This week we wanted to create something special as a reminder of the power of the individual in the struggle for justice. Each day this week, we will be posting an unsung hero from the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement - one of the most impactful and well executed social movements of our time - and one of the most important steps towards a fully integrated society that we still strive towards today.
Today we honor the namesake plaintiff of the Supreme Court case that finally integrated the Montgomery Bus system, Aurelia Browder. Browder v. Gayle, 352 U.S. 903 (1956). She was asked to give up her seat for a white woman and this mother of six, seamstress, provider, and activist, refused.
Ms. Browder became one of four women plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case Browder v. Gayle. They had all been arrested for refusing to give their bus seats to white people, and they knew that this action violated their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment. These women told their stories in open court, showing the discriminatory and unconstitutional practices of segregation in Montgomery.
The initial decision came down in favor of the women. The City of Montgomery immediately appealed, and the case ended up going all the way to the Supreme Court, where the ruling was upheld. The decision in this case ruled that the city and state laws segregating the public transportation system were unconstitutional, and overruled them.
You may not have heard of Ms. Browder, yet she was a vital element of the successful bus boycott. We honor her contribution to justice and her portrait hangs in our Virtual Plus office at Mariposa.
Comments