Freedom Walkers

Summary

After several black women, including Rosa Parks, refused to give up their seats to white bus riders, African-American ministers in Montgomery, Alabama organized a bus boycott to demand equal treatment under the law. For months, participants in the boycott walked or caught rides in car pools. At night, they gathered to hear inspiring speeches from leaders, including the young Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to the bus boycott, lawyers issued a lawsuit threatening the legality of the city bus laws. Despite mistreatment by white police and violence against boycott leaders, the community persisted, using nonviolent tactics to demand fair treatment and an end to segregation.