Why did the boycott of Montgomery’s buses succeed? Your paper should make an argument, using the primary sources at Historical Thinking Matters as evidence, about the Montgomery bus boycott and reasons for its success

Montgomery Boycott
Name
Institution
Date

The struggle for equality in the United Sates has a rich history. However, this war was rejuvenated in the 50s following the efforts of brave and charismatic African Americans who were ready to fight for equality at all costs. It is through this that the energy of civil rights movements was reborn. The fight was definitely not an easy one. Led by intelligent and brave leaders, coupled with the resilience and brevity of the participants, the boycott was able to stand the test of time. This paper explores the Montgomery bus boycott and sheds light on the reasons that led to the success of this boycott. Further, it mentions the contribution of the various leaders in the civil struggle.
The success of the Montgomery bus boycott can be rightfully credited to both Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, who were counterparts in the fight to equality, especially towards African Americans. However, numerous historical texts give much credit to Martin Luther King Jr. as having been the mastermind behind the major logistics in the planned civil disobedience. Many people attribute the success of this boycott solely to Martin Luther King forgetting that other factors, however subtly mentioned, had a hand in the whole thing. The resilience of over 50, 000 African Americans who took part in the protest cannot be rubbished. The black population had developed a totally new attitude towards the use of non-violent protests in trying to address their grievances, chief among them, racial discrimination, especially in public places.

Rosa Parks was the focus of civil rights movements after she triggered nonviolent protests following her brave act of refusing to give up her seat to a white on 1st December 1955. She was later convicted despite the technicality of the case stating that she was not obliged to give up the seat since only the front rows in buses were reserved for the white population.
The strength of the boycott against public transport was majorly drawn from the unity of the black population. And as the wave of the protest spread to other areas and states, black leaders reinforced their support against the evils of racial discrimination. For instance, after black ministers announced a boycott of bus activities in a church function on December 4th, the next day saw up to 40,000 African Americans boycotting buses and refusing to use public transport systems. The whole event highlighted the power of the African Americans when they acted as a unit. Martin Luther King Jr. acted in the leadership capacity of this large movement acting as a role model to this noble course that would see the transformation of human rights in the history of the United States of America. He used the slogan of non-violent protests and denounced the use of evil to fight evil. The significance and role of Martin Luther King is the major reason behind the success of the boycott since he made the force a close-knit unit that was hard to defeat or demoralize.
The Montgomery boycott is said to have been won due to the resilience, perseverance and civil disobedience expressed bravely by the black population. The demonstrators expressed the will to walk on foot from work every day and were even backed by the wealthy black and white population that was willing to come up with car pools. The boycott would then potentially injure the bus business financially. This was possible because, the large percentage of clients to the bus business was drawn from the African Americans. Analysts have estimated that, at the time, the black population boasted of up to 60% of clients to the bus industry. By the black people refusing to use the services of these buses, the finances of the industry were to a halt bringing the business to its knees. This was a big win for the black who were fighting for social restoration with the desire of regaining a place in the social sphere.
Further, the boycott for the Montgomery buses sought to highlight the economic power that the African Americans held at the time. Despite being a minority, this population had a significant influence on the economy of certain states in the United States. For instance, following this civil disobedience, it was difficult for the black population to access certain areas. This mean that the African Americans who were potential shoppers were unable to go to downtown areas of the states due to the fact that they did not use public means of transport. Ultimately, the businesses owned by whites in the downtown areas came to a standstill because possible clients could not now access their services. This caused a major shift in the struggle against the racial segregation of the Africans. After bearing the brunt of the boycott financially, whites who owned businesses decided to fight the racial discrimination. The entrance of the whites into the protest meant that the game had now changed and it was inevitable that the African Americas would win this war.
The struggle motivated numerous events ultimately culminating to things such as the Jim Crow phenomenon. Despite having not been the center of many historical and political texts, this new struggle cannot be ignored in any paper that explores the origin of civil rights movements in the United States. The slogan ‘Jim Crow must go’ resulted from the strength and success of the Montgomery bus boycott. People had learned of the power of civil disobedience as opposed to violence in the struggle for civil rights. It is this event that propelled protesters from across the racial divide to protest for the improvement of schools while chanting and demanding the removal of Jim Crow. Justice in the educational sector was transformed following this boycott. With the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee spearheading the protest, winning this struggle was imminent.
Equality in the racial sphere has arguably had a long history in the United States. With the African Americans being at the center of the focus of racial discrimination, the war against discrimination has been focused on this population and how this minority fought for the equality amidst a powerful majority. Interestingly, in the 1950s, this struggle gained new energy and rejuvenation from the intelligent effort of leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. The brave efforts of Rosa Parks cannot be forgotten since she is credited of having aroused the whole struggle against segregation in the public transport systems. This struggle has definitely been a difficult one. However, with its success analyzed from an historical point of view, this boycott is arguably the most successful among civil rights struggles in history.

References
Kennedy, R. (1989). Martin Luther King’s Constitution: A Legal History of the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. Yale Law Journal, 999-1067.