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Contributions of E.D. Nixon, Jo Ann Robinson, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott to American History
Throughout history, society has been evolving and growing with the voice of the American people. This voice has sparked teachings in schools, organizations, and other places all around the world. Two voices in particular have sparked and contributed to these teachings and how it has educated society. These voices are E.D. Nixon and Jo Ann Robinson. It is true that these two have been taught in our school systems as civil rights activists, but they also contributed to the movement sparked by Rosa Parks called the Montgomery bus boycott. Throughout this essay we will evaluate historical events like the Montgomery bus boycott and organizations like WCP and BASCP that E.D. Nixon and Jo Ann Robinson started and greatly contributed to throughout American history.
E.D. Nixon also known as Edgar Daniel Nixon was born on July 12, 1899, in Lowndes County, Alabama. His parents were Sue Ann Chapell and Wesley M. Nixon. Nixon lived in Montgomery in his teens. His mother passed away when he was at a very young age. He was an imposing young man who worked as a pullman porter in the beginning of the 1920s. While working as a pullman porter, he found himself stumbling upon the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, also known as the BSCP. This organization was an African American union founded and presided by the one and only A. Philip Randolph. Randolph inspired Nixon and he eventually became the leader of the BSCP Alabama branch. With Nixon’s commitment he served as an empowering activist that largely impacted the civil rights movement. Nixon’s commitment took action when he wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt stating a USO club for African American servicemen should be established. She responded and eventually met Nixon aboard a train as he was working as a porter, this action quickly started a very important friendship. With Nixon’s growing support and platform, he was able to create an organization called the Montgomery Voters League. As president of this organization Nixon led a march containing more than 700 citizens to the Montgomery County Municipal Court House demanding voting rights for African Americans. Shortly around his march he was elected to lead the Alabama branch of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Nixon’s main promise to citizens was to grant African American votes to support a police commissioner candidate in exchange for black officers being hired on the force (E.D. Nixon). In 1995 Rosa Parks took her protest against having to sit in the back of the bus. This protest sparked Nixon to form a protest against Montgomery’s segregated bus system. Not only did Rosa influence Nixon, but she also inspired the Women’s Political Council president, Jo Ann Robinson, to come together with Nixon as well (Nixon, Edgar).
Jo Ann Robinson was born on April 17, 1912 in Culloden, Georgia. She was the twelfth child of farmers named Owen Boston Gibson and Dollie Webb Gibson. Shortly after Robinson’s father died her family moved to Macon to start a new life. Growing up Robinson was a very intelligent young woman eventually becoming the valedictorian of her class and in 1934 graduated at Fort Valley State College. After Robinson graduated from college she became a teacher in Macon for the past five years, while teaching she also got a masters degree from Arizona State. After her masters degree she set out to the big apple to major in English at the one and only Columbia University. Following her time in New York, Robinson decided to move to Crocket, Texas to teach English at Mary Allen College. In 1949, Robinson accepted a better job as an English Professor at Alabama State College furthering her impact on history as we know it. During her time at Montgomery, Robinson got more involved in the community and began her journey as a member of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Whilst being a part of this church, Robinson soon joined the Women’s Political Council. This organization was designated to put more women in civil affairs, increase voter registration in black communities, and help women who have been through rape or assault. Robinson heavily advocated for the WPC and eventually became the president in 1950. A year before Robinson was elected president of the WPC, she was verbally abused by a bus driver for sitting in the whites only section of the bus. From that moment on Robinson heavily became set on the idea of desegregating Montgomery buses, which led to an increase in the WPC organization. Robinson also saw Rosa Parks undergo the unfair bus laws which led her to finally put an end to the segregated buses in Montgomery. Robinson soon made thousands of leaflets and passed them around town which caught the idea of E.D. Nixon. Jo Ann Robinson and E.D. Nixon would be two of the many people who would come together and start a boycott against the bus system of Montgomery.
The Montgomery bus boycott was one of the most important events of the civil rights movement ever in history. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956 and is known to be the most large-scale U.S demonstration of protests and activists against segregation. The boycott was kickstarted upon Rosa Parks arrest for not giving up her seat she paid for due to segregation. This caused E.D. Nixon to bail Rosa out of jail and find ways to get rid of the discriminatory the bus system of Montgomery. While E.D. Nixon helped bring the idea of segregating the Montgomery buses, WPC president Jo Ann Robinson made it possible. Robinson and the WPC began passing out flyers to the citizens of Montgomery eventually gathering a huge amount of support for the boycott. As the news spread African American leaders all around Montgomery vocalized their support, ministers were preaching about it, and it even made the front page on Montgomery’s newspaper. The next day on December 5th 40,000 African American bus drivers boycotted the system causing the buses to be very behind since the majority of the bus drivers were part of the boycott. The boycott continued until the city met the demands. The city first tried to implement a first come first serve policy, but whites were still to be allowed on the front end of the bus which did not change the movement whatsoever. Five women eventually sued the city, finally bringing up the idea of relinquishing segregation laws on a state-wide level. The city of course tried to resist these demands, but the more resisting the more protests came to sustain it. Citizens did more carpooling, held mass meetings, and started reducing taxi fare prices to only ten cents since most of the drivers were African American. This eventually started hurting the city’s financial budget so the idea of integration was finally brought up to the bus system of Montgomery. The senate eventually ruled that segregation on buses violated the 14th amendment in our constitution, and eventually desegregated the Montgomery buses on June 5, 1956.
Jo Ann Robinson, E.D. Nixon, and the Montgomery bus boycott have played significant roles in the way our political culture, policies, and government are the way it is now. E.D. Nixon has made remarkable beliefs come to life throughout his years, but what impact do they have on us now? Well, Nixon was a young activist who set out for his message to be heard. He always was a head of things and was a natural born leader. His leadership skills granted him the ability for his voice to be heard and actually be listened to. Nixon putting himself out there as an African American man speaking on civil rights contributed to the way political culture is now. Politics has changed because men like E.D. Nixon have spoken against the government even if the government and culture is against them. His acts have sparked culture to change even more than it has in the past. Jo Ann Robinson is a prime example of how political culture has changed and here is why. Robinson was a young woman who valued her education throughout her life. She always was on top of her education even when she was looked down upon due to her being an African American woman in college. Robinson also contributed to political culture because she was one of the first African American women to lead an organization into fighting for the greater good, even when the government is in the wrong. She has inspired not only African Americans, but also women to be able to get into politics and to get more involved in the way our country makes decisions. The Montgomery bus boycott will forever be remembered as the first boycott to bring recognition to the civil rights movement. The boycott proved and reminded the government that society will unite and come together when something is unfair or wrong. The boycott proved the power of the American people, and brought light that everyone in America has constitutional rights. The boycott is one of many reasons that we see protests today. Protesting and boycotting are now something political culture sees quite a lot of and its contributors is definitely the Montgomery bus boycott.
Equity and freedom in America have always been something that has been fought and debated about since our government was created. The Montgomery bus boycott is a prime example of how equity and freedom have come to play in America. The boycott was during a time where people of color were stripped of equity and only had some sort of freedom. People of color were always looked down upon and treated unfairly due to the harsh system of segregation. The segregation period was a harsh time that limited African American people to certain rights than others. These rights put white people above African Americans and did not give them the opportunities and or equity to excel in life. These opportunities would be education, the workplace, or even the simplest things like sitting in the front of the bus. Freedom cannot exist without equity due to the fact that freedom is when everyone has the right to do whatever they want with no restriction. The boycott proved that just by sitting in the back of the bus affected African Americans more than what people thought. In order for America to have equal opportunities, we must ensure that everyone has equity in order for our freedom to grow.
E.D. Nixon, Jo Ann Robinson, and the Montgomery bus boycott have been key events that have developed the way that society is today. With E.D. Nixon’s and Jo Ann Robinson’s leadership and efforts, they helped to be a part of one of the most important civil rights movements ever recorded in history. Both of them came from different backgrounds and experiences, but eventually came together to support and start the same movement to help themselves and others around them. They are known in our schools as civil rights activists, but with more insight on the two they were much more than what our schools teach them to be. Robinson and Nixon should be taught not only about their contributions to the Montgomery bus boycott, but their contributions to America that we have seen today. The both of them cause our senate to regulate and practice the 14th amendment way more than what it was back then. They also set examples of how we can contribute to society and make it much better than it is now. Contribution is very important when it comes to America today. Contribution can affect policies, elections, bill outcomes, and much more. The events and contributions E.D. Nixon, Jo Ann Robinson, and the Montgomery bus boycott made to society today are beneficial and need to be recognized more throughout the teachings of history.
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