SIUC Observes 50th Anniversary of Montgomery Bus Boycott

Fifty years ago more than 5,000 people boycotted Montgomery, Ala., buses in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks, a 43-year-old black seamstress who refused to give her seat to a white passenger.

For the event's anniversary, Patricia Mayberry, a member of the SIUC Black Alumni Group, and Lori Crenshaw Bryant, student legal assistant, gave a lecture titled "A Journey from Brown to Montgomery." Bryant opened by telling the audience about the boycott.

"Definitely we need to talk about our history," Bryant said. "If you don't know where you've been, you can't know where you're going." Parks was arrested on a Friday. By Monday 90 percent of blacks were finding other ways to get to work. Civil rights activists printed 52,000 fliers for what they intended to be a one-day boycott. Instead it lasted 381 days.

"They wanted this to be for the people," Bryant said. "So they put it to the people: 'Should we prolong the boycott?' They said yes." Bryant said black taxi owners made fares equal to bus costs, and the city responded by raising fares. Bryant said people driving blacks to work were harassed by the police, but they stuck with the protest. "This wasn't easy. These people went through harassment to make it better for them, their children and their whole country," Bryant said. "They gave up a lot for what we have now."

Bryant said the Supreme Court eventually ordered the buses to desegregate, but Parks suffered for it. Bryant said Parks was fired and harassed. Parks moved to Detroit because she couldn't find work in Montgomery. "Let's appreciate, let's honor what she did, but let's also appreciate the sacrifice she made," Bryant said. After Bryant had given the audience background about the boycott, Mayberry traced the steps made to get there. Mayberry said civil rights activists were prepared for the boycott because cases like Parks' had happened before. "They had fliers ready," Mayberry said. "All they needed was the place and the date."

Mayberry said Parks was perfect for their cause. "Rosa Parks is the perfect candidate," Mayberry said. "On the exterior, she's quiet, respectful. Beneath that calm, quiet, prim and proper exterior beat the heart of a rebel." In February 2004, Mayberry and Bryant prepared a lecture for the 50th anniversary of Brown v. the Board of Education, which abolished segregation in public schools. Mayberry said she had no background on the bus boycott before coming across it while researching Brown.

"I was from Chicago. It was hard for me to conceptualize not being able to sit wherever you want on the bus," Mayberry said. Mayberry and her partner Bryant said they are not done with their work. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," Mayberry said. "The issues haven't faded. They've just morphed."