On Thursday, December 1, 1955, a weary Negro seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a White man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Mrs. Parks was arrested and a new American revolution was born.

Two young Negro ministers in Montgomery, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, decided that night that Negroes should stop paying for humiliation on the city’s buses. Rev. Abernathy agreed to call a meeting for the next day, and dr. King offered the use of his church, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, for the assembly. At the Friday meeting, it was decided that a mass boycott would be called against the bus line. On Saturday, the Negro community was deluged with leaflets about the boycott, and on Sunday announcements came from pulpits of the Negro churches: Negroes would stop riding the buses on Monday, December 5.

At a meeting in Mount Zion A.M.E. Zion Church on the afternoon of December 5, the boycott leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (M.I.A), a name suggested by Rev. Abernathy. Dr. King was elected president and Rev. Abernathy was elected director of the program. The organization became the di

The second distinctive of SCLC is its strong bonds to local churches and its precise orientation to Christianity. Religious faith has been vital to virtually all black organization and movements (1987,Peake). Many of the SCLC leaders were ministers. The centrality of faith and ministerial leadership is apparent in the development of the organization.

The Freedom Riders were severely attacked when they entered the State of Alabama. Members were so badly beaten that CORE had to postpone the duration of the protest. The Freedom Riders finally made it out of Birmingham, Alabama but still ran into trouble in Montgomery. While in Montgomery the Riders were attacked and beaten by mobs. The Kennedy Administration provided the Riders with protection after they had been attacked by mobs. The Freedom Rides helped to educate and stimulate the black community for protest. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) assisted in granting legal services and financing.

SCLC board members were all black, and at least two-thirds were ministers. All but a handful of the ministers were Baptist. Most of the founders and members were from the urban South. In addition, most of SCLC’s founders and board members came from the upper middle class. Few had failed to graduate from college; several had higher degrees and training. They were some of the best educated and dedicated of the black clergy.

In conclusion, each major organization played and experienced an important role in the development of the civil rights movement. Each organizations main background principles and beliefs originated from Christianity. There were many educated and strong-willed black leaders throughout this tremendous era. Without positive black leadership the civil rights movement probably would not be a success. With the strong principle from the church and communities individuals were able to withstand hatred, brutality, and discrimination.

Some topics in this essay:
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