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The Grassroots Involved
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA): Founded by local African American leaders including E.D. Nixon and Martin Luther King Jr.
• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): E.D. Nixon was a prominent member.
• Women's Political Council (WPC): Led by Jo Ann Robinson. -
Period: to
Montgomery Bus Boycott
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The beginning
Rosa Parks, an African American woman, is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Her act of defiance ignites the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
City wide
Local African American leaders, including E.D. Nixon of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and Martin Luther King Jr., organize a meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church. They decide to launch a city-wide boycott of Montgomery's buses. -
Recognition
The Montgomery Bus Boycott begins to gain national attention as newspapers report on the economic impact on the city and the peaceful nature of the protesters. -
City laws
The Supreme Court of Alabama rules against the city's segregation laws, but the city continues to resist enforcement. -
New Laws
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Browder v. Gayle that bus segregation is unconstitutional. This ruling effectively ends the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
1957 -
Desegregation
The Montgomery City Council, under pressure, desegregates its buses, marking the official end of the boycott.