Montgomery Bus Boycott
History: KS3, topic 21.1.6
Montgomery Bus Boycott
During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 90% of black people who used the bus stopped using them for 381 days in protest of segregation of the buses.
The MIA
- The Montgomery Improvement Association was set up to improve lives of blacks and support the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- The MIA set up a car pool system to give lifts and used publicity to gain support.
- Martin Luther King became the leader of MIA as a respected, educated and peaceful clergyman.
Opposition to the MIA
- They faced strong opposition from racist organisations like the White Citizens' Council (WCC) and Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
- Many boycotters were arrested and Martin Luther King’s house and various churches were bombed.
Arrests of MIA members
- 89 members of the MIA were arrested in February 1956 and put on trial, where they spoke about the abuses committed by white drivers, even murder.
- King had to pay a $500 fine.
- This violent opposition to peaceful protest gained sympathy for the boycott.
Supreme Court
- The boycott ended when the NAACP went to the Supreme Court with Browder v. Gayle claiming that bus segregation broke the 14th amendment.
- The MIA met and also began to demand desegregation.
- After two appeals, the Supreme Court upheld its decision to desegregate the buses in Montgomery.
Test yourself on Montgomery Bus Boycott
Which amendment to the US constitution was bus segregation ruled to be breaking?
Which case did NAACP take to the Supreme Court to end the Montgomery bus boycott?