Analyzing The Efficacy of The Bus Boycott in Montgomery, United States

The Montgomery bus boycott was not a small event in the History of the United States, it was a focal point of massive changes in culture and law. Desegregation and equality followed in its footstep and has made the country more free and unified. The reason for its massive success was its strong and determined leaders, the African American community coming together, and the economic and political pressures put on the bus companies by the boycott.

Despite the boycott’s massive success, was all started by a small group of people. These people, Rosa Parks and MLK were incredible leaders throughout the whole boycott. MLK was pastor who believed that Christianity demanded equality for all and he was determined to fight for this freedom. He did this in a different way than most revolutionaries though, as he and the people who followed him were dedicated to changing the nation nonviolently. Rosa Parks also helped make the bus boycott successful in her own way. Despite the fact that she was a quiet woman, she was dedicated to the pursuit of her rights and refused to back down, inspiring many others to do the same. These two leaders worked together to insure that the boycott continued and that the protest groups would not splinter.

A leader isn't much of a leader without followers though, and the boycott would have been pointless if only MLK and Rosa Parks refused to ride buses. Because of this the African American community as a whole is just as important to the boycott as its leaders were. The number of people who were involved in the boycott was simply astounding, nearly 42,000 people. They organized alternative means of transportation, went out of their way to help others in need, and were even willing to go to jail for it. The boycott lasted an entire year, a long time to walk to work every day, but they outlasted their opposition, and because of it, they changed the world.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful for another reason though, the racist owners of the bus companies could not handle the pressures being put on them. First of all the eyes of the nation were on them, intense scrutiny which made it even harder for them to still discriminate against the few African-Americans that were still riding the buses. They were also faced with huge economic pressures, as the majority of their customers, nearly 42,000 African Americans, stopped paying fares almost overnight, a big problem for any business. Finally they had pressure put on them by the federal government to acquiesce to the request that the buses be entirely desegregated, especially after the Supreme Court ruled that they had to be.

The Montgomery bus boycott was a huge event in the history of the United States. It resulted in mass desegregation, and equality followed in its footstep and has made the country more free and unified. The reason for its massive success was its strong and determined leaders, the African American community coming together, and the economic and political pressures put on the bus companies by the boycott.