Chapter 35

1. Chapter 35

2. Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement 1948 Truman desegregated the armed forces 1954 Brown v. The Board of Education, Topeka 1955 Emmett Till murdered 1955–56 Montgomery Bus Boycott 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) founded Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas Civil Rights Act 1960 SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) founded Civil Rights Act Lunch counter protests 1961 Freedom Rides M. L. King and Albany, Georgia

3. 1962 Meredith and the University of Mississippi 1963 M. L. King and Birmingham, Alabama Washington March; ‘I Have a Dream’ speech 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Civil Rights Act 1965 Selma to Montgomery March Voting Rights Act Riots in Watts, Los Angeles 1966 Meredith Walk 1968 M. L. King assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee Riots in US cities 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act

5. Contextualising the Montgomery Bus Boycott • The origins and background to the MBB • The role of Martin Luther King in the MBB • The progress of the MBB • How successful was the MBB? • The impact of the MBB

6. Background • Jim Crow Laws • Segregation – separate public facilities • Ku Klux Klan • Lynching

7. Conditions of Change

8. Montgomery Blacks

9. Montgomery Segregation on Buses Source 2 – Code of the City of Montgomery Section 10. Separation of races – Required. Every person operating a bus line in the city shall provide equal but separate accommodation for white people and negroes on his buses, by requiring the employees in charge thereof to assign passengers seats on the vehicles under their charge in such manner as to separate the white people from the negroes, where there are both white and negroes in the same car … Section 11. Some powers of persons in charge of vehicle; passengers to obey directions. Any employee in charge of a bus operated in the city shall have the powers of a police officer while in actual control of any bus, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the preceding section, and it shall be unlawful for any passenger to refuse or fail to take a seat among those assigned to the race in which he belongs, at the request of any such employee in charge, if there is such a seat vacant. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery

10. Rosa Parks • Seamstress • NAACP activist Source 4 – Why Mrs Parks was Chosen Source 3 ‘Mrs Parks was a married woman. She was morally clean, and she had a fairly good academic training … If there was ever a person we would’ve been able to [use to] break the situation that existed in the Montgomery city line, Rosa L. Parks was the woman to use … I probably would’ve examined a dozen before I got there if Rosa Parks hadn’t come along before I found the right one.’ E. D. Nixon, quoted by Gary Younge in The Guardian, 16 December 2000 Rosa Parks being fingerprinted in Montgomery after being charged with violating segregation laws.

11. Organising the Boycott • E. D. Nixon, NAACP • Jo Ann Robinson, Women’s Political Council • Rosa Parks case to court • Boycott buses on day of trial • Leaflets • Sermons

12. Martin Luther King • 26-year-old Baptist clergyman • President of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Source 7 – This is not a War ‘There are those who would try to make this a hate campaign. This is not a war between the white and the Negro but a conflict between justice and injustice … We must use the weapon of love.’ Speech by Martin Luther King Source 9 – Communist View ‘No day passed but the Italian Communists pointed to events in our South to prove that American democracy was a “capitalist myth” … No man has ever waged the battle for equality under our law in a more lawful and Christian way than you have.’ Clare Booth Luce, American ambassador to Italy, in a private letter to Martin Luther King Source 8 – Martin Luther King Speaking ‘Martin Luther King spoke in a very soft, rich voice, and as he was going along, you’d get the feeling … that here was a person who really cared … He was able to make all of us – the washerwoman, the domestic, the teenager – feel like he was talking directly to each of us.’ Inez Jessie Baskin, quoted in P. Jennings and T. Brewster, The century

13. Martin Luther King • Influenced by Gandhi and Niebuhr Source 14 – We want to love our enemies ‘We believe in law and order. Don’t get panicky. Don’t do anything at all. Don’t get your weapons. He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. Remember, that is what God said. We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies. We must love our white brothers no matter what they do to us.’ Martin Luther King, after his house was bombed Non-violent protest

14. Continuing the Boycott Demands of MIA • Black drivers to be employed on the buses • Drivers must be courteous to passengers • Seats should be filled on a first come, first served basis Advantages of Boycotting • Action without violence • A sense of solidarity amongst black people • Bus company would lose money

15. The Role of the MIA • Weekly mass meetings with sermons and music • Negotiated with city leaders • Co-ordinated legal challenges • Collected money • Got support from outside civil rights organisation • NAACP • United Auto Workers Union • Organised taxis, then voluntary car pool • Organised insurance • The role of the black churches • Raised $30,000 • Despatch centres • Sermons • 24 ministers arrested Martin Luther King – President of MIA

17. White Opposition • Opposition of city authorities • Ku Klux Klan • Police interference • King arrested • Black churches bombed Source 13 – Listen, Nigger ‘Listen, nigger. We’ve taken all we want from you. Before next week, you’ll be sorry you ever came to Montgomery.’ Late-night phone caller speaking to Martin Luther King, quoted in P. Jennings and T. Brewster, The Century Source 5 – Not yield one inch ‘The City Commission, and we know our people are with us in this determination, will not yield one inch but will do all in its power to oppose the integration of the Negro race with the white race in Montgomery, and will forever stand like a rock against social equality, intermarriage and mixing of the races under God’s creation and plan.’ Statement from the Montgomery City Commission at the start of the boycott, quoted in M. Walker, Makers of the American Century

18. Supreme Court Judgement • NAACP • Browder v. Gayle • City laws violated the Constitution • Boycott called off • White backlash • Other segregation laws continued

19. Why was the Montgomery Bus Boycott successful? • Parks – ideal ‘victim’ • Strong leadership – King, MIA, NAACP, WPC, role of churches • Alternative means of transport • Unity among blacks, mass support • Financial support • National media interest • Use of federal courts/Supreme Court decision • What did the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56) contribute to the civil rights movement? (2010) • Rise of Martin Luther King (and later SCLC) • Non-violent methods/direct action (and later examples) • Black organisation and tactics/Christian churches • NAACP and legal route • Role of media • Successful outcome/city transport • Limitations of MBB success

20. Conclusion • Well-organised and peaceful resistance • New method of non-violent protest • Influence on James Meredith, Lunch Counter protests, Freedom Rides • Pride for black people all over USA • Rise to prominence of Martin Luther King • Later founded Southern Christian Leadership Conference • Role of press and television • Role of black churches and religious leaders • Role of Supreme Court • Failure to end Jim Crow • The fate of Rosa Parks EXAM QUESTION In what ways did the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–56, advance the cause of the civil rights movement? (2007)

23. Structured Essay Plans Write paragraphs based on these plans