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Rosa Parks joins the NAACP
Rosa Parks becomes a member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a grassroots organization focused on civil rights. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education declares state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, laying the groundwork for future civil rights activism. -
Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks
Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old African American girl, is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, but the local civil rights leaders hesitate to rally behind her.
On December 1, Rosa Parks, a seamstress and NAACP member, is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person, sparking outrage in the local African American community. -
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)
On December 5, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) is formed at a mass meeting held at Holt Street Baptist Church.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is chosen as the president of the MIA, which is a coalition of local churches and civil rights organizations.
The MIA begins organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott, calling for African Americans to refuse to use the city's buses until they are desegregated. -
Legal Action and Supreme Court Decision
Rosa Parks' arrest leads to a legal challenge against segregation on Montgomery buses.
In November, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Browder v. Gayle that segregation on Montgomery buses is unconstitutional, effectively ending the boycott. -
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The Success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasts for 381 days, during which African Americans carpooled, walked, or used other means of transportation to avoid riding the segregated buses.
The boycott leads to financial strain on the bus company, and the city ultimately desegregates its buses in December 1956. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
In response to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and with the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is founded as a national organization to coordinate civil rights activism across the South.