-
- Civil Rights Groups start to form
- In Montgomery, groups like the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and the local NAACP began working on issues like voting rights and ending segregation.
-
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested. This brave act sparks anger and support from the community.
-
Local leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and E.D. Nixon, meet to organize a boycott of the Montgomery buses.
-
The MIA kicks off the boycott, and people in Montgomery pledge not to ride the buses. Many use carpools or walk instead.
-
More people join the boycott, and local churches and organizations help spread the word. Flyers and announcements encourage everyone to participate.
-
MIA leaders, including King, face legal issues as city officials try to stop the boycott. They organize to fight back in court.
-
A federal court rules that segregation on the buses is illegal, which boosts the boycott and attracts national attention.
-
After 381 days, the boycott ends successfully when the Supreme Court rules that buses in Montgomery must be desegregated.
-
After the boycott, King and others create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to organize more nonviolent protests across the South.