[madonnafisherlou]

hi- i'm new and i joined this site becuse i find the search engines useless regarding my history course. i am doing this question- why was the montgomery bus boycott iomportant in the development of civil rights for black americans?
i don't expect an answer but i am really stuck and i'd love it if someone could share info if they'd learned anything about it.
is it important because it led to the montgomery buses not bieng segregated and that there were more black drivers?

oh by the way-ADD ME!

[MrJohnDClare]

Hi madonnafisherlou, and welcome to the forum.
Not a complaint - your request was very polite - but please remember that everybody says please on this forum - sorry to be a moan - thanks.

Anyway, I agree with you thatsearch engines are difficult to use.
I also think that 'importance of...' questions are TOTALLY unfair because they require you to know about what happened next/afterwards.
But when you're going through events for the first time, how can you be expected to know the results/consequences of the event you're studying at the moment because you haven't learned about what happened next yet!

Anyway, here's some ideas from someone who HAS studied what came next:

Consequences/importance of the Montgomery Bus Protest
1. The direct result was that in 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal (Browder v Gayle).
2. After 13 months the bus companies gave in. This was REALLY important for the future because it showed to both Blacks and Whites in America that in racial discrimination cases - eventually - the Blacks would win. The battle was by no means finished, but after Montgomery the Whites knew they were going to lose in the end, and the Blacks took heart.
3. It was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in America. It was not the first Civil Rights action (that was the Brown v Topeka ruling about segregation in schools, brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP in 1954). But Montgomery WAS the start of 'direct action' - Black people doing something to secure their civil rights. It was thus the start-point for all the other bus boycotts, restaurant sit-ins, freedom riders, marches etc.)
4. The leader of the Bus Boycott was a local preacher called Martin Luther King who formed the 'Montgomery Improvement Association' to orgnaise the boycott - and the protest made him the leader of the Black Civil Rights Movement until his assassination. SO - no Montgomery Bus Boycott, no non-violent direct action, no 'I have a Dream' speech, no Million-Men march etc.
5. During the Boycott, the Ku Klux Klan attacked the homes of Black leaders - this turned public opinion against the Whites. From then on public opinion, specially in the north, PLUS the Federal Government - openly supported Black Civil Rights.
6. Rosa Parkes became 'the mother of the Civil Rights movement': a role model, not only for Blacks, but also for women. In particular, the bus boycott showed ordinary Black men-and-women-in-the-street that - little as they could do individually - nevetheless, if they stood together and each did their little bit, that 'we shall overcome one day'.

Is this enough?
If you want an indication of the iconic effect of this action on the future history of the world, just put 'Rosa Parkes' into youtube search and see what you get.

For some other ideas,try:
http://historyday13....od.com/id6.html
and for a very throught-provoking article that argues that the boycott was NOT as efficacious as the myth suggests, read http://academic.uday...ilrights03d.htm.


PS: Have you seen the film The Long Walk Home with Whoopi Goldberg?

[Thích Quảng Đức]

Also it was really important because it showed that black people could use the 'economic' weapon, and this worked very effectively. Sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters at Woolworth's in Greensbro had the same kind of effect. Oh, and it also showed black people could organise themselves really effectively - the boycott was organised in only 48 hours.

As a result of the boyott King also set up the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959 and became president of it. This was one of the 'big 4' groups I think are important to remember for civil rights - SNCC, NAACP, SCLC and CORE.