The Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955-1956
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a thirteen month peaceful protest against the segregation of public buses. What sparred the idea of a bus boycott was the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955. Of course there were other arrests similar to Rosa Parks but her arrest was the one that sparked the idea of a boycott. On December 5, 1955, 90 percent of the black population stayed off the buses in Montgomery. The blacks demanded no more segregation on the buses but were denied this right. The African Americans stayed off the buses until 1956 when the Supreme Court deemed segregation on public buses unconstitutional. This boycott was led by Martin Luther King Jr. This boycott showed that peaceful protests were an effective way to deal with racism.