In December 1955, Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, led to a boycott of buses. For over a year the city's 50,000 black people travelled by other means, mostly on foot
#
Rosa Parks was convicted of violating Montgomery's segregation laws; and those involved in the bus boycott were charged with conspiring to prevent the bus company from carrying on its business. In February 1956, however, a suit was filed in federal district court asking for Montgomery's segregation laws to be declared unconstitutional
#
The Montgomery bus boycott was ultimately successful, and began the move towards ensuring desegregation in other areas, including education. In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional, but southern states had failed to comply with the judgement
#
In 1957, President Eisenhower sent paratroopers to Little Rock High School, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. "Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts", he said. One soldier was assigned to each student to ensure their safety
