ize his philosophies and bring his theory to life when he took his first pastoral job at a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. After NAACP official Rosa Parks was jailed for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, King accepted the post of president of the Montgomery Improvement Organization. (p.432, "The Sixties in America.") In his role as the primary spokesman of the boycott, King gradually forged a distinctive protest strategy that involved the mobilization of black churches, utilization of Gandhian methods of nonviolent protest, and skillful appeals for white support. (p.433 "The Sixties in America.") King's election to the Montgomery Improvement Organization marked the beginning of his career as a civil rights activist. King vowed that members of his association would not resort to the violence that civil rights opponents used as their chief weapon. He encouraged his followers to never degrade themselves by hating. (p.667 "Notable Black Men in America.") During the months of the boycott, officials from the bus company who met with black leaders refused to compromise. Spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown .vs. Board of Education, which demolished the separate-but-equal principle by which southern politicians justified segregation, black leaders in Montgomery challenged the constitutionality of laws mandating segregation on buses. (P.57 "The Civil Rights Movement.") The Supreme Court finally ruled on the subject, and the ruling was a tremendous step in the right direction for King, his ideals, and the civil rights movement itself. The court ruled that segregation on Montgomery buses was unconstitutional and ordered it discontinued. (p.58 "The Civil Rights Movement.") The success of the Montgomery boycott helped black people throughout the nation. King's theories were finally beginning to amass some believers within the black community. African Americans began to understand that there is a moral supe...
