The Montgomery Bus Boycott Critique - Essay Example

THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT – DIFFERENT VIEWS here Your number here here number here here College name here Date here Just your last name here 2 Summary of The Montgomery Bus Boycott On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42 year old black woman named Rosa Parks entered a public city bus, paid her fare, and sat down in the first two rows of the black section of the bus. In that year Montgomery had a municipal law which required Negroes or “colored people” as they were then called, to sit in the back of city buses. When white men entered the bus, the driver of the bus ordered Mrs. Parks to move to the back of the bus. Mrs. Parks refused to do so and was arrested by the police. One of the leaders of the black community at that time was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. who, with other black leaders, saw this incident as the perfect opportunity to protest Montgomery’s segregation laws. (Koeller1996). The Montgomery Improvement Association was formed during the evening of the day the protest began (December 5, 1955) electing the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. as president. A protest was organized by the black leaders on a massive scale. Forty thousand hand flyers were printed and handed out. Over 90 percent of the usual black bus riders did not ride the city buses. Leaders of the protest were harassed by white reactionaries, sometimes violently. Those protesters riding in carpools were harassed by police. (Koeller1996). In November of 1956, the US Supreme court declared that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional ending the boycott. The boycott made Martin Luther King a national figure giving him a leadership position in the civil rights movement and demonstrated that nonviolent protest could be successful. This event shaped the course of the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. (Koeller1996). Just your last name here 3 Statement of Purpose The purpose of this essay is to examine the way the Montgomery bus boycott was reported in the mainstream and Afro American press. At the outset it is noteworthy that the state of Alabama and the city of Montgomery had no problem with having such a segregation law. Therefore, since blacks were the victims of the segregation ordinance I expected to find differences in the way the incident was reported depending on who was telling the story. Discussion People are diverse. Newspapers are diverse. The differences between mainstream reporting and the reporting of the African American press is not strictly a black and white issue, so to speak. A common theme that does differentiate between the two, however, is that blacks felt the issue deeply and emotionally while the mainstream press, not being personally affected, for the most part, by the segregation laws reported more on a factual basis. An example of the issue of pride and how the then called “negroes” or “colored people” felt can be seen in a April 3, 1956 Washington Afro American newspaper article with the headline “700 at Metropolitan Baptist Hear Alabama Boycott Minister.” Reverend French addressing the assembled stated, “They put us in jail when we rode the bus and they put us in jail when we stopped riding the bus.” “Today we feel that we are being used by God. We have developed a sense of dignity that’s out of this world. Today we feel like we’re somebody.” The article also demonstrated the principal of how spreading the word about the boycott and instilling a sense of pride amongst the black protestors was a big part of the boycott’s success. Just your last name here 4 The mainstream press was much more factual in its reporting. One such example would be The New York Times January 1, 1956 article with the headline, “Negroes’ Boycott Cripples Bus Line. Carriers in Montgomery, Ala Increases Fares to Offset Loss of Business.” This article stated in a matter of fact style the amount of the losses and the fare increases. This was the view of an outsider looking in. The Washington Afro American newspaper, however, seized the opportunity to convey the emotion of the situation whenever the opportunity arose. This is demonstrated by the Washington Afro American newspaper citing mainstream papers when the editors of the Washington Afro American felt the mainstream papers got it right. At the time, being part of or organizing a boycott was illegal in itself. Following the arrest of some of the boycotters, the Washington Afro American reported on February 7, 1956, “A cold and deliberate conspiracy to incite colored citizens to violence is plainly taking shape in Alabama,” citing The New York Times. In that same article was a cite of The New York Post which stated, “The boycott was a quiet, orderly and impressive protest against the senseless humiliations inflicted upon colored people riding the Montgomery bus lines.” Finally, citing The Philadelphia Bulletin, “If Montgomery Alabama is interested in the improvement of interracial relations, it appears at this distance to be off on the wrong track.” Such supportive statements from the mainstream press, however, were not frequent in the early stages of the boycott. On January 22, 1956 The New York Times reported that “The (city) commission (of Montgomery) said ‘definite policies’ would be set up within the framework of Alabama segregation law.” I could not find this type of inflammatory statement in any African Just your last name here 5 American newspaper where such a statement stood alone without attacking the very idea of a segregation law. Similarly, on January 24, 1956 The New York Times reported, “The city commission (of Montgomery) had offered to institute a plan reserving ten seats in the front of busses for whites and ten seats in the rear for Negroes. On February 23, 1956 The New York Times continued to report in this matter of fact style with the headline “Negro Leaders Arrested in Alabama Bus Boycott.” The article was of the classic who, what, where and when newspaper variety. However, as time went on the mainstream newspapers began to look more closely at the issues and the people affected by them. This shift is seen when on March 4, 1956 a more introspective article was written in the New York Times with the headline “Montgomery is Stage for Tense Drama.” This article took a more in depth look at the situation and the reasons for the unrest by the blacks with the observation. “What was peculiar there (Montgomery) was the presence in recent years of a handful of very intelligent well educated young Negro leaders uncompromising in their opposition to segregation.” Religious leaders began to speak on the issues. On March 25, 1956 The New York Times headlined “Rabbi Criticizes Bus Boycott Case.” In that article Rabbi William F Rosenblum, a Jew and a white person, criticized the conviction of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and negro clergyman leading the bus boycott. The article pointed out the religious obligation not to engage in this type of behavior because it is morally and inherently wrong. Just your last name here 6 On April 29, 1956 the Christian message of reconciliation was advocated in a New York Times article with the headline “Students Weigh Solution of Bias.” While this transformation of the mainstream press from a more factual based press reporting to exploring the morality of the segregation law in Montgomery was taking place, the African American press stayed true to its prior course. Sammy Davis, Jr. stated in his book “Why Me?” that Richard Nixon as President was very sympathetic and pro-active toward black causes. On April 2, 1957 the Washington Afro American reported that then Vice President Richard Nixon invited Reverend King to the White house. It was further reported in that article that King called Nixon “open minded.” Finally, on June 6, 1956 The Washington Afro American praised bus workers who refused to back segregation polices but noted the backlash reporting that, “the white citizens’ Councils, mushrooming from the hate beds of the south, are spreading their racists poisons through an alarming large number of our states. By economic intimidation and the encouragement of mob violence and murder…” Conclusion No one can convey the emotions of an intense situation such as occurred in Montgomery, Alabama with such deep conviction and feeling as the people directly affected by it. This applies to the people working at newspapers as well which is aptly demonstrated by the Montgomery bus boycott. Sometimes issues are so emotionally charged that the type of reporting done changes over time as a result of recognition of the inherent wrong in such a situation. This is Just your last name here 7 certainly a correct assessment as it applies to the Montgomery bus boycott and the newspaper coverage given to it. Just your last name here 8 Bibliography Koeller, David., United States of America Chronology. The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1996). http://www. thenagain.info/webchron/usa/montbus.html/. Accessed May 4, 2011. The New York Times. 1/1/56 through 4/29/56. The Washington African American. 2/7/56 through 6/6/56. Read More