The
Origins
Segregation Laws
In the 1950s, Montgomery, Alabama, was ruled by Jim Crow laws. These are strict rules that kept Black and white people separate in public spaces. On city buses, Black passengers were forced to sit in the back and give up their seats if white passengers needed them. Not only were these laws inconvenient, but they were meant to keep Black people feeling small and controlled. Riding the bus became a daily reminder of inequality and injustice.
Event Leading Up to Boycott
While Rosa Parks’ arrest is often seen as the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, resistance started earlier. In March 1955, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Black girl, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. However, her case did not lead to a larger protest because community leaders believed her age and circumstances wouldn’t gain widespread support.
The Turning Point...
Rosa Park Arrest
The turning point came on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus. Parks was a trained activist and member of the Montgomery NAACP who had prepared for nonviolent resistance. Her arrest became the final spark that brought years of quiet resistance into a citywide movement.