1.1. SAM: In many southern cities blacks had to sit in a separate section in the back of the bus and had to give up their seats to whites.
1.2. Josie: They were treated badly by the drivers as well.
2. 2.) During
2.1. SAM: Dec. 1st, 1955 in Montgomery, AL, on her way home from work on a crowded bus, Rosa was ordered by the driver to give up her seat to a white man. She refused and was arrested.
2.2. Josie: JoAnn Robinson thought Rosa arrest was good motivation to start a bus boycott. ( out of 10 blacks joined this bus boycott so the buses were nearly empty.
2.3. Josie: Since the boycotters were treated with violence, unfair tickets, lost jobs and bombed houses and churches Martin Luther King Jr. soon became a spokesman for the boycotters and soon were arrested.
2.4. SAM: The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) took the bus company to federal court in 1956 since the bus company and city leaders would not agree to do away with reserved seats and equal treatment for all people on their buses. The boycott lasted 381 days.
2.5. SAM & Josie: On Nov 13, 1956 the US Supreme Court declared us segregation illegal.
3. Our Sources:
3.1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks
3.2. http://www.rosaparks.org/
3.3. http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/index.htm
4. 3.) After
4.1. Josie: Dec. 21, 1956 Martin Luther King Jr. and other blacks boarded the first desegregated bus in Montgomery, AL.
4.2. SAM: After the boycott, Martin Luther King started a group called- SOuther Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which continued to fight for civil rights.
5. Personal Connection
5.1. SAM: The bus boycotts was just the beginning of a long fight for fair and equal treatment for blacks. Rosa Parks was incredibly brave to stand up for her beliefs and for the equal rights of blacks and all people.
5.2. Josie: Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks fought hard to motivate people help change our nation for the better so everyone can have freedom and equal rights.
