Eoto Reaction 3

   

The Montgomery bus boycott started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. She was not the first to do this but as an activist she was the most renowned. She ended up suing Montgomery and the African Americans decided to boycott but creating their own transport system. Colored riders made up of 70% of bus riders so the city lost a good amount of shares. When Parks’ lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, they decided that this reinforced the Brown V Board of Education case. The Freedom rides followed and they were riders who rode buses through the south by not boarding their respected segregated busses. They were continuously beaten and abused by many southerners until change was finally forced. The Little Rock Nine were 9 kids who were the first to integrate public schools. They were abused and attacked by students and parents alike and they were forced to have soldiers guarding them throughout the school time.

 The Voting Rights Act protected minority voters from harassment and intimidation. This led to increased voter registration, saved lives, and was the catalyst for the greater Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. The March on Washington for jobs and freedom was a march that demanded the end of racism job discrimination. Over 250,000 people marched with majority of them being African American. This march hosted the famous I Have a Dream speech from Martin Luther King Jr which was only on of its speeches and speakers. This led to the beginning of the Civil Rights Act as well as the Voting Rights Act.

The stand in the schoolhouse door was an act of resistance against desegregation. George Wallace blocked 2 black African American students from entering the University of Alabama. He was the democratic governor of Alabama and was eventually forced to move by JFK. Another racist event was the 16th street Baptist church bombing. On Sep 15, 1963, Klan members planted a bomb that injured 23 people and killed 4 little girls. Many protests were held afterwards and this bomb wasn’t unexpected, there were 50 bombings in 50 years which is number much larger than what it needs to be. The KKK also kidnapped and killed 3 men who were organizing black boycotts and increasing black voter registration. Over 700 other volunteers joined them in their fight for freedom. A massive search was conducted and eventually their bodies were all found dead. The Orangeburg massacre was a protest in which students started a bonfire and were throwing rocks at the police. One hit a police and then they all began to fire into the crowd killing 3 and wounding 28. The students were claimed to be armed and the press neglected and falsified the events. One of the biggest events to happen was the assassination of MLK. He was shot by James Earl Ray and his death sparked violent outbreaks across the entire nation with over 40 deaths and significant damage. There was a public day of mourning the day after and over 100,000 mourners were at his funeral.