Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation

New York City. With no subway or bus service, we were forced to walk everywhere. One morning, as we trudged over the Brooklyn Bridge making our way to work from Brooklyn to Manhattan with legions of disgruntled people, we could not help but think about the brave men and women who withstood the 1951 Montgomery Bus Boycott, during which boycotters chose not to take any public transportation because of the discriminatory practices of forcing African Americans to ride at the backs of city buses. If they could do that, we could endure the inconvenience of a transit strike that would soon end.

Rosa Parks is shown wearing a red overcoat to highlight her determination and power.

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Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Greenwillow Books, 2008.

American History
Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation