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Cause: Before Rosa Parks There Was Claudette
Claudette Colvin Before Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin. Just a few months before Rosa Parks sparked a massive boycott in the fight against racism, a curiously similar story arose with the teenage Claudette Colvin, who, refusing to give up her seat, was also arrested and held on trial. Some minorities think that the Rose Parks incident was planned and not spontaneous, but rather caused by Claudette. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till On November 27th of 1955, Rosa Parks attended a meeting concerning the late murder of Emmet Till, a fourteen year old African American boy that was repotedly flirting with a white woman. He was thouroughly beaten and had one eye gouged out before being brutally murdered and tossed into a river. Rosa Parks' defiance on the bus may have been linked to this incident. -
Turning Point: Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
Story of Rosa Parks On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person, causing a great uproar and her arrest. She was the spark that lit the flame, causing a massive boycott of the buses that made the Supreme Council rethink segregation on buses. This event was a major turning point in the fight against racism. -
Through Their Eyes: Martin Luther King Gets Involved
Martin Luther King On Dec 4th after the bus incident with Rosa, the MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association), lead by Martin Luther King, met to discuss what should be done, and thus starting the 381 day boycott of buses. Through their eyes, the incident was a huge oppurtunity to help change racism in society. -
Effect: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott On Dec 5, 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, where over 40, 000 black people refused to ride the buses, causing major damage to the the bus companies finances. This boycott had a huge effect on the fight against racism because it marked the first major change in segregation in the United States, but it also created many difficulties for the black people involved in the boycott, although they persevere -
Effect: Civil Rights Act of 1968
Civil Rights Act of 1968 On April 11 of 1968, a new Civil Rights Act was passed and all public forms of segregation were banned. After the Manhattan Bus Boycott, all types of changes were being made in society, but 1968 marked the end of public segregation in the Unites States completely. -
Change and Continuity: First African-American President
Barack Obama Half a century after the Rosa Parks incident, the United States elected its first African-American president. So much has changed since the incident, change that it sparked. Barack Obama being elected shows that racial discrimnation in most parts of the United States have improved drastically since 1955, largely due to the efforts by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.
