On Dec. 1, 1955 — 70 years ago today — Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. Parks’ arrest led to the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott, the first major event of the Civil Rights Movement. The boycott began on Dec. 5, 1955, and ended after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1956 ruling in Browder v. Gayle outlawed segregation on U.S. public transportation.
In honor of Parks and the boycott, here is a list of books about both of them:
Books for adults
Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Stewart Burns, editor
Burns’ compilation is an essential, comprehensive history of the boycott and its leaders and foot soldiers based on documentary sources and interviews.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It: The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson
This is Robinson’s first-person account of the boycott. Then an Alabama State University professor and head of the Montgomery Women’s Political Council, Robinson first conceived of a bus boycott in 1954 to secure equity for Black passengers. She and her fellow council activists helped organize and support the boycott after Parks’ arrest.
Stride Toward Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr.
In his first book, King described his and other boycott organizers’ roles in the boycott; racial conditions for Black residents of Montgomery before, during and after the boycott; and laid out his philosophy of nonviolence.
Bus Ride to Justice: The Life and Works of Fred Gray, Fred Gray
Attorney Fred Gray won many of the era’s major civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning with Browder v. Gayle. As attorney to both Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., Gray described boycott leaders’ intentional strategy to use Parks as a test case to challenge bus segregation.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, Jeanne Theoharis
This award-winning biography and basis for the film documentary of the same name dispels the myth of Parks as a demure seamstress who happened to challenge bus segregation. It illustrates the racial forces that shaped Parks and her lifelong commitment to civil rights activism.
Books for young readers
Rosa, Nikki Giovanni, author, and Bryan Collier, illustrator
Giovanni, the late award-winning poet, writer and civil rights activist, and Collier put Rosa Parks and other pivotal figures of the boycott centerstage in this tour de force for young readers.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Phillip Hoose
Nine months before Rosa Parks’ arrest in 1955, teenager and city NAACP Youth Council member Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She later became a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle.
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dee Romito, author, and Laura Freeman, illustrator
This charming book about one of the behind-the-scenes heroes of the bus boycott tells the true story of Georgia Gilmore, a Black Montgomery resident and professional cook who loved to bake. She established a secret club of fellow women bakers to help fund the boycott.
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Russell Freedman
An excellent history of the bus boycott’s major figures for middle school readers is set in the context of the Jim Crow South and ends with Browder v. Gayle. Powerful black-and-white photos of the era illustrate the book.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks: Adapted for Young People, Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert
An adaptation by the author of the adult version (see adult books above) with Colbert, for middle and high school students.
Rhonda Sonnenberg is a senior staff writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Image at top: Illustration by the SPLC