| Following Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat,
many black leaders joined together to organize a massive and
peaceful boycott of Montgomery's bus system in 1955 by creating the
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). It was after serving as
leader of the highly-successful boycott that Martin Luther King,
Jr. became a prominent figure of the Civil Rights Movement. (King
was notified of Rosa Park's brave act by a NAACP leader named E.D.
Nixon.)
During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, other modes of transportation
were used by the 20,000 African Americans who had been patrons of
the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama. Alternatives that were used
included car pools, walking, taxis, mules, and bicycles. Despite
the fact that many of the protesters had to walk several miles to
their occupations, the boycott started on December 5, 1955, and
ended on December 21, 1956. It lasted for a total of 381days!
During this time, the boycotters received support from outside
groups that included some of Montgomery's white citizens, Jewish
citizens, members of the United Auto Workers (UAW), members of the
Women's Political Council (WPC), and members of the NAACP. The
black community was met with success on November 13, 1956, when the
U.S. Supreme Court decided that bus segregation in Alabama was
unconstitutional. The ruling was first enforced on December 20,
1956.
Dr. King had led his people to victory without the use of
violent resistance, and his example spread to other parts of the
nation.
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