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Montgomery Bus segregation
Montgomery had passed a city ordinance to segregate bus passengers by race. Conductors were empowered to assign seats to achieve that goal. According to the law, no passenger would be required to move or give up their seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available. Over time and by custom, however, Montgomery bus drivers adopted the practice of requiring black riders to move when there were no white-only seats left https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks#Early_activism -
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Rosa Parks Joins NAACP Montgomery
In 1943 Rosa Parks joined the Montgomery NAACP and became its secretary, reuniting with her former classmate Johnnie Carr. With E. D. Nixon, she investigated cases involving police brutality, rape, murder, and discrimination. -
The committee for equal justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor
Parks and other civil rights activists organized "The Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor", launching what the Chicago Defender called "the strongest campaign for equal justice to be seen in a decade" -
Parks works at Maxwell Air Force Base
Because this is federal property, Parks was able to sit on an integrated bus. Here she became friends with a liberal white couple who helped her get educated on civil rights at the Highlander Folk School, and in 1945 she was finally registered to vote (after three tries) -
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Parks worked as a secretary for NAACP
Rosa Parks experienced sexism within the NAACP but remained a member and secretary. "'She worked for the local NAACP leader Edgar Nixon, even though he maintained that "Women don't need to be nowhere but in the kitchen." When Parks asked, "Well, what about me?", he replied: "I need a secretary and you are a good one." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks#Early_activism
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The Murder of Emmett Till
Parks was deeply saddened by this murder. It gained widespread coverage and her sanction of the NAACP was an organization working to bring him justice. Although they fought hard, the men who murdered him walked free. -
Parks' refusal to move
Rosa Parks paid her fare and sat in the assigned "colored" section. James F. Blake, the driver, ordered Parks and 3 other black passengers to move after the "whites" section filled up. After a minute of refusal, the 3 others got up; Rosa stayed. She was arrested on the spot and at that moment decided to stop living in humility. This event was not planned. -
The Boycott Begins
On 5 December, 90 percent of Montgomery’s black citizens stayed off the buses. This success is owed to the black ministers and leaders that met at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and agreed to publicize the 5 December boycott -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
It was around the time of the planned bus boycott that Dr. King got involved. Rosa Parks mentioned that "the advantage of having Dr. King as president was that he was so new to Montgomery and to civil rights work that he hadn’t been there long enough to make any strong friends or enemies" https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott#:~:text=On%202%20December%2C%20black%20ministers,citizens%20stayed%20off%20the%20buses. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
Triggered by the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional. This lasted 13 months. It was an event in which people of color refused to board busses in the name of civil rights and equality for all people of color. -
Montgomery tried to take action
After public officials realized that the boycott was something serious, they began to take action trying to defeat the boycott. More white passengers were beginning to take the bus but not enough to make up for the lost money from people of color. At some point, they even penalized black taxi drivers for aiding the protestors. 0 -
Supreme Court Ruling
After 13 months of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the supreme court ruled Montgomery's segregation laws unconstitutional.