Bus Boycott: Protest Against Racial Segregation In The US

877 Words4 Pages

a) The video I selected was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (protest against racial segregation, 1955-1956). The law that was relevant in this video clip was racial segregation. On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled that segregation in America was constitutional. According to the New World Encyclopedia, “Racial segregation is the separation, either by law or by action, of people of different races in all manner of daily activities, such as education, housing, and the use of public.” In this video, racial segregation was displayed when black people were forced to sit in the back of the bus, while white people had the front. If there were no more open spots, African Americans were required by law to give up their seat to a white person. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks got arrested for disobeying this law. When she asked why she had to do this, the officer relied, “The law is the law.” Laws were being followed by both races for many years, until people decided that racial segregation is …show more content…

Sometimes, there is no distinction between the law and ethical principles. These are the laws that serve to defend basic values, such as laws against rape. In other cases, such as racial segregation, states that morality and law do not coincide. Today, we know that racial segregation is morally wrong. Just because someone has a different skin color than you do, doesn’t mean they are treated in a different way. If there is a law that you would not want your family, friends, or yourself to obey by, you should look at that law and question if you want to obey by it. For instance, African Americans did not want to follow the law of segregation. Many were protesting so their children did not have to go through what they did. Laws like this and others that the majority of people do not agree with, because of their ethical values, should be laws that we may not want to