Rosa Parks og busboykotten i Montgomery

I thought it would be a normal day, but I was wrong. It was December 1, 1955. My name is Jack. I was at that time 27 years old.

I was living in Montgomery in Alabama. This day I was on my way to work, just like Rosa Parks and many other black and white people, and as always by bus. I was sitting in the "colored section" because I was black, and at that time white and black people were not allowed to sit together. At that time black people didn´t have many rights at all.

I remember how all the white people in the bus ignored us or looked down on us black people. It was a terrible time.

I remember the whole situation. I sat diagonally opposite her. All the seats in the bus were completely filled, when a white person entered the bus. The bus driver white asked Rosa Parks and two other black people to stand up, so that the white man could sit down. The two other black people got up, but Rosa Parks refused to get up. She was tired of giving in. Everyone in the bus were shocked including me. The bus driver, James F. Blakes, told her, that she would be arrested, if she did not get up. I was completely speechless. The bus driver got very angry and then contacted the police and she was arrested and taken to jail. Then she was given a date for trail and released. News of what had happened spread quickly. Black people were tired of bus segregation. They found it humiliating. Now black people had the opportunity to challenge the bus laws. The next day black people in Montgomery boycotted the busses to show support for Rosa Parks, and the boycott of the Montgomery buses lasted for over a year. It was very tough for the buses, as we - the black people -usually made up 75% of the passengers. The bus system went bankrupt. But we won the case. The authorities softened a little in the rules on racial segregation in the buses.