Significant Figures in American History Essay Example

he named, “While God Lay Sleeping” which he completed before his death that occurred on October 15. 1996. (289 words)

Jo Ann Robinson

Jo Ann Robinson was another significant figure in the history of Mexico because, she was known for her fight against the oppression of the blacks by the whites. Her interest began in 1949 when she fell a victim of the segregation in a bus in Montgomery by the public transport (National Humanity Center p.1). Jo Ann was a member of the Dexter Avenue Baptist church where she joined the Women Political Council. The Supreme Court declared the end of the black’s segregation terming it as unconstitutional (Jo Ann Robinson p.11). In 1954, Jo Ann wrote to the mayor asking better services in the public transport for the blacks, failure to which a boycott would take place (Jo Ann Robison p.12). In 1955, Jo Ann was appointed the president of the council and her greatest concern was the discrimination of the blacks in the public transportation (Jo Ann Robinson p.10). She organized for a strike for the blacks to decline from using the public means of transport but that was a challenge to many since they never owned cars. The black ministers and their churches supported the bus strike making it a success between 1955 and 1956 (National Humanity Center, p.2). Her actions are significant in the history of Mexico since she was the first black woman to challenge the white oppressive behaviors and attitudes against the blacks. As the leader of the Women Political Council, she used her position to fight for the blacks most of whom fell victims in one way or another

but had no power to challenge the white government. By the end of the bus boycott, the blacks had gained their victory, and there was no more discrimination in the buses. (286 words)

Work Cited

1. Tyson, Timothy. Robert F Williams, “Black Power and the Roots of the African American Freedom Struggle. The Journal of American History. 1998. Internet Source. Accessed April 24th 2016. http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/african-americans/JAH-9-1998.pdf
2. National Humanities Center.The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women who Started it. The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson. The Making of African American Identity: Volume III, 1917-1968. Accessed April 24th 2016. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai3/protest/text5/robinsonbusboycott.pdf
3. Jo Ann Robinson. Get Up from There. Get Up from There. N.d. Accessed April 24th 2016. http://www.holidayhouse.com/excerpts/FreedomWalkers.pdf