Montgomery Bus Boycott

  • WPC meeting with Montgomery mayor

    The Women's Political Council (WPC) meets with Montgomery mayor W. A. Gayle to outline their recommended changes for the Montgomery bus system.
  • Black leaders meeting with city officials

    Black leaders in Montgomery, including E. D. Nixon, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., meet with city officials to discuss bus seating requirements.
  • Claudette Colvin arrested

    Claudette Colvin arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman
  • Mary Louise Smith arrested

    Mary Louise Smith arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman.
  • Rosa Parks arrested

    Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger.
  • One day boycott

    The WPC calls for a one-day bus boycott on December 5.
  • Montgomery Improvement Association

    Instead of the expected 60% turnout, an estimated 90%-100% of the black community in Montgomery choose to participate in the boycott. Black leaders meet to dicuss the possibility of extending the boycott. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) is created at this meeting, and Dr. King elected its president. The MIA votes to extend the boycott.
  • City refuses MIA demands

    The MIA issues a formal list of demands. The city refuses to comply.
  • Dr. King's home bombed

    Dr. King's home is bombed. In response, Dr. King calls for peaceful protest rather than violent action.
  • Nixon's home bombed

    E.D. Nixon's home is bombed
  • Dr. King pays fine or serves time

    Dr. King is indicted as a leader of the boycott and ordered to pay $500 or serve 386 days in jail.
  • Federal district court rules

    A federal district court rules that bus segregation is unconstitutional.
  • Supreme court upholds the district court ruling

    The Supreme Court upholds the district court ruling, and strikes down laws requiring racial segregation on buses. The MIA resolves to end the boycott only when the order to desegregate is officially implemented.
  • Supreme Court's orders

    The Supreme Court's orders of injuction against segregation on city buses are delivered to the Montgomery City Hall.
  • MIA ends boycott

    Montgomery's buses are officially desegregated. The MIA ends the boycott.