Today In History: Start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
December 5th: Today in 1955 in order to protest the arrest of Rosa Parks for sitting in ‘white’ seats on the bus a black boycott of the Montgomery bus system began that would run for more than a year and lead to the desegregation of the service. The boycott began because people were fed up with being treated poorly and abused. The initial handbill called for a one day boycott
Another Negro woman has been arrested and thrown in jail because she refused to get up out of her seat on the bus for a white person to sit down. It is the second time since the Claudette Colvin case that a Negro woman has been arrested for the same thing. This has to be stopped. Negroes have rights, too, for if Negroes did not ride the buses, they could not operate. Three-fourths of the riders are Negroes, yet we are arrested, or have to stand over empty seats. If we do not do something to stop these arrests, they will continue. The next time it may be you, or your daughter, or mother. This woman’s case will come up on Monday. We are, therefore, asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial. Don’t ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere on Monday. You can afford to stay out of school for one day if you have no other way to go except by bus. You can also afford to stay out of town for one day. If you work, take a cab, or walk. But please, children and grown-ups, don’t ride the bus at all on Monday. Please stay off all buses Monday.
but the protest quickly became one that would continue until real changes were made. The boycott helped make the case against segregation and the victory here was one of many spurs that lead to the greater civil rights movement.