Movement1955
Rosa Parks Arrested, Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins
Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day mass protest led by a young Martin Luther King Jr. that ended with a Supreme Court ruling desegregating public buses.
Why It Matters
Parks's act of civil disobedience and the boycott it inspired demonstrated the power of nonviolent protest and collective action to challenge unjust laws.