Boycott

[bus tires hissing, door closing]

Martin: There comes a time when time itself

is ready for a change.

all: Yes.

Martin: And that time has come in Montgomery.

- I got the right to sit here!

Leave me alone! Leave me alone!

man: Gonna need that seat.

Need that seat.

Go on, move back to the colored section.

Move.

No.

I am sitting in no man's land.

It's not white. It's not colored.

Anybody can sit here.

- By my discretion, and I am telling you to move.

I got to enforce the segregation laws.

It's my duty.

A white person wants this seat.

woman: She's the one.

You go on.

You do what you got to do.

people: She's the one.

She's the one. She's the one.

[Nat King Cole's "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"]

Come on, baby.

- Mr. Parks, we have a real chance here

to challenge the bus segregation law.

- Your wife is smart. She's educated.

- You and Mrs. Parks are so well-respected in the community.

woman: Why, she's been the secretary

of the Montgomery NAACP for the past ten years.

- She'd be most impressive to a white jury.

- We've been down this road before,

and Rosa is the perfect plaintiff.

- Raymond, you have struggled with us all these years.

Now here's a chance for some good

to finally come of it all.

- Ain't no good gonna come out of this situation.

Now, you mark my words.

- Please excuse us, just for a moment.

Please excuse us.

Raymond, I'm asking you to support me.

You're asking,

or is your mind made up?

Both things.

- If they ever find out we using state property...

- I know. - To run off these leaflets...

We will both be fired.

This is our best opportunity to start a boycott,

and we're gonna do it.

- You discussed this with Mr. Nixon?

- Well, not in as many words.

- Then we don't even know for sure

if there is gonna be a bus boycott on Monday.

- Oh, now, there will be a boycott.

You can count on that.

- Coretta, honey, give me that baby so you can eat.

- Are you sure, Juanita?

- See, the problem is, brother,

you've been working a little too hard.

- Come here, you're so precious. Abernathy: It's a sermon.

It's not some doctoral dissertation.

Let me demonstrate this for you.

What you do, you get up in front of the pulpit,

you get a nice look around, see all the people,

fill your lungs with a whole mess of air,

turn yourself heavenward and-- and let that Spirit fill you,

and then...

Wow, wow.

- And whatever come flyin' out, that's what you say!

- No, no, no, not at my church,

not at Dexter Baptist.

Folks over there don't go in for a whole lot

of hootin' and hollerin'.

- Mm-mm, folks at Dexter Baptist are kind of fancy.

Now, at Ralph's church--

They're downright noisy

and rude sometimes.

You can't get through half of your sermon

without them causing a ruckus.

- That fellow who shines shoes over at the barbershop

is a member of your church, I think, Ralph.

He said, uh, "Reverend King, you just should've heard

"Reverend Abernathy last Sunday.

"He just preached his you-know-what off.

He--he was just--oh, just amazing out there."

I said, "Well, what did Reverend Abernathy say?"

And he said, "I don't recall what he said,

but, brother, we laughed."

Nixon: What about the ministers?

- Oh, Brother Ed, you know our ministers.

They're well-fed, comfortable men

with good shoes.

Ain't one of them ever even been on a bus.

Boycott, sir.

- We got two days to tell every Negro

in Montgomery to stay off of the buses.

One of them's a Sunday.

I don't see how we can do that without the ministers.

- Well-- hey, hey, young man.

Now, take this home here.

Nobody rides the buses Monday.

Got that? - Bus boycott on Monday.

We can't succeed unless we have their support.

Hello, E.D.

Well, that's very interesting.

Boycotts work, Coretta.

It worked in Baton Rouge,

and Rosa Parks' trial is on Monday.

People want to call attention to it.

- Now, why are they having the meeting at your church?

E.D. asked.

He thought it'd be neutral ground.

Neutral ground?

- And we have a nicer meeting room.

- Martin, you're a new pastor

and a new father.

And we agreed that you wouldn't

take on too many responsibilities.

- But as a pastor, this is part of what I do.

It's just a meeting.

Uh-huh.

- Where were we? Where were we?

We were talking about--

- I thought we came here to talk about boycotts.

- We only have two days to get everyone--

So what I think we ought to--

I'd like to make a motion, all right?

Ah.

The motion is denied.

- I didn't make the motion yet. - Well, you were fixin' to.

man: See, that's what happen. - All right.

- Welcome to Montgomery, brother.

- I'd like to make a motion that we elect

ourselves a board.

Get our-- - Denied.

- But, now, Reverend, I mean,

point of order here.

Banyon: Denied. - Oh, come on, now.

- Sister Robinson, I know how to run a boycott.

He sure does.

He's about to start one right now.

Folks gonna boycott the boycott.