To Walk in Dignity: The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955
Although Dr Martin Luther King’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott was significant, it has drawn attention away from the key grassroots leaders that initiated the protest that transformed into an internationally significant social justice movement.
Summary
Carson highlights the grassroots leaders and their roles that contributed to the social change that occurred after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Drawing attention to King’s impressive role in the boycott, and that King had a great understanding of the historical importance and deeper set issues this movement would stand for, despite leaders being unsure of the goals they were trying to achieve. Carson argues that the grassroots leaders have been overlooked, and claims “a King centered perspective. . . is misleading. . . and distorts understanding of the subsequent decade of southern African American struggles”.
Although King was a well-known leader, practicing non-violent activism, the protests were the result of a “long history of activism” from different demographic classes and education backgrounds. Carson stresses this with his statement “it is vital that we see what happened . . . as a social justice struggle that was sustained by many grassroots leaders apart from King”. Rosa Parks, who had a history of activism, was arrested when she refused to give her seat to a white male on the city bus. It was Parks that suggested to King, to become involved with the NAACP. Carson mentions E.D Nixon, a respected civil rights activist, who had worked with Parks, and offered his house as bond for her release from jail. He generated support for the boycott, an idea that had been visited prior, when Claudette Colvin was also arrested for disobeying segregation seating rules. A former Pastor, Vernon Johns, and Ralph Abernathy, a Baptist minister, and the community members, supported King, who had a growing reputation as a strong activist and eloquent speaker, transition to the NAACP where Parks extended an invitation to join the committee. King had reservations about taking on the responsibilities of leading the boycott, due to his family obligations, though Nixon was adamant that King was the best suited to lead the people in the boycott.
Carson reflects on King’s speeches and performance and the effectiveness his practice of non-violent activism, despite the violence that met him. King stood strong. King performed the leadership role remarkably, contributing to the victory of the social justice movement that involved many.
Carson states the movement needed the people who were from all classes and educational backgrounds, to play the roles necessary to create change. From the lawyers to challenge the segregation laws and help spread the awareness of injustice, and the leaders to enforce Ghandi’s principles of non-violence activism, and the organisers who helped bring the boycott together, they were all key members of the movement.
Critical Analysis
Carson has written this article in the lead up to the 50th anniversary of the boycott, for the Magazine of American History. The article conveys the fact that although King understood the essence of the boycott, he did not initiate this movement.
Carson is a Professor of History at Stanford University and has dedicated his career to the Martin Luther King Jnr. Papers Project, This puts Carson in a strong position to write on the Montgomery Bus Boycott and draw on his own writing to support his article. Carson has also referred to the minutes taken by Rosa Parks during meetings with other members of the boycott.
Carson highlights the grassroots leaders who initiated the boycott by introducing them throughout the article and gives a brief description on their roles. He has used enough information to lightly educate the reader if the reader was not familiar with the boycott.
When describing King’s involvement, Carson refers to King’s non-violent methods of protest. In a similar text, Aldon Morris, a professor of sociology, supports this tactic and believes that “The widespread use and development of non-violent direct-action tactics is one of the crowning achievements of the civil rights movement”. Both writers support the Gandhi and Luther Philosophies of Non-violence, as Attri, shows argues “Gandhi and Luther were the real visionaries who through the use of non-violence gave new direction to the freedom struggle”.
Carson believes that King’s involvement has overshadowed the real struggles the Negro people suffered. On the contrary, perhaps it is because of King’s strong values and practices that many activism campaigns are formed on the same non-violence principles that King demonstrated. Perhaps King’s methods are ideal for activism today in the digital world. In todays society, we are dealing with some of the same issues as we were 30 years ago, however, violence is less tolerated in society and punishments for violence may be harsher than years ago. Therefore, non-violence activism is more common than violent action activism. If King was transformed by this movement as Carson claims, it is likely that a “King centred perspective” (2005, 2) of the boycott does not “distort the understanding” of those struggles.
Referencing
- Morris, Aldon. D. 1999. “A Retrospective on the Civil Rights Movement: Political and Intellectual Landmarks.” Annual Review of Sociology 23: 533 http://www.jstor.org/stable/223515
- 2016. “Clayborne Carson Full Bio” The Martin Luther King Jnr. Research and Education Institute , accessed November 1, 2019, http://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/news/clayborne-carson-full-bio-0
- Carson, Clayborne. 2017. The Martin Luther King Jnr. Research and Education Institute. http://www.kinginstitute.stanford.edu/
- Carson, Clayborne. 2005. “To Walk in Dignity: The Montgomery Bus Boycott.” OAH Magazine of History 19, no. 1 (January): 13-15.
- Carson greater detail - https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott
