20.1.5

Rosa Parks

Test yourself

Rosa Parks and The Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955–60

On 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man and was arrested.

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Bus segregation

  • By the 1950s, seats on buses in Alabama were segregated by race due to the Jim Crow Laws in place.
  • Black people were forced to sit at the back of the bus, and were forced to give up their seat to any white people that boarded.
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Rosa Parks

  • On 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man and was arrested.
  • Rosa wasn’t the first to do this, but was chosen to be the figurehead of the boycott because she was a member of the NAACP and a respected citizen in her community.
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The WPC boycott

  • The WPC (Women’s Political Council) had been campaigning in Montgomery for years about bus segregation.
  • The WPC had warned Mayor Gayle that if another black person was arrested for breaking bus segregation rules there would be a boycott.
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The boycott

  • 90% of black people who used the bus stopped using them for 381 days in protest of segregation of the buses.
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The MIA

  • The Montgomery Improvement Association was set up to improve lives of blacks and support the boycott.
  • The MIA set up a car pool system to give lifts and used publicity to gain support.

Jump to other topics

1Empires East & West: 1000 AD

1.1The Rise & Fall of Ancient China’s Empire

1.2The Medieval Greatness of the Byzantine Empire

1.3The Golden Age of the Islamic Empire

1.4The Politics & Power of the Holy Roman Empire

1.5Medieval Religion

1.6The Influence of the Church in Medieval Times

1.7How Religion Tested the Power of Kings

1.8Dynastic Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.9Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.10Revolts, Rebellions & Rights

1.11Medieval England & Her Neighbours

1.12European Renaissance

1.13Norman Conquest & Control

1.14Historical Skills

2The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

2.1Anglo-Saxon England

2.2The Contest for the English Throne

2.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

2.4King John

2.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

2.6The Black Death

3Worldviews

4The Empire of Mali: 1076-1670 AD

5The Renaissance & Reformations: 1500-1598 AD

6The British Empire: 1583-1960 AD

7The Peasants' Revolt: 1381 AD

8Religion in the Middle Ages

9Slavery: 1619-1833 AD

10The English Civil War: 1642-1660 AD

11The Industrial Revolution: 1750-1840 AD

12US Independence: 1775-1783 AD

13The French Revolution: 1789-1815 AD

14The British Empire: 1857–1930 AD

15Suffrage: 1840-1928 AD

16World War 1: 1914-1918 AD

17The Inter-War Years: 1919-1939 AD

18World War 2: 1939-1945 AD

19The Cold War: 1947-1962 AD

20Civil Rights in the USA: 1954-1975 AD

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