The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott brought together 45,000 members of the black community in Montgomery, Alabama. This was made possible through careful planning, organization and cooperation among a few important groups of people. The Women’s Political Council (WPC), the black churches of Montgomery and The Montgomery Improvement Association MIA) were the three main institutions behind the success of the boycott. The Women’s Political Council was the first suggest the idea of a bus boycott in order to gain better treatment while riding the Montgomery buses. This idea soon gained support from other black members of the Montgomery community. The WPC’s main role in the days leading to the boycott was distributing circulars in black churches around Montgomery containing details of the one day bus boycott that was to happen on December 5, 1955. This helped to spread the word to a large number of citizens along with church leaders. The participation and cooperation among leaders and congregations of black churches was crucial throughout the boycott. Not only did they “serve as channels of communication” according to Robinson, they also provided “moral support and Christian leadership”. The boycott gave black ministers and their congregations a reason to unite regardless of denomination. The black churches also provided large gathering spaces for leaders of the movement and citizens to meet. On Friday December 2, hundreds of leaders gathered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church to organize the boycott that was to take place on the coming Monday. At the meeting transportation logistics were worked out and it was decided that another meeting would take place Monday night after the boycott. This meeting was to take place at Holt Street Baptist Church, the most spacious church in Montgomery. Once again the WPC created flyers and spread the word of the meeting. Leaders wanted to calm members of the community after the boycott, as well as gain feedback about it success. Over