HARVARD SITKOFF KING

Harvard Sitkoff King: Pilgrimage To The Mountaintop

Harvard Sitkoff King: Pilgrimage To The Mountaintop

Chapter 2: The bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama (1955-56) marked the 1st mass-action success of the Civil Rights Movement.

What were the protesters' goals here?

The boycott of the Montgomery bus lines - a peaceful protest of American blacks of Montgomery, State of Alabama, spoke for the abolition of discriminatory measures in public transport. The standoff lasted from December 1, 1955 to December 20, 1956, culminating in the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared racial segregation illegal in public transport. According to the laws of Montgomery, black citizens were not to take buses in the first four series of "whites only". If all places of "whites only" were busy, sitting blacks had to yield white passengers their seats. Martin Luther King Jr. described the manifestations of segregation on public transportation in southern states in 1955 (William, Thomas, 2009). He said, that among the bus drivers did not have blacks and whites even though some drivers were polite, too many of them allowed themselves to insults and curses against the Negro. It is quite natural to hear the bus, as they shouted the Negroes: "Black Cow," "niggers," "black monkey." Often Negros pay tolls at the entrance, and then had to go to again take a bus from the rear platform, and very often the bus left before the black man approached the back door, taking his fare ... the Negro was forced to stand, although in buses were empty seats "for whites only." Even if the bus was not white passengers, and Negroes crowded lot, they were not allowed to sit on the first four places (William, Thomas, 2009). That was not all. If all the places designated for whites, they were already occupied, and the bus entered the new white passengers, Negros, sitting on a non-reserved places are behind the seats for whites, had to get up and give them a place. If a Negro refused to do so, he was arrested. In most cases, Negros obeys this rule, without objection, although from time to time there were some who refused to submit to this humiliation (William, Thomas, 2009).

What obstacles did they face in trying to achieve them?

Bus companies suffered significant losses as well as blacks made up about 70% of all occupants of the city. Initially, city officials tried to split the movement by means of disinformation in the media and to discredit the leaders. However, after the failure in this regard the police started to harass activists: black drivers stopped and were arrested under false pretenses. Then the houses of activists began to receive messages with threats from the Ku Klux Klan, in January 1956 to house King threw a bomb (McGuire, Danielle, 2010). The authorities used the "anti-boycott" the law of 1921, was arrested about 100 activists. Courts against the activists began to receive recognition outside the U.S. After filing a lawsuit against the activists in the federal district court decision was made on ...