The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the first events to usher in the modern civil rights movement in the United States. Many prominent figures, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, gained national recognition through national and state protests. The Montgomery Bus Boycott included nearly 50,000 participants, all of whom played important roles. Even if they had small parts in the boycott, everyone who participated contributed to a greater cause to bolster a new era of civil rights for African Americans. Jo Ann Robinson was one Montgomery foot soldier. Even though she largely worked behind the scenes, her contributions to the boycott were greatly felt. With her help and others, the Montgomery Bus Boycott will prove significant to the national civil rights movement.
Jo Ann Robinson was born on April 17, 1912, in Culloden, Georgia. She grew up in Macon where she would graduate as valedictorian of her high school class. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Fort Valley State College and taught English for five years in the Macon public school system. Later Robinson pursued her master’s degree in English at Atlanta State University. After teaching briefly at Mary Allen College in Crockett, Texas she moved to Montgomery in 1949 to teach English at Alabama State College. Robinson became an active member of her community participating in the Women’s Political Council (WPC). That same year, she suffered a horrible experience on Montgomery’s bus lines. Robinson was not aware of the laws surrounding bus segregation and sat towards the front of the bus. The bus driver confronted Robison with a hostile tirade full of racist remarks, she then fled the bus confused and terrified. For years, she would make ending bus segregation in Montgomery one of the top priorities of the WPC.
From 1949 to 1955, Jo Ann Robinson and the WPC fought against the city of Montgomery on the issue of bus segregation. Robinson had plans to organize a bus boycott in Montgomery long before Rosa Parks’ arrest. Once Parks was wrongfully jailed, Robinson saw the perfect opportunity to make a change in the city of Montgomery. After getting approval from the WPC, Robinson and some of her students went straight to Alabama State University and utilized their mimeograph machine to print over 30,000 leaflets. These leaflets provided African American citizens of Montgomery with information surrounding an upcoming all-day boycott. Robinson and her colleagues worked tirelessly through the night to create and deliver the message to African American neighborhoods all around Montgomery. She and other members of the WPC offered their cars to give rides to those who needed them. On Monday, December 5, 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began with thousands of African Americans protesting and impeding the Montgomery bus lines. The overwhelming success of the boycott, let to a yearlong protest in Montgomery.
Jo Ann Robinson tirelessly worked behind the scenes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During the boycott, she was an executive board member of the Montgomery Improvement Association. She worked directly with Martin Luther King Jr. on resolving civil issues in Montgomery. The Montgomery Bus Boycott ended in December of 1956 with the United States Supreme Court ruling bus segregation unconstitutional. Robinson’s work proved instrumental to the success of the Montgomery civil rights movement. She was once arrested and often harassed by local police. Yet for many years, she kept her role in the movement a secret as to not compromise her teaching position at Alabama State University. Jo Ann Robinson is a civil rights hero. Her work may not be well known, but it will always be greatly felt in the context of the Alabama and national civil rights movement.
Additional Information:
From 1949 to 1955, Jo Ann Robinson and the WPC fought against the city of Montgomery on the issue of bus segregation. Robinson had plans to organize a bus boycott in Montgomery long before Rosa Parks’ arrest. Once Parks was wrongfully jailed, Robinson saw the perfect opportunity to make a change in the city of Montgomery. After getting approval from the WPC, Robinson and some of her students went straight to Alabama State University and utilized their mimeograph machine to print over 30,000 leaflets. These leaflets provided African American citizens of Montgomery with information surrounding an upcoming all-day boycott. Robinson and her colleagues worked tirelessly through the night to create and deliver the message to African American neighborhoods all around Montgomery. She and other members of the WPC offered their cars to give rides to those who needed them. On Monday, December 5, 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began with thousands of African Americans protesting and impeding the Montgomery bus lines. The overwhelming success of the boycott, let to a yearlong protest in Montgomery.
Jo Ann Robinson tirelessly worked behind the scenes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During the boycott, she was an executive board member of the Montgomery Improvement Association. She worked directly with Martin Luther King Jr. on resolving civil issues in Montgomery. The Montgomery Bus Boycott ended in December of 1956 with the United States Supreme Court ruling bus segregation unconstitutional. Robinson’s work proved instrumental to the success of the Montgomery civil rights movement. She was once arrested and often harassed by local police. Yet for many years, she kept her role in the movement a secret as to not compromise her teaching position at Alabama State University. Jo Ann Robinson is a civil rights hero. Her work may not be well known, but it will always be greatly felt in the context of the Alabama and national civil rights movement.
Additional Information:
- Berkhalter, Denise L. "BEHIND THE BOYCOTT." The Crisis, Mar, 2006, 22-23, https://login.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/behind-boycott/docview/199817313/se-2?accountid=8240.
- “Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson.” The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, April 5, 2018. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/robinson-jo-ann-gibson.
Author
 | Brody Birdwell is a senior secondary education major with a concentration in social studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After graduation, Brody plans to become a middle school social studies teacher in the Birmingham area. He enjoys spending his free time playing with his cats, reading comic books, studying social studies, and spending time with loved ones. |
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