Hidden in Plain Sight: Black Female Leadership in the Montgomery Bus Boycott

​​​On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. As a result, she was arrested for disorderly conduct and disobeying Alabama’s segregation laws requiring Black people to sit in the “colored section” on public buses. Parks’ courageous act sparked the elevation of the Civil Rights Movement and recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the movement’s most prominent leader and speaker. 

​While Parks and King are rightfully acknowledged for their important contributions to and leadership during the Civil Rights Movement, in general, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, specifically; the leadership of more than 200 Black women members of the Women’s Political Council and the activism of Claudette Colvin and others are not as widely known. Led by Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, then president of the Women’s Political Council (WPC) and English faculty at Alabama State University, the WPC helped initiate the Montgomery Bus Boycott by circulating leaflets across the city to announce the boycott. The WPC had, arguably, been in the planning and process stages of a bus boycott since Robinson was verbally assaulted for attempting to sit in the “whites only” section of a bus in 1949. Further, throughout the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the WPC continued to be the foundation of organizing, as members-maintained communication networks, organized and facilitated mass meetings, and provided carpools. Additionally, months prior to Parks’ refusal to give up her seat, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat and was arrested.  

​​The activism and leadership of the WPC and Colvin also were instrumental foundational aspects of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Jo Ann Gibson Robinson was verbally assaulted by a bus driver in 1949 for sitting in the “whites only” section of a nearly empty bus. Robinson was not arrested as she eventually exited the bus fearing she would be physically assaulted; however, Robinson was so embarrassed and upset by the interaction that she wanted to stage a boycott. Robinson presented the idea to Mary Fair Burks, the founder and president of the WPC, but was advised to forget her plans as segregated buses were a fact of life in Montgomery. In 1950 when Robinson succeeded Burks as the WPC president, she grew the organization immensely and remained focused on boycotting busing segregation. Robinson met with Montgomery Mayor William A. Gayle, and the Montgomery City Hall leaders to discuss her concerns about segregated public transportation; but neither the mayor nor the leaders were interested in her ideas. Robinson also met with the Montgomery City Commission and was promised better treatment of Black citizens on Montgomery buses but was told that segregation would continue. Robinson continued planning the boycott and, after the 1954 Brown v. The Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas decision, informed the mayor that the boycott was inevitable.  

​​On March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin sat in the “coloreds only” section of a Montgomery bus. Because the bus was crowded, Black riders were expected to give up their seats if white riders needed a seat. When a white rider boarded the bus and asked for Colvin’s seat, Colvin refused to give up her seat and was arrested. Colvin’s activism was not publicized in the same ways as Parks’ because Colvin was pregnant and unmarried. Critics also have noted colorism as a factor as Colvin had a darker complexion than Parks.  

​​Months later, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leaders arranged for Parks to be the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by preparing her to refuse to give up her seat. Parks had been a member of the NAACP since 1943 and  gained some recognition for her work with various NAACP initiatives. Prior to her arrest, the NAACP had prepared Parks for the arrest and planned how she would be bailed from jail. After Parks’ arrest, Robinson and the WPC arranged a 1-day boycott. Robinson printed more than 35,000 fliers to inform Montgomery’s Black community of the boycott. Along with the help of WPC members and her students, Robinson distributed the fliers throughout Montgomery. The boycott was also publicized via churches and the Montgomery Advertiser.  

​The 1-day boycott was held on Monday, December 5, 1955. The boycott was so successful that Montgomery’s Black community wanted it to continue. Several members of the community met at Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and elected Martin Luther King, Jr. as the president. The MIA agreed that the boycott would continue until the following demands were met: the end of all public transportation segregation; Black bus drivers were hired; and Black riders were treated with respect. The NAACP and MIA developed strategies to ensure transportation would be provided to Black Montgomery residents. Robinson was offered but did not accept a position with the MIA. She did, however, quietly support the organization with their efforts. Robinson was also arrested, along with other Black boycotters, several times. She also was threatened, and her car was destroyed with acid by Montgomery police officers.  

​Two months after the boycott began, civil rights activists Fred Gray, E. D. Nixon, and Clifford and Virginia Durr reconsidered Colvin’s arrest. With Auriella Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith – all of whom had been arrested for refusing to give up their seats on Montgomery buses – Browder v. Gayle was filed in the U.S. District Court by Gray. Citing the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th Amendment, the District Court decided 2-1 that Montgomery’s bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. Both the City of Montgomery and State of Alabama appealed, but the Supreme Court affirmed the District Court’s decision on November 13, 1956, subsequently ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott.   ​​