A 1955-1956 political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama.

• A. Selma Campaign
• B. Montgomery Bus Boycott
• C. Freedom Rides
• D. March on Washington

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is understanding a strategic, nonviolent protest that challenged segregation by targeting everyday systems of oppression. The Montgomery Bus Boycott is the event that best fits this description: in 1955–1956, people in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use the city buses to protest the policy of racial segregation on public transit. After Rosa Parks’ defiant refusal to give up her seat, the community organized a coordinated boycott led by local leaders and the Montgomery Improvement Association, with Martin Luther King Jr. emerging as a national figure through this effort. The boycott lasted 381 days and relied on economic pressure—bus revenues declined sharply—until the courts ruled that segregating riders on city buses was unconstitutional in Browder v. Gayle (1956). This victory not only desegregated Montgomery’s buses but also validated a powerful, nonviolent strategy that energized the broader Civil Rights Movement.

For context, the other events listed occurred at different times or had different aims: the Selma Campaign focused on voting rights in 1965, the Freedom Rides began in 1961 challenging segregation on interstate buses, and the March on Washington took place in 1963 as a large federal civil rights rally.