From MLK, Jr regarding bus integration

[BDBoop]

Martin Luther King: Montgomery Improvement Association advice for riding desegregated busses

In June 1956, a federal district court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional; the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in November 1956. The MIA waited until December to declare an end to the boycott, wanting to make sure that the ruling would be carried out in Montgomery. Dr. King signaled the official end of the boycott by boarding an integrated bus on Dec. 21, 1956.

Gandhi-inspired civil rights leaders Glenn E. Smiley and Bayard Rustin advised King and the MIA during the boycott. This document shows how far the philosophy of non-violence had permeated the movement by the time of this victory.

Protestors riding newly integrated busses were told to ride with an ally (“Try to get on the bus with a friend in whose non-violence you have confidence”) and to avoid conflict at all junctures (“Do not deliberately sit by a white person, unless there is no other seat”; “If cursed, do not curse back”).

What an amazing bit of history.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Martin Luther King: Montgomery Improvement Association advice for riding desegregated busses

In June 1956, a federal district court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional; the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in November 1956. The MIA waited until December to declare an end to the boycott, wanting to make sure that the ruling would be carried out in Montgomery. Dr. King signaled the official end of the boycott by boarding an integrated bus on Dec. 21, 1956.

Gandhi-inspired civil rights leaders Glenn E. Smiley and Bayard Rustin advised King and the MIA during the boycott. This document shows how far the philosophy of non-violence had permeated the movement by the time of this victory.

Protestors riding newly integrated busses were told to ride with an ally (“Try to get on the bus with a friend in whose non-violence you have confidence”) and to avoid conflict at all junctures (“Do not deliberately sit by a white person, unless there is no other seat”; “If cursed, do not curse back”).

What an amazing bit of history.

"Be loving enough to absorb evil and understanding enough to turn an enemy into a friend".


Absolutely cool. Deep stuff. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BDBoop]

You are most welcome.

 

[whitehall]

It seems that the democrat party was the problem.

 

[oldfart]

What an amazing bit of history.

At the time I had an aunt living in a small town a few miles from Selma. She was involved in desegregation in central Alabama in the 60s and 70s. There is a lot more to the story than gets told now, but I'll limit myself to a couple of comments.

First, in that period virtually all of the groups, including SNCC and others who were at odds with MLK were committed to non-violence.

Second, that the friction arose because King and his associates based in Atlanta had from an early stage developed a national press following. Local groups which started an action and were exposed to far more danger than King understandable were miffed when MLK swooped in with an adoring national press to "organize" things.

MLK never came to most of the places where the fight for equal rights was actually fought. He and the SCLC were not among the Freedom Riders nor were they organizers of Freedom Summer. He was never in Mississippi, but was kind enough to use it in his most memorable speech. The movement had a saying, "There is a street in Canton called Peace; there is a town in Mississippi called Liberty; there is a department in Washington called Justice." To that I could add "There was a leader called King."

I respect King for what he did, but in his lifetime he was never the iconic leader portrayed today. He has become a socially useful myth that lets everyone forget and ignore what really happened in the South, and those who changed it at great cost. Perhaps I will feel differently when Medgar Evers, Ed King, Anne Moody, Stockley Charmichael, and Frank Parker make it into the history books.

 

[oldfart]

Martin Luther King: Montgomery Improvement Association advice for riding desegregated busses

In June 1956, a federal district court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional; the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in November 1956. The MIA waited until December to declare an end to the boycott, wanting to make sure that the ruling would be carried out in Montgomery. Dr. King signaled the official end of the boycott by boarding an integrated bus on Dec. 21, 1956.

Gandhi-inspired civil rights leaders Glenn E. Smiley and Bayard Rustin advised King and the MIA during the boycott. This document shows how far the philosophy of non-violence had permeated the movement by the time of this victory.

Protestors riding newly integrated busses were told to ride with an ally (“Try to get on the bus with a friend in whose non-violence you have confidence”) and to avoid conflict at all junctures (“Do not deliberately sit by a white person, unless there is no other seat”; “If cursed, do not curse back”).

What an amazing bit of history.

Bumping a thread that deserves it. Easter is an excellent time to honor those who risked so much in the cause of decency and human dignity.