Why did the Montgomery bus boycott succeed? Angelica Hooton Second Year
Rosa Parks
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social campaign protesting against the policy of racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. It happened during December 1955, and was a key event in the progress of the Civil Rights Movement. A number of factors helped make this boycott succeed and galvanise greater publicity for the Civil Rights movement in the USA. Certainly, strong leadership was vital, as was the fact the leaders called for non-violence and that legal action was successful. Strong leadership did play a crucial role in the boycott. When Rosa Parks was arrested for simply refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person - a small act of defiance - civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, E.D Nixon, and Jo Ann Robinson organised the bus boycott as a protest to achieve justice for those who are unfairly treated because of their race unfortunately, a common occurrence. Their strong leadership inspired participants to join the boycott through the use of speeches, sermons and leaflets. A good example is Martin Luther King addressing 5,000 people in the Holt Street Baptist Church, promoting the protest. Another example is the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) being set up to coordinate the boycott. King was made the leader for the MIA. The leaders used their charisma and platforms (King was a pastor) to give the bus boycott leverage. This is something only strong leaders would do risking themselves to bring about justice for those they lead. Without these leaders
inspiring people to take part in the protest, as well as organising it, and fighting against blatant racism in the US, the boycott might have been ineffective and a failure. Strong leadership certainly played a part in the boycott’s success. Another factor that influenced the boycott’s success was non-violent protest. Instead of resorting to violence to protest against the injustice, the protesters calmly refused to ride on the buses or any other form of public transport that they were mistreated on so frequently, instead opting to walk, carshare, and so on. This was just as successful (or more) as violent protest would have been. The simplicity of this act had an immense impact just because of how many people participated, and how well-planned and strategic it was. The bus company’s revenue went down by 65%. The boycott is estimated to have caused losses of about $1 million. Violent protest may have just prompted segregation laws to strengthen and have caused more damage than change. The boycott proved that the protesters were willing to peacefully change the oppressive laws that caused them to suffer for so long. It was subtle and unassuming but changed so much in a short space of time. It prompted legal action and the eventual integration of buses. Equality hadn’t been fully achieved yet, but non-violent protest was one of the most important reasons for the success of the boycott, which took a step towards the integration of the US. It is well known that non-violent protest also helped other causes to do with the Civil Rights Movement succeed as well.
Strong leadership did play a crucial role in the boycott.
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The last, but not the least important, factor in the success of the Montgomery bus boycott was legal action. Obviously, without legal action, the bus boycott would have been all for nothing. The two other reasons--non-violent protest and strong leadership--are what caused legal change, but without it, the success would not have existed. In June 1956, the MIA, alongside the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), challenged the segregation bus laws in a federal court. This prompted action in the Supreme Court, which integrated the buses and declared segregated buses were unconstitutional. If the case had never been taken to court, nothing would have happened. Despite the two other reasons being responsible for pushing the case into a national court, legal action was the final push that took the fight for equality and against racial prejudices a step further towards its goal. Overall, the most important reason for the boycott’s success was probably non-violent protest, although non-violent protest is very much linked with the strength of the leadership who inspired this. This powerful form of protest, that Gandhi had used in India, gave the moral high ground to black people. It was a very tactical and intelligent move that greatly benefited the Civil Rights Movement. Without gratuitous violence, that may have ended horribly, it proved to be the most effective strategy. Non-violent protest was demonstrated to have a far more positive effect than violence ever did.
