She kept her seat--and changed America.In 1955, African Americans began to demand equal rights as citizens. At the time, segregation--the separation of the races--was not only the law in much of the South, but also a way of life. Blacks were not allowed to use the same public facilities as whites. Water fountains, public bathrooms, and even restaurants were marked, "For whites only," and "For colored [blacks] only." One year earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled, in Brown v. Board of Education Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) (1954) U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. , that segregated schools were illegal. African Americans prepared themselves to fight segregation throughout the South. But no one knew exactly when or where the struggle for equality would begin. The battleground soon moved to Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital and second most populous city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Montgomery is notable for its historic involvement during the Civil War, for being the first capital of the Confederacy, and for being a primary site in , where city buses were segregated. The seats in front were reserved for whites, while blacks suffered the indignity in·dig·ni·ty n. pl. in·dig·ni·ties 1. Humiliating, degrading, or abusive treatment. 2. A source of offense, as to a person's pride or sense of dignity; an affront. 3. of always having to sit in the back of the bus. It was a simple act by an ordinary woman that sparked an extraordinary movement. SCENE ONE Narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. A: On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks Noun 1. Rosa Parks - United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national Civil Rights movement (born in 1913) Parks , a black woman, boards a Montgomery city bus after working all day in a local department store. Seeing that the black section is full, Parks finds a seat in a middle row. As the bus continues with its stops, the front section, for whites, fills up. One white man is left standing. James Blake
Narrator A: Rosa Parks doesn't move. Blake: Look, woman, are you going to stand up? Rosa Parks: No. Blake: Then I'll have you arrested. Narrator A: Blake calls the police. Two officers soon arrive. Police officer (to Parks): Why didn't you stand up? Parks: Why do you all push us around? Police officer: I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. , but the law is the law, and you're under arrest! Narrator A: Parks is arrested and jailed. Hours later, E. D. Nixon, a civil rights leader, posts bond, and Parks is released. Parks: I know I will never, never ride a segregated city bus again. E. d. Nixon: Mrs. Parks, would you be willing to be a test case against segregation? This could be the chance we've been waiting for. Parks: Do you think we can win? Nixon: Yes--but we might have to appeal your case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Parks: I need to talk it over with my family. My husband and I could lose our jobs and our home--or worse. I'll let you know. Narrator A: Word spreads about the incident. That night, Jo Ann Robinson Jo Ann Gibson Robinson (1912-1992) was a civil rights activist and educator in Montgomery, Alabama. Born near Culloden, Georgia, she was the youngest of twelve children. She attended Fort Valley State College and then became a public school teacher in Macon, where she was married , a professor, calls a meeting of the Women's Political Council The Women's Political Council was an organization that was part of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Members included Mary Fair Burks, Jo Ann Robinson, Irene West, and Uretta Adair. . Jo Ann Robinson: Did you hear about the arrest of Rosa Parks? This has gone on too long! The way to fight this is to boycott the city buses. We must make white folks understand that we will not accept this kind of treatment. Council member: You're right. Let's put out a leaflet urging black people to stay off the buses Monday to protest Parks's arrest. Narrator A: Rosa Parks agrees to be a test case against segregation. The next day, black ministers and civil rights leaders Below is a list of civil rights leaders:
SCENE TWO Narrator B: Early Monday morning, Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King (April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was the wife of the assassinated civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., and a noted civil rights leader, author, singer, and founder and former president of the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. looks out her front window and sees a city bus. Coretta Scott King: Martin, come quickly! Martin Luther King Jr.: It's empty! The bus is empty! Narrator B: Almost all of Montgomery's black citizens stay off the buses. That night, there is a mass meeting to decide if the boycott should continue. King: We are here this evening to say to those who have mistreated us so long that we are tired--tired of being segregated and humiliated hu·mil·i·ate tr.v. hu·mil·i·at·ed, hu·mil·i·at·ing, hu·mil·i·ates To lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect of. See Synonyms at degrade. ; tired of being kicked around by the brutal feet of oppression.... If you will protest courageously, and yet with Christian love the historians will have to pause and say, "There lived a great people--a black people--who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization." Narrator B: The crowd applauds King's words. Rosa Parks is introduced, then Reverend Abernathy speaks. Ralph Abernathy Ralph David Abernathy (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was an American civil rights leader. Abernathy was born the son of a farmer in Linden, Alabama. After serving in the army during World War II, he enrolled at Alabama State University, in Montgomery, Alabama, : Here are our demands. One: Polite treatment from bus drivers; two: first-come, first-served “FCFS” redirects here. For the figure skating competition, see Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. This article is about a general service policy. For the technical concept, see FIFO. seating, with blacks sitting from the rear forward, whites from the front; and three: the hiring of black bus drivers for routes in mostly black neighborhoods. Nixon: All in favor, stand up. Narrator B: The crowd rises and roars its approval. The boycott will continue. SCENE THREE Narrator C: Black leaders present their demands at a meeting with the allwhite Montgomery City Council. Jack Crenshaw cren·shaw also cran·shaw n. A variety of winter melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) having a greenish-yellow rind and sweet, usually salmon-pink flesh. [Origin unknown.] : The time is not right in Montgomery for hiring Negro drivers, but who can say what will happen in 10 years. Robinson: We don't mean 10 years. We mean this year! Crenshaw: Segregation is the law! King: Our people have been segregated and humiliated too long! Crenshaw: If we grant the Negroes these demands, they'll boast of victory over the white people. We will not stand for this! Narrator C: The city rejects the demands, and the boycott continues. But a way must be found for getting people to their jobs. Black leaders organize car pools. City officials fight back by arresting car-pool drivers for real and imagined traffic offenses. There are not enough cars for everyone to ride. Girl: Grandma, can't we take the bus just once? It's pouring down rain! Grandmother: No, honey. I've sat in the back of enough buses. My feet are tired, but my soul is rested. SCENE FOUR Narrator D: As the boycott drags on, King and others are threatened with violence. One evening at church... Abernathy: Martin, come quickly! Your house has been bombed! Narrator D: King rushes home to his wife and infant daughter. King: Are you OK? Coretta King: We're fine--just shaken up. King: I want you to go to Atlanta and stay with my father. You and the baby will be safe there. Coretta King: No. If you're staying, I'm staying. Narrator D: An angry crowd of black neighbors has gathered outside. Some in the crowd have guns. Man 1 in Crowd: Who did this to Reverend King? Man 2 in Crowd: We have to fight back! Narrator D: King, realizing that he must do something to prevent a riot, speaks to the crowd. King: My wife and baby are OK. We must meet hate with love. Remember, if I am stopped, the movement will not stop, because God is with this movement. Put away your weapons. We cannot solve this problem with violence. Narrator D: People leave peacefully. SCENE FIVE Narrator E: In February, the city charges more than 100 black leaders with violating anti-boycott laws. Nixon: Let's not Let's Not is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in Boston University Graduate Journal in December 1954. It was written for no payment as a favour to the journal, and later appeared in the collection Buy Jupiter. hide from arrest. We have nothing to be ashamed of! Narrator E: The leaders turn themselves in at the police station. King, who is out of town, surrenders the next day. King (to police officer): Are you looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. me? Well, here I am. Narrator E: At the trial, many black citizens testify about the humiliations they have suffered on city buses. Fred D. Gray: Surely, sir, this shows there are grounds for the boycott. Judge: The defendants broke the law. I find them guilty as charged. Narrator E: The case is appealed. Donations pour in from all over the world to support the boycott. Meanwhile, the bus company loses $3,200 a day. SCENE SIX Narrator F: Rosa Parks's case, challenging the segregation law, gets bogged down in state court. The NAACP NAACP in full National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization. It was founded in 1909 to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for African Americans; W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. files a new case in U.S. District Court. In June, by a two-to-one vote, the U.S. District Court rules that segregation on Montgomery city buses is unconstitutional. But the city appeals the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the boycott continues. Then in October, a new threat arises ... Abernathy: Martin, the city has brought a new lawsuit. It charges us with illegally running a transportation franchise without a license. If the city wins this case, we'll have to shut down the car pools. That will kill the boycott. King: This may be the darkest hour before the dawn. We must believe that a way will be found. Narrator F: On Nov. 13, 1956, a court hears the city's case. Suddenly, the mayor and police commissioner, and their lawyers, are called out of the room. Moments later, a reporter hands King a piece of paper. Rex Thomas: Here is the decision you've been waiting for. King (reading): "The U.S. Supreme Court today affirmed a decision of a special three-judge U.S. District Court in declaring Alabama's state and local laws supporting segregation on buses unconstitutional." Abernathy: We've won! We've won! Narrator F: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling means that Montgomery's public buses can no longer discriminate against black riders. Riders are now free to sit wherever they want. EPILOGUE ep·i·logue also ep·i·log n. 1. a. A short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a play. b. The performer who delivers such a short poem or speech. 2. The Montgomery Bus Boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a mass protest by African American citizens in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, against Segregation policies on the city's public buses. It was nine years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would change the nation forever. showed that nonviolent protest could help bring an end to segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. went on to lead many other battles in the civil rights movement. In 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is the name of one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. . In 1968, an assassin's bullet killed King. But the ideals he stood for live on. CHARACTERS James Blake, a white bus driver Rosa Parks, a seamstress and member of the National Association of Colored People (NAACP) Police officer E. D. Nixon, a civil rights leader Jo Ann Robinson, leader of the Women's Political Council at Alabama State College * Council member Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama founded in 1877. Vernon Johns, an early leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, served as pastor from 1947 to 1952. He was succeeded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's wife Ralph Abernathy, a minister and civil rights leader Jack Crenshaw, a white attorney for the bus lines * Girl * Grandmother * Man 1 in crowd * Man 2 in crowd Fred D. Gray, a black attorney Judge Rex Thomas, a reporter * Narrators A-F * fictional characters This is a list of fictional characters. It has been expanded into the following lists:
Your Turn
Word Match
__ 1. segregation A. refuse to use
__ 2. boycott B. illegal
__ 3. oppression C. separation
__ 4. unconstitutional D. persecution
__ 5. affirm E. declare true
ANSWERS 1. C 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. E 1. Why did Martin Luther King Jr. urge nonviolence, even when faced with violence by others? 2. Why did the boycott succeed? CIVIL RIGHTS TIME LINE 1954--U.S. Supreme Court declares segregation in schools unconstitutional. 1955--Montgomery Bus Boycott begins 1956--U.S. Supreme Court ends segregation on Alabama buses. 1957--Schools in Little Rock. Arkansas, are integrated. 1960--Students begin sit-ins at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina “Greensboro” redirects here. For other uses, see Greensboro (disambiguation). Greensboro, North Carolina (IPA: [ɡɹiːnsbʌɹəʊ]) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. . 1961--Freedom Riders who ride buses to protest segregated facilities in the South, are beaten by mobs. 1963--Four young black girls are killed in a Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham (pronounced [ˈbɝmɪŋˌhæm]) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County. church bombing March on Washington. 1964--Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. wins Nobel Peace Prize. 1964--President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act Voting Rights Act Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to ensure the voting rights of African Americans. Though the Constitution's 15th Amendment (passed 1870) had guaranteed the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” of 1965. 1968--Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. . |
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