Unit 6: Selection Vocabulary 2

When a white man entered the bus, the driver (following the standard practice of segregation) insisted that all four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the man could sit there.

In cities across the South, segregated bus companies were daily reminders of the inequities of American society.

Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated.

Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated.

Thus, transportation was one of the most volatile arenas for race relations in the South.

That trim name with
its dream of a bench
to rest on.

Her sensible coat.

Doing nothing was the doing:
the clean flame of her gaze
carved by a camera flash.

How she stood up
when they bent down to retrieve
her purse. That courtesy.

How she stood up
when they bent down to retrieve
her purse. That courtesy.

The more we gave in and complied, the worse they treated us.

People have asked me if it occurred to me then that I could be the test case the NAACP had been looking for. I did not think about that at all.

I never thought hard of them at all and never even bothered to criticize them.

So I was denied the chance to drink a sip of water.

Since that was my first arrest, I didn't know if that was more discrimination because I was black or if it was standard practice. But it seemed to me to be more discrimination.