The Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Famous Argument

1. CLAIM 

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested and taken to prison for failing to give up her seat to the white passenger. Parks led to the rise of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to denounce the notion of supremacy. Jim Crow segregation laws essentially upheld the dominion of the white people. Mainly, the law required passengers in the “colored section” to give up their seat for the whites in case the white section filled (Khan Academy, 2018) . 

2. REASONING 

Rosa Parks expressed his disbelief in what was regarded as the norm. Despite the segregation laws being underpinned in the southern United States legislature, Parks felt the callous nature of the provision. Because of Park's bravery, many people started not believing in white supremacy (Black Past Organisation, 2018) . Notably, most people in the South thought that the white person was better than the black. However, the Montgomery Bus boycott brought the realization that black people were equal to any other race. Apart from crumbling the bus business for more than a year, the blacks found their dignity and self-assurance. 

3. EVIDENCE HAS TO ADDRESS THE COUNTER-CLAIM 

The counter-claim of this argument refers to the rationale of the segregation laws. Jim Crow laws on segregation imposed interaction restrictions in the daily happenings of people. The provisions advocated for white supremacy through segregation practices in public schools, public transport, public places, restrooms, and restaurants. Nevertheless, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the president of Montgomery Improvement Association at the moment and helped propel the boycott. In his speech in 1958 memoir of boycott, King stated that the real meaning of Montgomery bus boycott was in developing the spirit of self-respect and animating the struggle for civil rights (The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, 2018 ) . The quagmire here is whether the legitimacy of Rosa Park’s arrest made sense to the formulators of the segregation laws or those who believed in the domination of the white man. 

4. ANALYZE 

Montgomery Bus Boycott triggers an understanding of the ability of mass action and the attempts of making the world a better place. Being an influential lady in the Negro community, Rosa parks took the responsibility of denouncing what she disagreed with not by an act of violence, but through a sacrifice that many people would have avoided. Indeed, this is the slightest spark of personal bravery, which transcends mass bravery for an evil course. The determination of the mass action was, however, intended for the good of the society. Having gotten the intensity of the social life, African American men, women, and children opted to carpool or walk to their destination in exchange for their citizenship dignity ( Alderman, Kingsbury, & Dwyer, 2013 ). Together with other stakeholders of the boycott, the leaders brought a suit to demand the end of segregation laws on public buses. In essence, this is not only an indication of love for justice but also the extent that human fraternity works to make the future brighter and livable. 

5. CONCLUSION 

Rosa Park’s efforts were not futile. After the lengthy pursuit of freedom in public bus segregation practices, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the entire Negro fraternity were accorded the necessary justice. It is interesting that Park’s personal feeling about white supremacy made no sense even to the white themselves at the end of the Boycott. Indeed, there are lacunas in the law that one get a clearer interpretation only by revisiting it. The United States Supreme Court held that public bus segregation laws were unconstitutional based on the 14 th Amendment that guaranteed equal protection under the law . The boycott was a success, and a bit of racial equality was thus overhauled. 

References 

Alderman, D. H., Kingsbury, P., & Dwyer, O. J. (2013). Reexamining the Montgomery bus boycott: Toward an empathetic pedagogy of the civil rights movement.  The Professional Geographer ,  65 (1), 171-186. 

Black Past Organization. (2018). (1955) Martin Luther King Jr., “The Montgomery Bus Boycott” | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. Retrieved from https://blackpast.org/1955-martin-luther-king-jr-montgomery-bus-boycott 

Khan Academy. (2018). The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/civil-rights-movement/a/the-montgomery-bus-boycott 

The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. (2018). Montgomery Bus Boycott | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Retrieved from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/montgomery-bus-boycott