Often referred to as the spark that lit the fire and the mother of the movement (African American Almanac), Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man and her subsequent arrest inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott—one of the longest boycotts in history that is “regarded to as the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S.” (history.com). Spanning just over 380 days, the city-wide boycott of public buses by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama was initiated by Parks’ run-in with the South’s Jim Crow laws. Upon returning home from her job at a local department store, the “white section” on the bus had become too full, leading to Parks and three other African American passengers being asked to leave the front row of the “colored section” and move further back into the bus. …show more content…
Following her arrest, there was debate on whether she refused to give up her simply because she was physically exhausted from her long day at work; However, Parks herself responded with “the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” Once news of the boycott spread throughout the city, African American leaders throughout Montgomery lent their support immediately. On Sunday, December 4th, 1955, the boycott was announced officially by black ministers in churches and a front-page article on the planned boycott was published in a local general-interest newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser. On the very next day, a majority of the African American bus riders in the town—approximately 40,000 people—boycotted the system. On that afternoon, local black leaders got together and formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), electing 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. as its