The Civil Rights Project
Trina Klein Period 1
Civil Rights Introduction
Feature Article
One of the most famous strategies that was used to end segregation was the bus boycott, that took place between 195 and 1956. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger and was arrested for it. In protest, African Americans organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where they walked everywhere, or carpooled, and refused to ride the buses. The buses lost money because no one was riding them This protest lasted 381 days, until a federal court ordered the desegregation of Montgomery buses and the boycott ended.
The desegregation of Little Rock Central High School was another big win for the African American community. In 1957, nine African American children were enrolled in a previously whites only high school in Arkansas. On the first day, they were harassed by angry protesters outside the school and were unable to even get into the school. They eventually had to be escorted to school by military personnel in jeeps. Only one out of the Little Rock Nine graduated, in 1958.
Another way African Americans protested segregation was through sit-ins, where they would sit at local diners and stores that would not desegregate. They would dress professionally and sit quietly. This often promoted local authorities to use brute force and make the protesters leave. By the end of 1960, sit-ins had spread to every southern state and some northern ones.