Petition to the Montgomery City Council, “Negroes’ Most Urgent Needs,” December 6, 1955

Submitted to the Montgomery City Council in 1955, prior to the beginning of the bus boycott, this petition from black leaders suggests the range of grievances held by black residents of the city. Beyond merely where to sit on buses, the petition addresses concerns about jobs, housing, and representation in government — all of which would become part of the civil rights crusade that swept the United States in the next decade.

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Source: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

Evaluating the Evidence

  1. Question

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  2. Question

    V7hDuR2BAwjO0JXER6DJNAY07YRvgU7LinGBY1j1GI9H3vYDqJk2rUg8SXhpunvsYuum3LRLHRExBHB+rro14+1J4iq2PdHAstEAiTTEhL01GdLTLnbkDrK3aDy16VTdXcWQTAF2kSoNrLRQNiE37d5hh3BCuJq8czWROexilONI0xwS3KbfIHDCiEINbEysjDpfdE7NjSazZjLuW0pcziMaVyKN+SoJi+Y13mD6Q5BjSnC+siD3jbAhM+btYbpk