Which event began in December 1955 as a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat?

• A. Freedom Rides
• B. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
• C. March on Washington
• D. Sit-In Movement

Answer: (B)

The event described is the Montgomery Bus Boycott, sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus in December 1955. This act triggered a citywide, organized nonviolent protest led by local civil rights leaders and the Black community, who refused to use the buses until segregation on public transit was effectively challenged. The boycott lasted 381 days and culminated in a federal court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, helping to launch Martin Luther King Jr. as a national figure and proving the power of peaceful mass action. This moment also set the stage for later actions like the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and sit-ins, which built on the methods and momentum that the Montgomery boycott generated.