The injustice and indignity of being forced to give up a seat on the bus to a white person was not unique to Rosa Parks. Hundreds of Black citizens of Montgomery endured similar mistreatment. In October 1955, a Black teenager named Claudette Colvin was forcibly removed from a bus and arrested when she refused to give up her seat. For a number of reasons, the NAACP decided not to use her case as the one to challenge the city’s segregation policy in public transportation but Claudette Colvin continued to be active in the movement for racial justice. She is still alive today.
After Rosa Parks was arrested, a number of Black women leaders of the Women’s Political Council initiated and organized a one day bus boycott for Monday, December 5. Mary Fair Burks established the WPC in 1949 to advocate for racial justice in Montgomery. She was succeded as President by Jo Ann Robinson who was on the faculty of Alabama State University. Ms. Robinson played a key role in organizing the one day boycott including spending the night before running off thousands of copies of a flyer urging Black people to stay of the buses on December 5.
That one day boycott was so successful that the decision was made to stay off the buses until that segregation law changed. The local authorities did all in their power to keep segregation in public transportation in Montgomery in place. Boycott leaders including Jo Ann Robinson were the victims of both verbal abuse and property destruction. The legal challenge mounted by the boycott participants and supporters went all the way to the Supreme Court in a case called Browder v. Gayle. Rosa Parks was not the plaintiff in this case. Instead the plaintiffs were other Black women who also stood up for their constitutional rights for equal protection under the law based on the 14th amendment. These courageous women were Amelia Browder, Claudette Colvin, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith. On November 13, 1956 the Supreme Court upheld a District Court ruling in their favor that had been appealed by local and state authorities in Alabama. The Montgomery Bus Boycott ended the next month with people returning to the buses on a non-segregated basis.
The story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott is richer and more complex than the popular narrative most of us learned. Yet it is important to recognize the courage and leadership provided by those whose names are less familiar to us. Today’s post provides a small glimpse into the contributions of several women who are representative of many others who stood up for racial justice and equality for all. The first video posted below features Claudette Colvin reflecting on her exeperience of October 1955. The second video focuses on the story of Amelia Browder who is the namesake of the Supreme Court case. The third video provides a summary of several of the women leaders of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. May their examples continue to inspire and challenge us to participate in the ongoing struggle for racial justice.