Black residents of Montgomery launch a mass boycott of city buses and elect Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association.
At a Glance
- Date
- 5 December 1955
- Location
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Key people
- Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- Montgomery Improvement Association records (1955) · Stanford King Institute
What It Meant Then
It became the first large-scale demonstration of the modern civil rights era.
What It Means Now
The boycott's success after 381 days established nonviolent mass protest as a model.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-montgomery-bus-boycott-begins/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-montgomery-bus-boycott-begins/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-montgomery-bus-boycott-begins/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.