70: Bus Boycott

(A Newspaper article declaring the end of the Bus Boycott in 1956.)

70 years ago today (December 5, 1955) the Montgomery Bus Boycott started in Montgomery, Alabama.

It occurred several days after Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give her seat on a City Bus to a White Man as required under Montgomery’s Racists Jim Crow Laws.

40,000 Black Bus Riders (75% of Montgomery’s Bus Riders at the time) boycotted the Montgomery City Buses for 381 days (until December 20, 1956.)

Over 100 Reporters covered the Boycott and brought the Southern Jim Crow Racist Laws to the rest of the US.

Black Taxi Drivers charged 10 Cents per ride, a fare equal to the cost to ride the Bus, in support of the Boycott.

When word of this reached City Officials on December 8th, the order went out to fine any Cab Driver who charged a Rider less than 45 cents.

In addition to using private Motor Vehicles, some People used non-motorized means to get around, such as cycling, walking, or even riding mules or driving horse-drawn buggies.

During Rush Hours, sidewalks were often crowded.

Across the Nation, Black Churches raised money to support the Boycott and collected new and slightly used shoes to replace the tattered footwear of Montgomery's Black Residents, many of whom walked everywhere rather than ride the Buses and submit to Jim Crow laws.

On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its Bus System saying Segregation was Unconstitutional.

The White Southern in Montgomery reacted with violence against the Blacks with a White Snipper shooting a Pregnant Black Women in the legs as she exited a Bus.

Despite the violence, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major step in the Civil Rights Movement.

Eventually the Racist Jim Crow Laws throughout the American South were all deemed Unconstitutional.