Hidden in Plain Sight: Black Female Leadership in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
This lesson brings forward the stories of Black women and girls whose activism and leadership were key to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Founding Members of the Women’s Political Council,1950.
Source: Levi Watkins Learning Center, Alabama State University.
This political and civic engagement organization was formed by Mary Fair Burks in 1946. The group was primarily focused on increasing voter registration and civic engagement among Black Americans. The WPC also was very instrumental in the Montgomery Bus Boycott as the second president, Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, made the desegregation of public transportation the WPC’s main goal. The WPC successfully implemented the 1-day boycott after Rosa Parks’ arrest, and Robinson and other WPC members supported the Montgomery Improvement Association during the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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