- 06/11/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Term paper writing
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)
term paper RESOURCE GUIDE
In Montgomery , Alabama , on December 1, 1955, a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white man. Forced from the bus and arrested for disobeying the local segregation ordinance, she contested the matter. Within a few days, the city’s African American community instituted a boycott aimed at eradicating the discrimination practiced by the bus company. Led by a young minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Montgomery Improvement Association’s hugely successful boycott lasted for more than a year. In November 1956, the Supreme Court ruled ( Gayle et al . v. Browser ) that the company’s segregation policy was illegal. Both the boycott and the Court’s decision put an end to Montgomery ‘s segregated municipal transportation system.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. Discuss Rosa Parks and her contributions to the civil rights movement during the boycott and in later years.
2. Discuss the role of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the boycott.
3. Analyze why the boycott was successful.
4. What effects did the boycott have on segregated transportation elsewhere?
5. Discuss the long-range consequences of the boycott on the civil rights movement.
Suggested Sources : See entries 60, 64, 71, and 73 for related items.
REFERENCE SOURCES
African American Almanac . 7th ed. Mpho Mabunda, ed. Detroit : Gale, 1997. Standard source in the field; contains a range of historical and current information. Treats events such as the bus boycott in Montgomery .
Civil Rights in America : 1500 to the Present . Jay A. Sigler. Detroit : Gale, 1998. 2 vols. Broad coverage of all aspects of the civil rights struggle, with good coverage of events such as the Montgomery bus boycott.
GENERAL SOURCES
Dornfeld, Margaret. The Turning Tide: From the Desegregation of the Armed Forces to the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1948–1956) . New York : Chelsea House, 1995. Concise history of the civil rights movement over a pivotal eight-year period.
Parks, Rosa, and Gregory J. Reed. Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue with Today’s Youth . New York : Lee&Low Books, 1996. Correspondence between Mrs. Parks and black youngsters providing answers to their questions, encouragement, and advice.
SPECIALIZED SOURCES
Burns, Stewart, ed. Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. Compilation of source material on the boycott; provides insight into the nature of segregated public transportation at the time.
Garrow, David J., ed. The Walking City: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956 . Brooklyn : Carlson Publishing, 1989. Thorough treatment of the boycott with a collection of contributed essays, each examining a separate aspect.
Hughes Wright, Roberta. The Birth of the Montgomery Bus Boycott . Southfield , MI : Charro, 1991. Brief examination of the parts played by Rosa Parks and others in the origin of the boycott.
Leventhal, Willy S., ed. The Children Coming On: A Retrospective of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Oral History of Boycott Participants . Montgomery , AL : Black Belt Press, 1997. Collection of source documents and interviews prepared in commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of the boycott.
Robinson, Jo Ann G. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It: The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson . Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, 1987. Good description of the situation in Montgomery through the personal narrative of a participant.
Siegel, Beatrice. The Year They Walked: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott . NY: Simon&Schuster Children’s, 1992. Brief, easy-to-read history of the Montgomery situation and the actions of the participants in the boycott.
BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES
Friese, Kai. Rosa Parks: The Movement Organizes . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett, 1990. Concise and easy-to-read biography of Rosa Parks and her role in the race relations crisis.
Hull, Mary. Rosa Parks . New York : Chelsea House, 1994. A brief and easy-to-read biography of Parks and her pivotal role in creating the boycott.
Parks, Rosa, and Jim Haskins. Rosa Parks: My Story . New York : Dial Books, 1992. More detailed biography as related by Parks, but still relatively brief.
AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Montgomery to Memphis . Chicago: Films, Inc. Video, 1970. Videocassette. Comprehensive, 29-minute presentation of King’s life from the Montgomery bus boycott to his assassination. Narration by Harry Belafonte and others.
WORLD WIDE WEB
Jones, Ellis M. The Montgomery Bus Boycott Page . September 1997. http://socsci.colorado.edu/ ~jonesem/montgomery.html Contains links to relevant sites and pages such as a periodical article, introductory and biographical informa tion on Rosa Parks, a lesson, and a picture.
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