60 years ago Rosa Parks’ arrest sparked historic boycott

60 years ago Rosa Parks’ arrest sparked historic boycott

Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on Dec. 1, 1955 — the start of the Montgomery bus boycott — got relatively little attention, initially. The Montgomery Advertiser noted it briefly the following day, and covered it in more detail Dec. 4 as protesters began to organize the boycott.

The story went national Dec. 5, when The Associated Press wrote of the plan to make Parks the test case for laws segregating public transportation.

On the 60th anniversary of Parks’ arrest, the AP made available its initial story on the boycott.