Montgomery Bus Boycott

My name is Rosa Parks, and I worked as a seamstress, sewing and fixing clothes for people in my town of Montgomery, Alabama. Back then, in the 1950s, life had some very unfair rules, especially on the city buses. It was like playing a game where the rules were different for different people. Black people like me had to pay our fare at the front, get off the bus, and then get back on through the back door. We could only sit in the seats at the very back. If a white person got on and there were no more seats in the front section, we were supposed to get up and give them our seat. It didn't feel right, and it made many of us feel sad and angry. One particular day, on December 1st, 1955, I was coming home from a long day at work, and I was about to show everyone that some rules are meant to be changed.

On that Thursday, December 1st, 1955, I was so tired. My feet ached from standing and working at the sewing machine all day. I got on the bus, paid my fare, and found an empty seat in the middle section, which was the first row Black people were allowed to sit in. The bus started to fill up, and soon a few white passengers were standing. The driver looked at me and the other three Black people in my row and said, “Let me have those seats.”. The others stood up, but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t just that my feet were tired. My heart was tired, too. I was tired of being treated like I wasn't as good as other people. So, I stayed right where I was. The bus driver asked me again if I was going to stand up, and I told him, “No.”. He called the police, and they came and arrested me. I wasn't scared. I felt a quiet strength because I knew I was doing the right thing. My decision that day made a lot of people in my community want to do something, too. A young and wonderful leader named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped us all decide that we would stop riding the buses until the rules were fair for everyone.

Our protest was called the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Instead of riding the bus, we walked. We walked to work, to school, and to the store. Imagine the sound of thousands of feet walking together every single day. It was a powerful sound. We organized carpools and shared rides with our neighbors. We sang songs to keep our spirits up when we got tired. We did this for 381 days. We walked in the hot sun and in the cold rain, but we never gave up because we were all in it together. Then, on December 20th, 1956, we got the wonderful news. A very important court, the Supreme Court, had decided that the unfair rules on the buses had to end. The very next day, I got on a bus and sat right in the front. It was a victory for all of us. I learned that even a quiet person like me could make a big difference, and when many people work together for what is right, they can change the world.