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Maritza Perez
Professor Fraga
English 20, 50
2 October 2018
Against Odds
Nonconformist. Being a nonconformist means that you go against all odds, you go
against the norms and do not just sit down and accept the bare minimum. You stand up and fight
for what you believe is right and no matter how many times others may bring you down you
keep on pushing. Racism and inequality for people of color have always existed in America and
it does not seem to be getting better. In the 1950’s and 1960’s there were quite a few things
going on in the world, for one the economy in the U.S was booming and was allowing people to
move to the suburbs for a better life. On the other hand, there was a struggle with racism and
segregation going on and that is when the civil rights movement was beginning. Even though
there was racism going on and blacks were scared to stand up for themselves and fight for their
rights, Martin Luther King Jr., was not. Martin Luther King Jr., was the leader of the civil rights
movement and he was a nonconformist during his time. He spent years fighting for the people in
a peaceful, nonviolent way to try and get people of color the rights that they deserve.
For many years blacks had to deal with and suffer with the Jim Crow laws, which
prohibited them from going to certain schools, using certain transportation and other public
facilities. Whites and blacks were “separated but not equal” whites got the better things, such as
better school supplies, resources and better bathroom facilities (Hansan 1). While blacks on the
other hand, were left with the leftovers. The start to ending segregation started when Rosa Parks
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refused to give up her seat in the bus to a white person and was taken for jail for that (Hansan 2).
Parks getting arrested is what launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott where Martin Luther King
Jr., was one of the organizers. This movement led blacks who lived in Montgomery, Alabama to
refuse to ride public transportation the day after Ms. Parks was arrested. The boycott was to be
run by a young Martin Luther King after he was elected president of the Montgomery
Improvement Association (MIA) in order to oversee the boycott. The boycott was a year long
battle that started December 5, 1955 and was not going to subdue until the city had met its
demands. This meant African Americans would have to find alternative ways to get to their
destination whether it be by foot, carpool, or even taxi. They were making it known to society
that they did not want anything to do with busses unless it granted them the ability to sit
wherever they please, courtesy, as well as a first come first serve policy instead of automatically
sending blacks to the back of the bus while whites rode the front (History). The city of
Montgomery made an appeal to the supreme court about ending the boycott after they found out
that the Supreme Court upheld the districts court ruling in which they deemed that segregation
on public transportation...
