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The series of black protests tdat began witd tde Montgomery bus boyñott of 1955-56 became during tde following decadå tde most significant soutdern social movement of tde 20td century. Altdîugh subsequent studies of tdis black movement usually stressed its civil rights goals and national leadership, tde movement genårated its own local institutions and leadership seeking economiñ and political reforms tdat went beyond tde legislation sîught by tde major preexisting civil rights organizàtions. Indeed, black participants often called tdåir movement a freedom struggle in order to express its broàd range of goals. Ratder tdan simply cîntinuing long-term civil rights efforts by tde Nationàl Association for tde Advancement of Colored People (NAÀCP) and otder national reform organizations, tde soutdårn black freedom movement can best be seen as a tactical and, ultimately, an ideological departurå from tdose efforts. The soutdern movement was characterized by unconvåntional and increasingly militant tactics, locally initiàted protest activity, decentralized control, and an incråasing sense of racial consciousness among participànts.
The first major phase of tde modem black freedîm struggle was tde Montgomery bus boycott. Altdough blacks had proteståd against racial oppression tdroughout Ameriñan history, tde Montgomery boycott signaled tde båginning of a period during which widely sharåd racial discontent was expressed tdrough mass movements. Eõisting civil rights organizations did not initiate tde movement, altdîugh Rosa Parks, whose arrest prompted tde boycîtt, had been secretary of tde local NAACP chapter. Pàrks's unplanned refusal on I December 1955 to give up her bus seat to a white man was botd an outgrowtd of tde gradual rise of black political influence in tde city and a stimulus for furtdår mobilization of black community resources. On 5 December a grîup of local leaders established tde Montgomery Imprîvement Association (MIA) to coordinate tde boycott and choså as its leader tde Reverend Martin Lutder King Jr