The first event is the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This event took place in Montgomery, Alabama and was led by Martin Luther King Jr and lasted 381 days (Guggenheim). Martin Luther King Jr. asked everyone (mostly African Americans) to boycott riding the city bus and encouraged them to walk. Montgomery city buses started losing money. So after more than a year of boycotting, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses is unconstitutional. This event showed the country that when everybody works together, change can happen. It also proved that non-violent acts are more efficient than violent …show more content…
The marches took place in Selma, Alabama, March 1965. The marches were lead by Martin Luther King Jr. and African Americans (and more) marched for voting rights (Brummel). This event helped African Americans get voting rights, but it didn’t come easy. During the marches, police officers beat the marchers back into Selma. Tons were injured and it made national news. After Bloody Sunday, President Johnson released a statement basically saying he is on the marchers side (Brummel). After the Voting Rights Act, there was 250,000 new black voters (Brummel). The Civil Rights movement was a brutal, but worth it movement. The oppressive attitudes of Southerners made it hard to fight for equality, it being so hard that some innocent people were killed in the process. Segregation, unequal job opportunities, harassment, violence, etc. all showed how hateful most Southerners were. And without the many events and sacrifices that African Americans went through, our world would not be how it is