Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature The Bus Boycott in Montgomery Bachelor Thesis Brno 2013 Supervisor: Author: Michael George, M.A. Kristýna Beníčková 2 I proclaim that this bachelor thesis is my individual work and that I used only the sources cited in the bibliography. Brno, April 2013 Kristýna Beníčková 3 I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Michael George, A.M. for his valuable advice, motivation, providing me with essential materials and also for his very kind approach. 4 Annotation This thesis deals with a one year long struggle for black equality which took place in Montgomery during the years 1955 to 1956. Through boycotting public bus transportation the black citizens intended to change the seating system. But finally the results had bigger dimension. Not only the segregation on buses was abolished but also it inspired many other civil rights movements which followed shortly. The Montgomery movement introduced important personalities and freedom fighters such as Martin Luther King, Jr. to the world as well. The aim of this work is to describe the boycott as a great example of people´s unity and determination and to point out the significance of the movement to American history and to the present day. Key words: Segregation, equality, race, the Black, Rosa Parks, public transportation, Montgomery, boycott, Martin Luther King, NAACP, non-violence 5 Content Content…………………………………………………………………........5 Introduction…………………………………………………………………7 1. Background……………………………………………………………….8 1.1 Jim Crow era……………………………………………………...8 1.2 Montgomery before the boycott………………………………….9 1.3 Personalities……………………………………………………...10 1.3.1 Rosa Parks……………………………………………...11 1.3.2 Martin Luther King, Jr………………………………….11 2. Rosa Parks´ refusal………………………………………………………13 2.1 What preceded the refusal………………………………………..13 2.2 The denial………………………………………………………....15 2.3 The arrest………………………………………………………….18 2.4 Reactions………………………………………………………….19 3. The bus boycott in Montgomery…………………………………………21 3.1 Preparations……………………………………………………….21 3.2 December 5………………………………………………………..25 3.2.1 Empty buses……………………………………………..25 3.2.2 Rosa Parks´ trial…………………………………………26 3.2.3 Preparing the meeting…………………………………...26 3.2.4 The mass meeting………………………………………..29 3.3 The boycott continues……………………………………………..32 3.3.1 Next steps………………………………………………..32 3.3.2 Looking for a solution…………………………………...35 3.3.3 Growing impact………………………………………….36 3.3.4 Hard times……………………………………………….37 3.3.5 King´s first arrest………………………………………...39 6 3.3.6 Bomb……………………………………………………40 3.3.7 Non-violence……………………………………………42 3.3.8 Massive arrest…………………………………………...43 3.4 Final decision……………………………………………………...46 3.4.1 Browder v. Gayle case…………………………………..46 3.4.2 The last attempt of the city……………………………...46 3.4.3 Victory…………………………………………………..47 3.4.4 Integrated buses…………………………………………48 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………....50 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….52 Books………………………………………………………………….52 Other sources..………………………………………………………...53 7 Introduction It is surprising that in the second half of 20th century, when the majority of the world took their freedom as granted, the life conditions of African-Americans in the United States of America could not be compared to the conditions the white citizens lived under. The history of the country often presented as an example of democracy, civil rights and opportunities has also its dark sides, one of which is the problematic acceptance of different races by the white majority. This thesis describes one event, which is often considered to be a turning point in breaking the whites´ supremacy and integration of the Black. The boycott in Montgomery showed that there is no use in passive acceptance but people must stick together and act to improve their situation. Also it was important to use a good method in reaching their aims, which was the method of nonviolence. It must have been very hard not to pay back in the same way when having been beaten, kicked or spit on. But the Montgomery movement proved that it is possible to manage. In the first part of this paper, the background information is provided, including brief description of the social status of an average black person in the South and of the city of Montgomery and its citizens. The second part attempts to explain how the whole protest started and what had lead to it. It deals with Rosa Parks´ refusal on the bus and following decision to use the incident in favor of the planned protest. The third and the fourth part are about the boycott itself. First months of the protest were more difficult and therefore full of incidents and reversals. The second half of the boycott was more or less about waiting for the final decision of the court which showed that the whole struggle did not happen in vain. 8 1. Background 1.1 Jim Crow era Originally the African people (later called African-Americans) were brought to the United States as slaves during the period from the 17th to the 19th century. After the Civil War, the slavery was abolished by ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment on December 6, 1865. For a while blacks had some hope to have the same rights and life conditions as whites. But even though their social status had changed according to the law, it did not change in the eyes of the white majority. The hope for equal treatment disappeared with the Jim Crow era. The term ´´Jim Crow´´ was firstly used in the 1890´ in some writings, but its origin is unknown. Probably it has the roots in a song of the same name by Thomas D. Rice from 1832. During the following few years the term had become an adjective and started to be widely used to signify southern segregation laws and the whole period. (Woodward 7) The era between years 1890 to 1960s was marked by ´´separate but equal´´ rules. In all public places, including schools, hospitals, restaurants, theatres, public transportation and so on, any contact between blacks and whites was to be avoided. Also interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Life was not easy for blacks, they had to face humiliation every day and sometimes even violence such as beating or lynching. 9 1.2 Montgomery before the boycott In the state of Alabama, the segregation laws related to public transportation were strictly followed. One of the rules for example ordered: ´´All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races.´´ (http://publicradio.org) Another one said: ´´All railroads carrying passengers in this state, other than street railroads, shall provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races by providing two or more passenger cars for each passenger train, or by dividing the passenger cars by partitions, so as to secure separate accommodation.´´ (www.pbs.org) There was a huge difference between life conditions of an average black and white person in the South. Because of unequal treatment and opportunity, only 25 percent of white working men were working as laborers, compared to 75 percent of black men. The median income of a white citizen of Montgomery at the beginning of the 1950s was about 1730 dollars. A black worker had 970. (Kennedy 1009) The city of Montgomery was a typical southern city, where segregation was a part of everyday life. The two societies were separated on every public place. Schools were separated and no change occurred after the United States Supreme Court decision in 1954 which said that schools can be integrated. It was customary that in shops all white people were served before a black man who had to wait. Also they usually were not addressed with polite titles. There was separation in public transportation containing also taxis which could not hold a black and white men together. (King 28) The segregation of two races on buses was realized as follows: 10 ´´…white people who boarded the bus took seats in the front rows, filling the bus toward the back. Black people who boarded the bus took seats in the back rows, filling the bus toward the front. Eventually, the two sections would meet, and the bus would be full. If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand. If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created. Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and reenter the bus through a separate door at the back.´´ (www.absoluteastronomy.com) The number of black citizens in Montgomery in the year 1954 was about fifty thousand, compared to the number of eighty thousand whites. (Bennett 55) Since the black people using the city buses made about 75 percent of all passengers and because they were using the buses every day, in their eyes the segregation there was the most humiliating. Twice a day the black passengers had to face rudeness of white drivers and were watching empty seats reserved for whites while they were standing at the crowded back of a bus. Situations in which the Black were called ´´niggers´´, ´´black cows´´ or in which a driver pulled away before a black passenger, who had paid in front, managed to get on the bus through a back door, were not rare. (Harding 41) 1.3 Personalities Before the bus boycott there were some organizations in Montgomery fighting for equal rights of the Black. The most important were Women´s Political Council (WPC), lead by Jo Ann Robinson, and local part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), connected mostly to Edgar Daniel Nixon. Apart from these cooperating organizations and its members, there were also individuals without whom the whole protest might not have succeed.