The Montgomery Bus Boycott: Crash Course Black American History #35

For 381 days in 1955 and 1956, the Black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the city bus system. Black riders had been mistreated on public transit all over the country for decades, and the national coverage of the Montgomery Bus Boycott intensified the public conversation about Civil Rights. By the time the Supreme Court decided that discrimination on buses was a violation of the 14th amendment, boycott leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr were household names and the Civil Rights movements were on the national stage.

Sources and References
Jo Ann Robinson, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987).
Jeanne TheoHarris, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. (Beacon Press, 2015)
Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, A Black Women’s History of the United States (Boston: Beacon Press, 2020).
Martin Luther King Jr., Stride Toward Freedom; the Montgomery Story. New York: Harper & Row, 1958.

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[AleXanDraPR]

You know, whenever I hear about Rosa Parks, they paint it as all she had to do was refuse to give up her seat and suddenly everyone understood and segregation was magically over. They never tell you that she actually risked her well being and possibly her life for refusing to give up her seat.

[Arosukir]

I think it's important to remember two things here, and I'm glad you guys did:

1) Parks was not just a tired old lady who decided in the moment to give up her seat, the way we were taught in school. She was a member of the NAACP, who was working strategically and bravely to help get the bus boycott started. US History has infantilized her and diminished her power as an activist, to make it seem as though Black folks weren't actively doing anything to stop segregation, while white folks didn't even notice it was a bad thing, until this poor little old lady got sent to jail. This is not true. POC have always fought against white supremacy, and the ones who created it (wealthy white landowners) have always known it was wrong, but did it anyway.

2) Claudette Colvin was not seen as the right candidate to start the boycott because she was young, got pregnant out of wedlock, and was dark-skinned. A lot of the leaders of the Civil Rights movement believed that change could only be affected if they could present the "best" possible front to white folks. That meant unthreatening, older, well-dressed, well-spoken/educated, and light-skinned. So they wore their Sunday Best to marches, and denounced violence of any kind, and always spoke kindly about white folks. So, even within the BIPOC communities, there's always been a battle between making real justice happen and pleasing white folks (Ibrim X. Kendi calls the latter "Assimilationism"). If we just present ourselves as respectable, we'll finally be able to earn/gain the rights that white folks have always had, regardless of *their* respectability. This mindset, in my opinion and that of others, has worked to slow down the kind of progress that would not only have benefitted BIPOC, but women, low income folks, immigrants, and all the folks who have been put down through the history of the US.

Dr. Kendi's book "Stamped From The Beginning" is really good if you want to learn more about the battle between Anti-Racism versus both Segregationist Racism and Assimilationism. It's a big read, but a super informative one.

Edited to correct myself.

[macareuxmoine]

381 Days. Imagine the determination, organizing effort and perseverance that must have taken. Truly an example.

[TatenStamm]

Clint Smith honestly is my favorite part of Crash Course, I am so happy to see him on when a new video comes up.

[Jessketeer]

I did it. It took me two years but I’ve watched every single Crash Course video, and what an amazing series to be able to comment that on!

[ancientswordrage]

This is one of the few things I thought I knew about black American history, and I had looked into some if it myself rather than just be satisfied by Reddit TIL titles... But I learned so much more from this video. Thank you again for presenting this, and thank you crash course for providing this series as a whole

[joost]

Just to put into perspective that 500 dollar fine and 500 dollar court fee, those would combine to 10, 892.50 dollars in 2022.

[a.pal_yt]

I just studied this topic yesterday, I needed a quick recap, thanks for this : )

[PostWarKids]

This is the history we need to teach in australia as well

[spangelicious]

Learned some new facts with this one. Keep 'em coming!

[valeriesexton]

We’re learning this in class right now! Great timing!

[nonastans]

E.D Nixon's supposed take on Claudette not being able to be the face of this movement is a very interesting one.

[cerebrummaximus]

I just learned about the Bus Boycott in school :o !

[QA]

Wow, they never taught ALL of this during school.

[natalieshepp]

Thank you for bringing so much clarity to this. A lot of times it's been whitewashed, and window down to giving kids coloring sheets about black history. When it was so much deeper than that. I love your videos, please keep doing what you're doing..

[tfptravel.food.peace.]

"It was a dark amd stormy night" jk😂😂😂 I appreciate the humor in such a heavy video.

[domispablo]

really helping a lot with my a level history

[chocolateamethyst]

Love these videos, but before Rosa Parks it was Claudette Coven who first refused to give up her seat.. but she didn’t meet the criteria

[jaredgoodlow]

Ironic how this week I have to do research over the Montgomery bus boycott for a paper

[songs]

What an inspiring piece of history! Thanks for this video. Love from india 🇮🇳