Decatur Daily Covers Alabama Bus Boycott

"How much has the 10-week bus boycott by Negroes here cost the bus company and the community?" 

In 1955, protest segregated seating on public transportation, African Americans from Montgomery, Alabama widely boycotted buses. The boycott began on December 5,1955, when Rosa Parks famously refused to move to the back of the bus and was arrested as a result, and lasted until December 20, 1956. Among the many newspapers that reported on the story was the Decatur Daily on February 14, 1956. 

This news article does not focus on the boycott itself, which was already widely known at that point. It rather focuses on the effects the boycott was having on the community surrounding it. Interestingly enough, the view of the boycott is largely negative in this article; the writer seems to be placing the blame for the "racial tension" on the "Negroes" who "attend boycott meetings...[and] stay off the buses in droves." 

Although this article may not seem to be directly concerned with Illinois history, it is highly important due to its depiction of northern reactions to southern segregation and the protests of it. It is easy to see why Chrissy Brown saved this article; it is an important way to connect Illinois to the civil rights movement in the United States.