1955: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott 

        On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, an act that would spark the Montgomery Bus Boycotts later that year. After Parks refused to give up her seat when the bus driver, James F. Blake, asked, she was charged with civil disobedience. The NAACP decided to back Parks in this case, believing she was a strong candidate who they could use for the benefit of the greater Civil Rights Movement. Parks’ case was a catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycotts.

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        The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a citywide protest against the segregation of public transportation in Montgomery that took place from December 5th, 1955 (four days after Parks refused to give up her seat) to December 20th, 1956. The boycott demanded that blacks be treated with respect by the drivers as well as be seated throughout the bus alongside white passengers, on a first come first served basis.

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                                                                         Leaflet, "Don't Ride the Bus," Come to a Mass Meeting on 5 December (1955) 

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        The boycott ended in 1956 with the federal ruling Browder vs. Gayle, which stated that Alabama’s laws on segregated buses were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court later upheld this decision, making the segregation of public transport unconstitutional across the nation.