Montgomery Bus Boycott

• • Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat for a white man and was arrested
  • She was chosen as the figurehead of the movement she was the member of the NAACP and was a respected member of her community
• • 90% of black people stopped using the buses for 381 days in protest
• The MIA:

  • The Montgomery Improvement Association was set up to improve the lives of black people and support the boycott
  • They set up a car pool system and used publicity to gain support
• • Martin Luther King was the leader of the MIA as he was a educated and well respected clergyman
• • The MIA faced strong opposition from the WCC and KKK
  • Many boycotters were arrested and MLK and many churches were bombed
• • The boycott ended with the Supreme Court ruling to desegregate buses
• The boycott showed that:

  • Black people could organise mass resistance and create peaceful change
• The boycott was successful because:

  • The boycotters persisted despite threats, loss of jobs, going to jail, bombings
  • People were well informed through MIA meetings and leaflets, church and local press
  • Groups involved were commited