Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955

Learning Objective

To investigate the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and to analyse the reasons for and impact of its success

What about the post-its?

If, at any point during the lesson, you come across something that you didn’t know, write it down on the post-it note and stick it on the white board

In Montgomery, Alabama, front seats in buses were

for Whites only. If the White section was full

then Blacks people had to give up their seats for their White superiors.

1st December 1955, Rosa Parks was sitting in the Black section of a bus…

Rosa refused to move. The police arrested her.

It’s full at the front. I want to sit down. You move!

No! I’ve been

standing up all day

• Rosa Parks was an active member of the NAACP

• Her refusal to give up her seat had been planned by local Civil Rights leaders

• Black leaders and church ministers met to discuss the issue

• Martin Luther King decided to organise a protest• Monday 5 December - all Black people were asked

not to use the buses (bus boycott)• That Monday the buses all over town were empty

Don’t ride the buses!

Take a cab, share a ride or

walk

Don’t ride the buses!They need usMore than we need them!

What did the Black people do?

There comes a time when people get tired

– tired of being segregated and

humiliated: tired of being kicked about by

the brutal feet of oppression

• Martin Luther King was elected President of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

• He inspired the Black population to keep pressure up for their Civil Rights

The boycott continued despite death threats to Martin Luther King

• The boycott lasted for 381 days

• Blacks had made up 70% of the passengers

• Without Black passengers the bus companies lost money

• Blacks people pooled or shared cars• Police tried to stop then car sharing and many were

arrested for doing so.

• In December 1956 buses in Montgomery were officially desegregated by the courts

• Bus companies had started to desegregate anyway – couldn’t afford not to

• Showed what could be achieved by organised peaceful protest

• Showed the economic power of the Blacks• Martin Luther King became the new Civil Rights Movement

leader• SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

established in 1957. MLK elected president.

Effects of the Boycott

• Montgomery still segregated town• The battle for desegregation continued…..

Effects of the Boycott

Effective because…

• It showed the economic power of blacks• Desegregation of buses in Montgomery• Non-violent protest worked• MLK’s leadership

Ineffective because…

• Desegregation happened only in Montgomery on buses

• Tremendous white opposition throughout the boycott

• Long, drawn-out process • Civil rights campaign has to continue

Plenary

Let’s have a look at what new things we have learned about the situation we have been studying

Examination questions

Explain the reasons why the Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful

Describe the effects of the Montgomery Bus Boycott