THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

Segregation- The art of separating a certain thing, whether it be in adamant objects or people

Now, please enjoy a short Animoto describing the history and effects of segregation.

CLAUDETTE COLVIN

WHO IS CLAUDETTE COLVIN?
When you think of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, usually 2 names come to mind: Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks. That's it. However, there's a whole plethora of other's who helped in the boycott behind those 2 people. Claudette Colvin was the very first person to be arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white. Here is her story:

On March 2, 1955 15 year old Claudette Colvin was boarding a bus home one day after attending school at Booker T. Washington High School.

She took the seat right smack dab in the middle of the bus, right behind the white section.

As the bus began to fill up more and more, a few blacks were left standing in the aisle, as well as a few whites. The bus driver pulled the bus over, and ordered blacks sitting on the verge of the white section to get up and make room for the whites.

Most of the blacks got up and moved at the order. All except for one. Her name was Claudette Colvin.

When ordered again to get up, she responded with "I paid my fare, I'm in the black section, I have just as much a right to sit here as that white woman!" Finally after some back and forth banter, the bus driver declared that he was going to call the police.

And so, as Claudette was dragged out of the bus kicking and screaming, she stated a few words that would make civil rights history: "This is my constitutional right!"

Claudette Colvin was a brave, African-American citizen who stood up for doing the right thing. Many others did too, but for now we're going to jump ahead into one of the more famous cases:

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. As she grew up, she became more and more aware of the racism in the country, and experienced it most of her childhood. Her grandfather even sat outside at night with a gun, because the Ku Klux Klan could come and kill them during the night. She set out to help anyway she could, even joining the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

However, she did not intend to make history. But life has a way of bringing up the most unexpected things, and on the evening of December 1, 1955 Rosa McCauley Parks did indeed make history.

Now, please enjoy a short video describing Rosa Park's arrest and what came after

And so the boycott began

On December 5, 1955 thousands of blacks in Montgomery, Alabama walked instead of taking the bus. They decided since they were no longer taking the buses, they would need a way to get to their jobs. However, the only other public form of transportation was a taxi, and they costed 45 cents, which was a lot back then compared to the 10 cent bus fare. However, many black taxi drivers offered their services and lowered the price to 10 cents just to help with the boycott.

Speeches were given, and soon the boycott was official. Almost every black in Montgomery would not, we repeat, would NOT ride the buses until there was equality and justice.

Keep in mind that the majority of passengers on the buses were black, as shown on the next slide:

people who rode the buses

Since about 52,000 people rode the buses, that means buses would usually earn about $5,200. However, with 77% of the passengers now refusing to ride, that means the buses would only amount to $1,200 which is far less than what they normally make.

When the city realized the significant decline in profits, they immediately took action against the boycott and announced that all taxis MUST charge the full fare of 45 cents, and any taxi driver who didn't would be arrested. Now, seeing as most of the boycott members were poor and couldn't afford to pay 45 cents for drives to work to and back, they thought this marked the end of the boycott.

But a certain Martin Luther King Jr wasn't having it.

He proposed the idea that boycotters would loan their cars for carpooling in order to oppose the taxi law. By the end of the night, more than 150 people had volunteered their cars for the carpool. It was ideas like that that eventually lead to the ultimate success of the boycott, and the freedom of blacks all over the nation.

It was a long and tedious road to success, involving bombings, murders, threats, and hundreds of arrests, and at one point even Nelson Mandela got involved, but after several case files to the supreme court, John. F Kennedy became the next Abraham Lincoln by declaring segregation laws unconstitutional on December 20, 1956. They blacks of Montgomery marched for 381 days just for this moment, and believe me, it was worth it.

For the first time since 1619, African Americans were really, truly free, thanks to the black citizens of Montgomery.

Through perseverance, determination, and self-respect, they worked together and overcame every obstacle that was thrown their way for the ultimate reward: freedom.

credits

• Haiku Deck-Miranda
• Pictures-Aaron & Miranda
• Martin Luther King Facts-Aidan
• Animotos-Miranda
• Editing-Miranda
• Animoto Perfecting-Aidan & Caleb