Dec. 5, 1955

The National City Lines bus, No. 2857, on which Rosa Parks rode before she was arrested is on exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum. Credit: Wikipedia

The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on this day. Most of the 50,000 Black workers living in Montgomery supported the boycott by walking, bicycling and car-pooling. The boycott was organized by the local chapter of the NAACP led by Pullman porter E. D. Edgar Nixon. 

“We’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city. And we are not wrong,” new minister Martin Luther King Jr. declared. “If we are wrong, the Supreme Court is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong.” 

Months later, the homes of King and Nixon were bombed, and when that didn’t stop the boycott, authorities arrested King and ordered him to pay $500 and serve more than a year in jail. Despite this, the boycott continued. 

Nearly a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional, and the victory inspired the Civil Rights Movement. 

“We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation,” King said. “We decided to substitute tired feet for tired souls and walk the streets of Montgomery.’’

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.