12 Incredible Facts About The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Segregation Laws Rule the South 4 Rosa Parks Says No 6 The Popular South Jackson Line Is Empty 8 Montgomery Police Follow Buses 10 Martin Luther King Jr Takes a Stand 12 Black Community Continues Bus Boycott 14 Rolling Churches Drive Boycotters to Work 16 Bus Line Refuses Boycott Demands 18 The White Citizens Council Opposes Boycott 20 KKK Violence Erupts in Montgomery 22 Grand Jury Indicts Community Leaders 24 Bus Boycotters Lead the Way to Civil Rights 26 12 Key Dates 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS
In 1868 the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution became law It said that all citizens including former slaves had the right to be protected by US laws But many white people in the South did not agree They passed laws of their own These laws forced black people to live separately from white people Black people could not use the same schools restaurants or bathrooms as white people This kind of separation is called segregation Southern states with segregation laws included CLAUDETTE COLVIN On March 2 1955 15-year-old Claudette Colvin took a stand She refused to give up her seat for white passengers in Montgomery The bus driver called the police Colvin was dragged off the bus and arrested A judge convicted her of assaulting the police She was one of several young black people who challenged segregation laws by refusing to give up their seats on buses Some taxicabs served only white passengers SEGREGATION LAWS RULE THE SOUTH 1 4
Alabama Arkansas Georgia Florida Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Texas and Virginia Segregation laws were based on skin color They discriminated against black people and other racial minorities Black people did not have the same rights and opportunities as white people In Montgomery Alabama the city bus line was segregated The first ten rows of seats were saved for white people only Black people had to sit behind those seats Sometimes the bus became crowded and there were more white people than could fit into the first rows When that happened the bus driver moved black people even farther to the back of the bus Black people without seats were told to stand They had to give their seats to white people 36 Number of seats on a Montgomery city bus Segregation laws were common in the South Segregation limited the rights and opportunities of black people and other racial minorities Montgomery’s city bus line was segregated Black people had to sit in the back of the bus or stand Some bus stations had separate waiting rooms 5
