Who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and which organization led the protest?

• A. NAACP sparked it; organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association with Martin Luther King Jr. as a public spokesperson.
• B. Rosa Parks sparked it; organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association with Martin Luther King Jr. as a public spokesperson.
• C. SCLC sparked it; organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr. as a public spokesperson.
• D. Claudette Colvin sparked it; organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association with Martin Luther King Jr. as a public spokesperson.

Answer: (B)

Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in December 1955. This act became the catalyst that mobilized a coordinated protest. The organization that led the boycott was the Montgomery Improvement Association, a local group formed to organize the response, with Martin Luther King Jr. serving as its public spokesperson and figurehead. While Parks was connected to the NAACP and Claudette Colvin had a related earlier incident, the historical record most clearly identifies Parks as the spark and the MIA as the organizing body, with King prominently guiding the public-facing leadership.