how his incredible skills as a speaker and day-out work of organizing in the commu diary, we can see how carefully he trackec

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1. What can we learn about the organization and dedication associated with large scale social justice movements from this document? 2. According to this document, what steps were police taking to interfere with the bus boycott? 3. What can we learn about Bayard Rustin and his importance to the civil rights movement from this document?
Excerpt from Montgomery Diary
Bayard Rustin spent most of his adult life as an advocate for social justice. While it is easy to see
how his incredible skills as a speaker and writer helped make that work possible, the day-in and
day-out work of organizing in the community is often invisible. In this excerpt from Rustin's 1956
diary, we can see how carefully he tracked every aspect of the work that made the Montgomery
Bus Boycott successful.
Bayard Rustin, "Excerpt from Montgomery Diary"
February 24, 1956
42,000 Negroes have not ridden the buses since December 5. On December 6, the police began to harass,
intimidate, and arrest Negro taxi drivers who were helping get these people to work. It thus became
necessary for the Negro leaders to find an alternative-the car pool. They set up 23 dispatch centers where
people gather to wait for free transportation. This morning Rufus Lewis, director of the pool, invited me
to attend the meeting of the drivers. On the way, he explained that there are three methods in addition to
the car pool, for moving the Negro population:
1) Hitch-hiking.
2) The transportation of servants by white housewives.
3) Walking.
Later he introduced me to two men, one of whom has walked 7 miles and the other 14 miles,
every day since December 5.
"The success of the car pool is at the heart of the movement," Lewis said at the meeting.
"It must not be stopped." I wondered what the response of the drivers would be, since 28 of them had just
been arrested on charges of conspiring to destroy the bus company. One by one, they pledged that, if
necessary, they would be arrested again and again.
Transcribed Image Text:Excerpt from Montgomery Diary Bayard Rustin spent most of his adult life as an advocate for social justice. While it is easy to see how his incredible skills as a speaker and writer helped make that work possible, the day-in and day-out work of organizing in the community is often invisible. In this excerpt from Rustin's 1956 diary, we can see how carefully he tracked every aspect of the work that made the Montgomery Bus Boycott successful. Bayard Rustin, "Excerpt from Montgomery Diary" February 24, 1956 42,000 Negroes have not ridden the buses since December 5. On December 6, the police began to harass, intimidate, and arrest Negro taxi drivers who were helping get these people to work. It thus became necessary for the Negro leaders to find an alternative-the car pool. They set up 23 dispatch centers where people gather to wait for free transportation. This morning Rufus Lewis, director of the pool, invited me to attend the meeting of the drivers. On the way, he explained that there are three methods in addition to the car pool, for moving the Negro population: 1) Hitch-hiking. 2) The transportation of servants by white housewives. 3) Walking. Later he introduced me to two men, one of whom has walked 7 miles and the other 14 miles, every day since December 5. "The success of the car pool is at the heart of the movement," Lewis said at the meeting. "It must not be stopped." I wondered what the response of the drivers would be, since 28 of them had just been arrested on charges of conspiring to destroy the bus company. One by one, they pledged that, if necessary, they would be arrested again and again.
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