How Did Rosa Parks Refuse To Use The Montgomery Bus System?

For 381 days, starting on December 5, 1955, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use the bus system. Beginning as early as March of 1954, organizations upset with the conditions, such as the Women’s Political Council, also known as the WPC, recommended changes for Montgomery’s bus service. ------- At the time, the first ten seats were reserved for whites, while the ten back-most seats were reserved for blacks. Although the middle section was not officially assigned, African Americans were forced to give up their seats for any new white passengers. The system was also strict in segregating the use of the front and rear doors, and preventing whites and blacks from even sitting in the same row. --------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rosa McCauley Parks is one of the most well-known figures in the civil rights movement. Raised at a time with an active KKK, Rosa Parks was no stranger to racial discrimination. Taking a stand against the discrimination, she joined the NAACP, eventually becoming the secretary of her local branch. As segregation became a more violent and intense, her silence was harder and harder to preserve. Frustrated by the unsuccessful and ineffective negotiations with municipal authorities, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on December 1, 1955, leading to her arrest. …show more content…
Recalling the moment in her autobiography, Rosa Parks explains, “Two policemen came on the bus, and one asked me if the driver had told me to stand…He wanted to know why I didn't stand, and I told him I didn't think I should have to stand up. I asked him, why did they push us around? He said, 'I don't know, but the law is the law and you are under arrest” (Parks 10). Rosa Parks became one of the main leaders in the movement, famously known for standing up for her rights by not standing up at all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upon her arrest, Rosa Parks was jailed and fined fourteen dollars, and later bailed out. However, the civil rights leaders in Montgomery took advantage of her situation to challenge local segregation laws, creating a symbol in Parks. For example, Jo Ann Robinson, leader of WPC, and Edgar Nixon, president of the local NAACP, distributed pamphlets about the arrest, calling for a one-day boycott on December 5. After receiving over 90% participation, the leaders decided to extend the boycott indefinitely. …show more content…
To manage the boycott, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed with Martin Luther King Jr. as the president. This organization asked for multiple demands, including more courteous treatment on buses, hired African American drivers for black routes, and a first-come-first-serve seating arrangement. -------- Rosa Parks remembers, “Then he [Reverend Ralph Abernathy] asked the audience to vote on these demands by standing if they wanted to continue the boycott and make the demands. People started getting up, one or two at a time at first, and then more and more, until every single person in that church was standing, and outside the crowd was cheering ‘Yes’” (Parks 140). ---------- Despite losing over 75% of their customers, the bus companies and government officials rejected the demands. Originally, white residents in Montgomery had an indifferent opinion or found the the boycott to be amusing. However, after the prolonged effort, whites began retaliating against the African American communities by bombing leaders’ homes and threatening boycotters. By February