Not so long ago, many places in our country had laws that were unfair to Black people. These laws kept Black people and White people separate. For example, some places had laws that Black people had to ride in the back of a bus. If a White person needed a seat, a Black person had to give up theirs. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a White man in Montgomery, Alabama. The police took her to jail.
When the Black people in Montgomery heard what happened to Ms. Parks, they started a boycott. They stopped riding the bus to work and to school. The bus companies lost a lot of money. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted for 13 months before the unfair law finally changed.
Rosa Parks’ brave action started the boycott and made her a hero. But there were other heroes that you might not know about. For example, have you heard of Claudette Colvin? She was a 15-year-old girl who also refused to give up her bus seat to a White passenger. She was dragged off the bus and taken to jail. Colvin’s brave act in March of 1955 sparked the idea for Rosa Parks’ action nine months later.
Georgia Gilmore was another hero of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Gilmore was a cook. She set up a restaurant in her home. She cooked meals for boycotters. She also started a group of women called the “Club from Nowhere.” These women raised money to help boycotters pay for rides to work while they weren’t taking the bus.
What Do You Think? What about Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and Georgia Gilmore makes them heroes?
Photo Credit: Archive PL/Alamy Stock Photo
