Whether hosting a benefit concert, as in the image above, or selling prepared foods to workers at lunch and donating the proceeds, the all-hands-on-deck approach to fundraising gave the Montgomery Improvement Association and the people of Montgomery the support they needed to keep the movement going, for as long as was needed to achieve integration. With nearly 80% of the normal ridership missing, bus drivers reported their collections in the single digits. The boycott had an impact, and at the Monday Night Meeting after that first successful day, it was unanimously decided that the protest should continue. However, to keep the pressure on the city the Montgomery Bus Boycott required funding. As news of the boycott’s indefinite nature and its alternative transportation system made its way across the country, money began coming in from all corners. This generosity provided relief to folks who were exhausted and overextended. Drivers were hired, cars and gas were purchased, administrators were compensated for their work orchestrating all the moving pieces, and lawyers were retained to bring the movement directly to the courts.
The creative and widespread approach to fundraising provided the support necessary to keep the movement going. Combined with the ongoing local fundraising, the efforts of the boycott were able to grow stronger and ultimately lead to integration of the transportation system. On November 13th, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled and the order was officially served to the City of Montgomery on December 20th. Thirteen months after that “one-day boycott”, the city integrated the bus system in earnest.
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