Civil Rights Movements in Alabama Segregation was a way of life in the South at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Many people treated others terribly because the color of their skin and went on without it even fazing them, they all went on thinking it was okay, when it was not morally right. African Americans were treated horribly, almost as if they were not human. It was impossible to find any aspect of life unsegregated in the south. The Schools, restaurants, and even bathrooms were all segregated, and it was very evident in public transportation.
Montgomery, Alabama played an important role in the American Civil Rights movement through their Jim Crow Laws, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Rides, and the Sit-in Movements. One of the first major acts that the south enacted was the Jim Crow Laws. In the late 1870s, Reconstruction was ending. Most White politicians abandoned protecting the rights of African Americans (“White Only’). Many people would’ve expected the southern states to have created a system of segregation immediately after the Civil War (1861-1865) but it didn’t happen until 1877 (Urofsky).
Jim Crow Laws are laws that were passed that required separation of Whites from Blacks or “persons of color” in everything (Urofsky). Generally, anyone who is strongly suspected of being from Black ancestry in any degree was for that purpose, a “person of color” (Urofsky). Separation of the races was extended to parks, cemeteries, theaters, and restaurants in an effort to prevent any contact between Blacks and Whites (Urofsky). According to one of the laws, “It shall be unlawful for a negro and a White person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, ominoes or checkers. ” This is just an example of one of the laws that were enacted in the south, a horrible degree of separation. The Jim Crow Laws were a huge part of the south during the beginning of twentieth century, which lead to segregation. “Jim Crow” became to be a derogatory term to the African American race that was commonly used in the South (Urofsky). In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) the US Supreme Court ruled that separate faculties if they were equal did not violate the US Constitution (“White Only’).
This was one of the first Supreme Court rulings against these laws, which are symbolized by the “separate but equal” idea (“White Only’). Many African Americans turned to the courts for help in their constitutional rights (“White Only’). The courts challenged the earlier Civil Rights legislature and made many decisions that allowed the states to segregate “people of color” (“White Only”). The Jim Crow era lasted from the end of Reconstruction to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movements in the 1950s.
The Jim Crow era was a very important period that changed the world forever, and is what brought on our next Civil Rights Movement, the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was where African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama (History. com Staff). The City of Montgomery required that all public transportation be segregated between the races (“Rosa Parks”). The bus drivers were required to provide separate but equal commodities for their white and black passengers (“Rosa Parks”).
Many of the bus drivers had stated to require black passengers to give up their seats to the white passengers on the bus (“Rosa Parks”). If the passenger refused to get up then the bus driver could refuse service and could call the police to have them removed (“Rosa Parks”). On Dec 1st, 1955, four days before the boycotts began, Rosa Parks refused to give up her sear to a white passenger that was riding the same bus (History. com Staff).
That bus that Parks was on began to fill up ith white passengers, and the bus driver noticed that most of the white passengers were standing in the aisle way (“Rosa Parks”). The bus driver then proceeded to ask Parks and three other African American passengers to give up their seats, the three complied but Parks refused (“Rosa Parks”). The driver demanded, “Why don’t you stand up? ” to which Parks replied, “I don’t think I should have to stand up. ” The driver called the police and she was arrested, and fined ten dollars for the arrest and four dollars in court fees (History. com Staff).
The Montgomery Bus Boycott had many leaders and organizers, and had many events on the daily that lead to the end of the boycotts. Although Parks has sometimes been depicted as a woman with no history of Civil Rights activism at the time of her arrest and the boycott, but she and her husband Raymond, were very active in their local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (History. com Staff). On June 5th, 1956, a Montgomery federal court ruled that any law that allowed segregation violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution (History. om Staff).
On Dec 20th, the transit companies were suffering huge finical losses and the legal system was starting to fail them the city of Montgomery had no other choice than to lift the enforcement of segregation on their city buses, and at last the boycott was over (“Rosa Parks”). This boycott over the segregation on city buses lasted from Dec. 5th, 1955 through Dec. 20th, 1956 (History. com Staff). The 381-day boycott in Montgomery, Alabama is said to be one of the largest and most successful mass movement against racial segregation in history (“Rosa Parks”).
The Montgomery bus boycott is widely known as the earlies mass protest on the behalf of Civil Rights in the US. The next big thing that happened in the South was the Sit-in Movements. On February 1st, 1960, several black students in North Carolina conducted a Sit-in, which inspired students in Montgomery to participate (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama”). Students at Alabama State University were some of the first to organize a Sit-in, in the state of Alabama (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama”).
Three dozen Alabama State students attempted to eat a segregated cafeteria (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama”). The students were not surprised when the cafeteria workers would not serve them, but were surprised when they were expelled from the university (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama”). Because of this expulsion many of the university’s other students boycotted classes and exams (“Global Nonviolent Action Database”). Several thousands of students rallied at the “Hutchinson Street Baptist Church” in support of their classmates (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama).
The Sit-in’s took place during the Jim Crow Era, which was a time where segregation was allowed and encouraged. On Tuesday, March 1st, 1960 over 1000 people march from the Alabama State University’s campus to the state capitol and back (“Global Nonviolent Action Database”). After the march took place the president of the university expelled nine students that were identified as the leaders and suspended twenty other students that participated in the march (“Global Nonviolent Action Database”).
The next week, on Sunday, March 6th, protesters began to gather at the “Dexter Avenue Baptist Church”, which was led by Reverend Ralph Abernathy, who was a big contributor as well as an organizer of the Montgomery Bus Boycott(s) (“Global Nonviolent Action Database). The willingness of Black students to “challenge the authority of the state” put those who participated in the front of Civil Rights Movements, where they remained for the rest of the decade (“Modern Civil Rights Movements in Alabama”). Freedom Rides were the next major thing that happened in the South that regarded segregation.
Freedom Rides is a series of bus trips through the South to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals (History. com Staff). The 1961 Freedom Rides sought to test the 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boyton v. Virginia that segregation of interstate transportation (History. com Staff). The Freedom Rides were founded by a student group in Nashville, Tennessee (“African American History Month”). On May 4th, 1961, a group of African Americans and White Civil Rights activists launched the Freedom Rides (History. com Staff).
Their plan was to reach New Orleans, Louisiana on March 17th, to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case (History. com Staff). The group encountered uch violence from White protesters, along their route but also gained much national attention. The Freedom Rides organised to test the validity and enforcement of their state (“African American History Month”). Many events happened involving the Freedom Riders that led to a more violent protest which was not the purpose of the protest.
There were many important days that were very important to the Freedom Riders, one of those being May 14th, where a group of 200 white protesters tried to mob one of the buses that the Freedom Riders were on (History. com Staff). The bus had planned to stop at the Anniston, Alabama station but passed when the driver saw the mob waiting for them (History. com Staff). When the mob saw them driving past they got in their cars and began to follow the bus, when the buses tires blew out the mob threw a bomb into the bus (History. com Staff).
The riders of that bus escaped before the bus burst into flames, only to be beaten by the surrounding mob (His tory. com Staff). On May 20, the Freedom Rides were attacked by a local mob at the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station in Montgomery, Alabama (“African American History Month”). The repercussions from this event brought the Civil Rights Movements struggle into “sharp relief and caught much national and international attention” (“African American History Month”). May 24th, 1961, the Freedom Riders left Montgomery from a different bus station, the Trailways Bus Station (“African American History Month”).
The National Guard cornered the streets, providing protection for the group as they left for Mississippi, they were then later arrested in Jackson, MS (“African American History Month”). That was one of the last major events that lead to the end of segregation. The Civil Rights Movements in Alabama like the Jim Crow Laws, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sit-in Movements, and the Freedom Riders sparked change that is still heard around the world today. They were all huge civil rights movements that helped bring segregation to an end. The world changed all because a few people decided to fight back for what is right.
Those men and women started revolutions and protests that will be remembered forever. Those men and women have inspired so many to fight back, and fight for what is right. They are an awesome example of “it’s not going to be easy, but if you fight for what believe then things will start to change. ” Their actions may not have brought segregation to an end but the actions of the others around her brought a wave of hope for African Americans and other minority groups. The world is not and will never be perfect, but it is those who fight for others and fight for what is right, who make it a better place to live.
