Misha Abdul Matin
LSOU Publications
November 11, 2023
Terms:
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law.
Contextual Primer
On October 9, 2023, Starbucks Workers United posted a statement on their twitter account. The union was then sued by Starbucks for “trademark infringement” as they had used the Starbucks name and logo in the tweet. The executive vice president and chief partner officer at Starbucks, Sara Kelly, said “We strongly disagree with the views expressed by Workers United -- none of these groups speak for Starbucks Coffee Company and do not represent our company's views, positions, or beliefs."
This inspired a worldwide boycott against Starbucks, as consumers decided to ‘vote with
their wallets.'
When boycotts are put into effect, it is commonly asked ‘Is the act of boycotting effective?’ The purpose of this article is to provide an answer to this question.This article covers the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the profound impact it had as a civil rights movement, and the aspiration is that you will conclude, indeed, boycotts can be effective.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks had been charged with an act of civil disobedience as she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man. This marked the beginning of one of the most impactful Civil Rights movements in the United States, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Following her arrest, Martin Luther King Jr, along with a few community leaders organised the Montgomery Improvement Association to boycott the city buses. The boycott began on December 5, 1955, and went on for 381 days. During this time, African Americans walked, shared rides or used alternative transportation. As they were the majority of the bus ridership, this boycott impacted the profits of city buses significantly.
Background and Context:
During the 20th century, the Southern United States had been known for its legally enforced racial segregation and systemic racism. This meant African Americans had struggled in important aspects of their lives, such as education, employment, and utilising public facilities. On city buses, segregation was especially clear. African Americans were told to sit at the back of the bus and to give up their seats to white passengers.
Court's Ruling and Reasoning:
The case of Browder v. Gayle was named after Aurelia S. Browder, Susie McDonald, Claudette Colvin, and Mary Louise Smith, who were representatives of many others affected by bus segregation.
In Browder v. Gayle, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama ruled that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional, thereby ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The reason for this ruling was that racial segregation on public buses violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also, this was built on the precedent set by Brown v. Board of Education in which the Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially ended on December 20, 1956, following the Supreme Court's ruling.
Broader Societal Impact
Communities came together to support the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and this was crucial to its success. As people walked together, or provided rides for one another to avoid taking the city buses. There was an emphasis on the power behind unity. This led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Economic Impact
During the Montgomery bus boycott, the Montgomery Bus Company’s revenue was severely impacted. This caused the company some financial strain, which played a role in motivating the company to end discriminatory seating policies.
Conclusion
The Montgomery Bus Boycott led to the desegregation of city buses in Montgomery and also provided a blueprint for effective social and political change through boycotts. Its success proves how a determined community, employing nonviolent resistance and strategic economic pressure, can bring about meaningful transformation and challenge deeply entrenched systems of injustice.
Work Cited
“Browder v. Gayle, 352 U.S. 903.” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/browder-v-gayle-352-us-903.
“The Bus Boycott : Explore : Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words : Exhibitions at the Library of Congress : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/rosa-parks-in-her-own-words/about-this-exhibition/the-bus-boycott/.
Houston, Charles H., NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Walter White, William Hastie, Joel Spingarn, Arthur Spingarn, Nathan R. Margold, et al. “Brown v. Board at Fifty: ‘With an Even Hand’ a Century of Racial Segregation, 1849–1950.” Library of Congress, November 13, 2004. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html.
“Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).” The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/montgomery-improvement-association-mia.
“Rosa Parks: Bus Boycott, Civil Rights & Facts.” History.com. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/rosa-parks.
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