The Montgomery Bus Boycott: The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights movement occurred at a turbulent time in American history. The Cold War and the search for communists had the government’s attention, forcing civil rights activists to change their tactics. The ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, making segregation in public schools unconstitutional, was met with massive resistance. Civil rights leaders took action calling for nonviolent protests to push for civil rights legislation while facing the threat of violent retaliation for their efforts. Leaders of the civil rights movement used civil disobedience as a form of peaceful protest. This civil disobedience took many forms throughout the movement, such as boycotts, sit-ins, and marches. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized by the

A. Phillip Randolph’s March on Washington on August 28, 1963, gathered 250,000 people, both white and black, in Washington, D.C., to speak out for stronger civil rights legislation, and to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. While this protest was met with peace, the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 7, 1965, was met with violent resistance. During the march, protesters, calling for equal voting rights, were attacked by state police. This attack caused the government to act after it was broadcast on television (Foner 985). This violence was seen across the country, as well as around the world, making it something that could no longer be

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for employers and public businesses to discriminate based on race or sex. Noting the lack of popularity of the law with whites, President Johnson believed the law’s passing may have “delivered the South to the Republican Party” (Foner 982). The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which enforced the right for every American citizen to vote, was passed in response to the attack on protesters marching in Selma, Alabama. This ensured that African-Americans would be able to have a say in elections and vote for people that would represent them. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed, allowing all American citizens to own or rent a home without