How Did The Montgomery Bus Boycott Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Haleigh Lindsay

Mr. Everly

Honors History 10

24 February 2016

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott In the time between 1850 and 1950, segregation was a great problem in the United States. Segregation is the separation of different racial groups in an area. The people used intimidation and violence to prevent blacks from having rights. It also denied African Americans equal access to public facilities, such as restrooms, parks, schools, restaurants, water fountains, and bus seating, while white Americans could have full advantage to all of these. It was an era of great conflict and an intense period of time. A heroic figure in black history is Rosa Parks. Born in Alabama on February 13th, 1913, Rosa McCauley helped set in motion the civil

The U.S. Supreme Court passed a law saying that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. A specific group that dramatically helped with this success was the MIA (the Montgomery Improvement Association). The boycott displayed a way to successfully change racial segregation without possessing violent acts. A man stated that the real meaning for the Montgomery Bus Boycott was “to be the power of growing self-respect to animate the struggle for civil rights.” It was a non-violent act that helped shape the civil rights movement. It brought international attention to the civil rights struggles in the United States (Stanford). With the act of the boycott, the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution “guarantees all citizens, regardless of race, equal rights and equal protection under state and federal laws.” On December 21st, 1956, the boycott ended and it was the start of a new century and period of

She had been diagnosed with progressive dementia, but the Congress allowed her body to lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, where about 50,000 people viewed her casket. She never had kids and left an inspirational legacy with us today. She even has restaurants named and dedicated to her. She was an ordinary person like anyone else, but had come to a point where she withstood just enough injustice and needed something to be done about it. She really helped the society that there is today and without her act of braveness that had changed the world, segregation would most likely still be a problem today. Rosa Parks is a heroic female figure that symbolizes for all to be free and persuaded others to also stand up for what they believe in. Some people come into the world and leave a mark on everyone and she was one of those people. She has made a dramatic difference on all of us and for that, she created history. “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free…so other people would be free also.” -Rosa