing serious economic distress to the city transit system. African Americans in Montgomery organized carpools, used private motor vehicles, or simply walked to their destinations. The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended on December 20, 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Alabama and Montgomery laws segregating buses were unconstitutional. This ruling led to the integration of Montgomery's buses, marking a significant victory for civil rights in the United States.

The Women's Political Council (WPC) played a key role

The Women's Political Council (WPC) was a group of Black women working for civil rights in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1946 by Mary Fair Burks, an English professor at Alabama State College, the WPC initially comprised Montgomery public school teachers and college professors who encouraged voter registration, organized adult and youth education programs, and sought to include African Americans in local civic groups.

Under the leadership of Jo Ann Robinson, another English professor at Alabama State, the WPC met regularly with city officials to discuss the mistreatment of African American bus riders. In 1953, Robinson and other African American leaders in the community presented three complaints:

• African American patrons were forced to stand by empty white-only seats.
• There were fewer stops in African American neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods.
• African American patrons were expected to pay fares at the front of the bus, then exit and re-enter from the rear to take their seats.

The meeting with city officials failed to generate change. However, Robinson persisted, and in March 1954, officials with the bus company agreed to increase the number of bus stops in African American neighborhoods.

Community frustration continued to grow, and in May 1954, Robinson wrote a letter to Mayor W.A. Gayle reiterating the problem and indicating that support for a boycott of city buses was increasing. In March 1955, when 15-year-old African American Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, the WPC helped arrange further meetings among Black leaders, the bus company, and city officials. The council also made arrangements for a boycott, which was postponed until they could ensure widespread community support.

In December 1955, following the arrest of African American civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who committed the same offense as Colvin, Robinson and the WPC drafted and distributed 50,000 flyers calling for a boycott on Monday, December 5—the day of Parks’ trial. With the help of an Alabama State faculty member and two students, the flyers were distributed throughout the city. The boycott was a success, with approximately 40,000 Black bus riders—the majority of the city’s bus riders—participating.

With the success and continuation of the boycott, leaders established an organization to manage it: the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Women’s Political Council members held all four paid staff positions of the MIA. In addition to facilitating the daily management of the boycott, Women’s Political Council leaders, particularly Robinson, were central in boycott negotiations.

The WPC played a key role in initiating and organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. The boycott was a mass protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama, and it is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. The boycott ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

The boycott was supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)

The NAACP had a history of litigating cases challenging racial segregation. In 1946, the organisation took on the case of Irene Morgan, which resulted in a victory in the Supreme Court, ruling that segregated interstate bus lines violated the Commerce Clause. While this initially only applied to interstate travel, the NAACP's work laid the groundwork for challenging segregation in other areas, such as city busing.

The Montgomery NAACP chapter president, E.D. Nixon, played a crucial role in the boycott. He intended for Parks' arrest to be a test case to challenge segregation on the city's public buses. Nixon organised a meeting of local ministers at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church, where the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed to lead the boycott. Nixon was elected treasurer of the MIA, and his influence helped ensure the participation of the NAACP in the boycott.

The NAACP's involvement in the boycott extended beyond Montgomery. Across the nation, black churches affiliated with the NAACP raised money to support the boycott and collected shoes for Montgomery's black citizens, who often walked long distances rather than ride the segregated buses. The NAACP's support was instrumental in the success and longevity of the boycott, which ultimately led to a Supreme Court decision declaring Alabama's bus segregation laws unconstitutional.

The boycott lasted 381 days

The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for 381 days, from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. The boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her seat to a white person. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on public transit in Montgomery, Alabama. Led by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), with Martin Luther King Jr. as its president, the boycott aimed to end the practice of forcing African Americans to ride in the back of the bus and to surrender their seats to white people.

During the boycott, African Americans in Montgomery refused to ride city buses, instead organizing carpools and walking to their destinations. The boycott was extremely effective, causing serious economic distress to the city's transit system. The MIA also faced significant resistance and violence from white citizens, with King's home being firebombed and boycotters being physically attacked.

The boycott ended on December 20, 1956, when the federal ruling Browder v. Gayle took effect, and the United States Supreme Court declared that the laws requiring segregated buses in Alabama and Montgomery were unconstitutional. The success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrated the power of nonviolent mass protest in challenging racial segregation and inspired similar campaigns across the South.

The boycott played a crucial role in the civil rights movement in the United States. It brought national and international attention to the struggle for civil rights and propelled Martin Luther King Jr. into the spotlight as a prominent leader of the movement. The boycott also served as a model for challenging segregation, combining mass nonviolent protest with Christian ethics.

The boycott was led by Martin Luther King Jr

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation.

> We have no alternative but to protest. For many years, we have shown amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.

Under King's leadership, the boycott was extremely successful. African Americans in Montgomery organized carpools and walked to their destinations. Black taxi drivers charged the same fare as bus rides to support the boycott. Regular mass meetings were held to keep the community mobilized.

The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a significant event in the civil rights movement, propelling Martin Luther King Jr. into the national spotlight as a prominent leader of the movement.

Frequently asked questions