During the 1940s and 1950s there wasn’t enough effort made for civil rights so, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People a civil rights organization in the U.S started to contemplate ways to go about fixing what was wrong with the justice system without breaking the law. The Montgomery bus boycott was a turning point for civil rights, it proved to Alabama that African Americans were really serious about this protest and would do anything just to get justice and equality. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil-rights protest in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama to prove how segregated seating wasn’t right. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
was the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott he decided to do something about this due to the arrest of Rosa Parks an African-American woman who was arrested and treated wrongly by police because she didn’t give up her seat to a white man. Martin’s goal was to get instant integration and get this unconstitutional act outlawed. There were many impacts of the Montgomery Bus Boycott like attacks against blacks and uncalled for arrest also the way people viewed the community which eventually lead to integration on buses.
A impact that this Montgomery Bus boycott left was uncalled for attacks and arrest according to this article, “Activists were frequently attacked with clubs, chains, and even bombs. Several Freedom Riders were also arrested on charges that included trespassing, unlawfully assembling, and violating various Jim Crow statutes.” Civil rights activists were furious with the law so they went crazy and started ruining things and breaking laws which resulted in people getting attacked or hurt but that didn’t stop them. Blacks were trying to stand up for what was right. They got attacked for standing up for what they believed in. Attacks intensified and grew over time.
This grew over time because blacks were very upset that police were trying to hurt them so they retaliated back even if it meant getting arrested or being hurt. Blacks sacrificed a lot for equality and wouldn’t stop until something was done. Also this article states that the attacks that did happen towards protesters made the congress think twice it states that “As President John F. Kennedy and his brother U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy learned of the Freedom Riders’ struggles, they began pushing for tougher federal enforcement of desegregation laws.” This shows that the attacks towards these African Americans were recognized by the President and the U.S Attorney General and they tried to put a immediate stop to it by helping protests accomplish their goal.
They kind of convinced the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which is federal organization that controls the transportation of goods and people between U.S. states, became less strict on segregation in bus terminals and in the railroad station. Even though thus protest was supposed to be a non-violent act it resulted in a little change of racial segregation.One last impact that the boycott had was the way people saw the African American community of Montgomery.
“The Gandhian influence of nonviolence that King was implementing in his ministry was to become an effective tool of the montgomery Bus Boycott. King’s charismatic preaching style delivered messages from the pulpit which challenged, motivated, and unified the black community.” King definitely was a great leader who taught others the right way instead of the wrong way even through the hardships. Instead of being viewed as violent, unorganized protesters and not having class at all people definitely saw these protestors as strong African Americans with a lot of dignity who had organized themselves efficiently, also being one and united, they were passive, the biggest thing they accomplished was getting help and attention without attacking police.
Although this showed that violence isn’t the only way to get attention it also demonstrated that these people were not the weak minded, lower class and uninformed blacks that society viewed them as. The boycott also showed that people were willing to go out of their way to improve things for themselves and others. It states in a article that “December 1955, the group had established a car pool system that eventually came to include more than two hundred cars and station wagons. Blacks relied heavily on this alternative mode of transportation… especially once police started ordering taxi drivers to resume their normal rates and not offer protestors any reduced fares.” This goes on to show that people were determined and dedicated to really get justice of segregated buses people said they were going to do it and they did it alot of whites were surprised at how great the boycott was pulled off and put together and it definitely improved their view of African Americans.
This boycott basically was considered a blueprint for other protests in the future, it showed the African American power and how serious they were and wouldn’t back out until there was a change!
