The Montgomery buss protest came at a time and place when and where America practiced racial segregation in every day life between Blacks and Whites. Such laws were specially a source of conflicts in the Deep South where Black population is important and society lies on remains dating back from the colonial era.
At the time The American society was following the "separate but equal" precept, meaning that Blacks and Whites were to lead confined lives in public, and interracial contact was not only illegal but socially and morally disapproved.Bus sits were segregated and Whites were given the priority when seats were unavailable. The arrest of a woman refusing to follow the law triggered the onset of a very significant political protest. Rather than doing demonstrations or engaging in violence the movement leader opted for a peaceful way to make themselves heard launching a bus boycott.
However the vast majority of Black people living in Montgomery at the time being poorly educated and politicized the organization had to organized accordingly rather than through a political party or a union. This is where the Latin root "Religare" meaning to "link together" took all its meaning. Blacks in the South being predominantly fervent Baptist Christians made of that church the natural leader of the protest since it was the place where neighborhoods and communities would get together. Such church leaders' charisma and ethos compelled the followers to join a unified, organized cause. This example shows how religion is not only about devotion to the sacred but has also a social role and consequently is very powerful vector for political ideas, for the good or the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment