Montgomery bus boycott

A year-long protest in Montgomery, Alabama, against racial segregation on city buses. It ended after a federal court ruling, upheld by the Supreme Court, made bus segregation unconstitutional.

Montgomery Improvement Association: A civil rights organization formed in 1955 to coordinate the Montgomery bus boycott. It organized the boycott, negotiated demands, and elected Martin Luther King Jr. as president.
Rosa Parks: An African American civil rights activist whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat helped trigger the Montgomery bus boycott. Her arrest prompted the initial protest and became its best-known catalyst.
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Baptist minister and civil rights leader who became president of the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1955. His speeches and leadership brought national attention to the campaign.
Browder v. Gayle: A federal court case that ruled segregation on Montgomery buses unconstitutional. Its decision provided the legal victory that ended the bus protest.
Montgomery bus system: The public transit network serving Montgomery, Alabama. Its segregated seating rules and lost fare revenue were central to the protest.
Claudette Colvin: A Black teenager arrested in Montgomery in 1955 for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger. Her earlier act of resistance shows that bus protest preceded Parks's arrest.
E. D. Nixon: A labor leader and civil rights activist who organized the Montgomery NAACP and helped mobilize the boycott. He helped bring local activists together and urged King to lead the new association.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference: A civil rights organization founded in 1957 to coordinate nonviolent protest against segregation. King and other boycott leaders carried its organizing lessons into a regional movement.
Montgomery car pool: A volunteer transportation network that carried Montgomery bus boycotters to work and other destinations. It made a prolonged boycott practical for people who could not walk to work.
Jo Ann Robinson: A teacher and activist who led the Women's Political Council in Montgomery. She helped prepare and distribute the leaflets that launched the boycott.

Linked from 25 pages