Montgomery Bus Boycott

Newspaper headlines announcing the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Asbury Park Press, via Newspapers.com)

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a seminal event in the Civil Rights Movement. The campaign lasted from December 5, 1955—the Monday after Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person—to December 20, 1956, when a federal ruling, Browder v. Gayle, took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws that segregated buses were unconstitutional. Wikipedia

Learn more about the Montgomery Bus Boycott through historical newspapers from our archives. Explore newspaper articles, headlines, images, and other primary sources below.

Articles and Clippings about the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Article about the planning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Sun, Dec 4, 1955 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comArticle about the first day of the bus boycott; mentions Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Tue, Dec 6, 1955 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comAfter the arrest of Rosa Parks, thousands boycott Montgomery city lines in protest Tue, Dec 6, 1955 – 12 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comPhotos from the first day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 Tue, Dec 6, 1955 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comRelaxation noticed in protest of segregation and bus boycott Wed, Dec 7, 1955 – Page 22 · Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) · Newspapers.comMontgomery newspaper's opinion of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 Thu, Dec 8, 1955 – 4 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comBus driver nearly shot during 4th shooting since the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Thu, Dec 8, 1955 – Page 80 · The Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) · Newspapers.comMartin Luther King Jr. and others fail to reach agreement with bus company on bus segregation Fri, Dec 9, 1955 – 15 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.comBus Boycott continues in Montgomery, Alabama Sun, Dec 11, 1955 – Page 38 · Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia) · Newspapers.comOpinion: Both white and Black citizens affected by the Montgomery Bus Boycott Tue, Dec 13, 1955 – 4 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comNewspaper columnist urges Montgomery's Black community to continue bus boycott Fri, Dec 16, 1955 – 1 · Alabama Tribune (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comMontgomery Bus Boycott is termed an "economic reprisal" by leaders and considered effective Sat, Dec 17, 1955 – Page 3 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comGroup to try again to resolve the Montgomery Bus Boycott Mon, Dec 19, 1955 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comEnd is not in sight after another failed attempt to resolve boycott Tue, Dec 20, 1955 – Page 8 · The Greenville News (Greenville, South Carolina) · Newspapers.com3 conditions that Black Montgomery residents want met to end bus boycott Sat, Jan 14, 1956 – Page 2 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comOpinion article discussing what the Montgomery Bus Boycott has accomplished as of Jan 1956 Sat, Jan 14, 1956 – Page 2 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comMartin Luther King Jr. is arrested during Montgomery Bus Boycott Sat, Feb 4, 1956 – Page 3 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comText of jury’s report on bus boycott probe Wed, Feb 22, 1956 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comPicture of religious and political leaders after being arrested in connection to bus boycott Thu, Feb 23, 1956 – Page 1 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Newspapers.com"Montgomery (Ala.) Bus Boycott Leaders Say: 'More Determined Than Ever'" after arrests Sat, Mar 3, 1956 – Page 3 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comPhoto of a group of maids walking to work during the Montgomery Bus Boycott Sat, Mar 3, 1956 – Page 1 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comMinister begins fast and prayer in support of the bus boycott Mon, Mar 12, 1956 – Page 12 · The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) · Newspapers.com93 people are on trial in connection to Montgomery Bus Boycott Sun, Mar 18, 1956 – 72 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.comMontgomery newspaper headlines about the Supreme Court's 1956 ruling to end bus segregation Wed, Nov 14, 1956 – 1 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comTimeline of events during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, from Rosa Parks to the Supreme Court decision Wed, Nov 14, 1956 – 2 · The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comMontgomery Bus Boycott comes to an end, 1956 Thu, Nov 15, 1956 – Page 56 · The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) · Newspapers.comAccounts and quotes about reactions in the South to Supreme Court's ruling on segregation on buses Sat, Nov 24, 1956 – Page 3 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comImage of a group of Black Montgomery residents walking during the bus boycott Sat, Dec 15, 1956 – Page 33 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.comMontgomery Bus Boycott ends, and desegregation of buses reportedly starts "smoothly" Fri, Dec 21, 1956 – Page 1 · The Eugene Guard (Eugene, Oregon) · Newspapers.comEditorial published in Montgomery newspaper after bus segregation is ruled unconstitutional Fri, Dec 28, 1956 – 8 · Alabama Tribune (Montgomery, Alabama) · Newspapers.comOpinion: "Montgomery--A Stick of Moral Dynamite" Sat, Dec 29, 1956 – Page 38 · The Pittsburgh Courier (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com