Montgomery Bus Boycott Quotes

“do the rosa parks
say no no

do the rosa parks
throw your hand in the air

do the rosa parks
say ... no no

do the rosa parks
tell them: that ain't fair”
― Nikki Giovanni, Acolytes

“Rosa Parks drew solace & sustenance from the long history of Black resistance before her time, placing her action & the Montgomery bus boycott in the continuum of Black protest. Her speech notes during the boycott read: 'Reading histories of others--Crispus Attucks through all wars--Richard Allen--Dr. Adam Clayton Powell Sr. & Jr. Women Phyllis Wheatley--Sojourner Truth--Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune. For Parks, the ability to keep going, to know that the struggle for justice was possible amidst all the setbacks they encountered, was partly possible through reading & referencing the long Black struggle before her.”
― Jeanne Theoharis, A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History

“Together with a number of Negro and white reporters, I attended [Martin Luther] King's packed church. He spoke simply, emphasizing the nonviolent nature of the struggle, and told his congregation: "We are concerned not merely to win justice in the buses but rather to behave in a new and different way--to be nonviolent so that we may remove injustice itself, both from society and from ourselves. This is a struggle which we cannot lose, no matter what the apparent outcome, if we ourselves succeed in becoming better and more loving people.”
― Bayard Rustin, Down the Line: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin

“This morning Reverend [Martin Luther] King invited me to attend a meeting of the protest committee. The committee decided not to hold any more mass meetings but only prayer meetings. This was to emphasize the moral nature of the struggle. The meetings will center around five prayers:

A prayer for the success of the meeting.

A prayer for strength of spirit to carry on nonviolently.

A prayer for strength of body to walk for freedom.

A prayer for those who oppose us.

A prayer that all men may become brothers to live in justice and equality.”
― Bayard Rustin, Down the Line: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin