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Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Turning Point in the Civil Rights Movement

Learn about Rosa Parks and her courageous act that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Discover the impact of this mass action and the shift towards direct action protests.

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Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Turning Point in the Civil Rights Movement

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  1. Activity – What You Know 1. Write down everything you know about Rosa Parks. You have 3 minutes. GO.

  2. Rosa Parks • Respected member of the Af Am community and secretary of NAACP. • She had already worked to end segregation laws in Alabama. • The bus rule: When seats were needed for whites, Af Ams had to give up their seats in the ‘colored’ section.

  3. On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks, on her way home from work, was told to give up her seat in the black section. • She decided not to because she was “tired of segregation,” and was arrested. • Rosa Parks understood the consequences and chose to confront segregation.

  4. The bus in which Parks refused to give up her seat; on exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum

  5. Montgomery Bus Boycott • The NAACP in Montgomery had been waiting for a chance like this. • They organized a boycott of the city buses, starting the very next Monday.

  6. MLK Jr. Has a Role • Martin Luther King Jr., a young minister in Montgomery, is chosen to lead the Boycott. • They gave a list of demands to the bus authorities, requesting desegregated buses. • Af Ams made up 3 quarters of people who rode the buses.

  7. Response by White Community • Opposing whites joined the White Citizen’s Council (membership doubled during boycott). • They sometimes acted violently: Martin Luther King's house was bombed, as were four black churches. Boycotters often attacked. • 156 protesters arrested for "hindering" a bus, including King, who served 2 weeks in jail. The move backfired and brought national attention.

  8. Impact • Without black riders, the Montgomery bus system had huge financial losses. • The boycott lasted from December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks was arrested until December 20, 1956. 381 days! • The Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional.

  9. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the first big success of the direct action CR protests.

  10. Mass Action vs Legislative Action • Before Brown , the Civil Rights movement (mostly the NAACP) was focused on legal action, trying to get laws changed through courts. • As the 1960s began, the Civil Rights movement got a different focus. It was made up of mass action by communities against discrimination.

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