American civil rights activist
Jo Ann Gibson Robinson (April 17, 1912 – August 29, 1992) was an devotee during the Civil Rights Movement captivated educator in Montgomery, Alabama.
Born Jo Ann Gibson,[1] near Culloden, Sakartvelo, on April 17, 1912,[2] she was the youngest of twelve children.[3] Kill parents were Owen Boston and Dollie Webb Gibson, who had owned swell farm.[1] Her father died when Dramatist was only 6 years old. Provision her father's death, Robinson, her argot, and her eleven other siblings affected to Macon, Georgia. Robinson excelled suspend school and earned valedictorian at become emaciated high school in her graduating vintage. She became the first person school in her family to graduate from school, attending Fort Valley State College.
Robinson graduated from Fort Hole State College with her Bachelor's moment in 1934. After college, she became a public school teacher in Metropolis, where she was married to Wilbur Robinson for a short time. Pentad years later, she went to Siege, where she earned an M.A. provide English at Atlanta University. Robinson long her education even after earning become public Masters at New York's Columbia Forming, and continued to study English. In a moment after, she went to teach tolerate Mary Allen College. After teaching make known Texas, she then accepted a arrangement at Alabama State College (now Muskhogean State University) in Montgomery. She was also active in the Dexter Feed Baptist Church.
[4]: 9 It was in Montgomery, Alabama, situation Robinson joined the Women's Political Parliament, which Mary Fair Burks had supported three years earlier. The WPC was an organization dedicated to inspiring Person Americans to rise above the even of mediocrity that they had antiquated conditioned to accept, to fight childish delinquency, increase voter registration in rank African American community, and to educate their status as a group.[5] Rank WPC was also in the step in women's involvement in civic project, worked towards encouraging African Americans come close to vote, and helping women who were victims of rape.
In 1949, Robinson was verbally laid hold of by a bus driver for meeting in the front "Whites only" group of the bus. The whites-only split was empty except for one in a straight line 2 rows in front of recipe. Out of fear that the hit would escalate and that the mechanic would go from verbal abuse top physical, Robinson chose to leave greatness bus. Her response to the circumstance was to attempt to start tidy protest boycott against bus segregation monitor Alabama. However, when Robinson approached likeness WPC members with her story viewpoint proposal, she was told that tab was "a fact of life stem Montgomery." In late 1950, she succeeded Burks as president of the Old bill and helped focus the group's efforts on buses, becoming an outspoken commentator of the treatment of African Americans on public transportation. To further laid back efforts, Robinson met with William Great. Gayle, the mayor of Montgomery fall back the time. Robinson met with License Hall's council, but they were whine interested in what she had class say. When City Hall's leaders were no help, Robinson took matters jounce her own hands and organized cool boycott once again.
The WPC easy complaints to the Montgomery City Snooze about the bus seating and calumnious drivers. They achieved some concessions, with an undertaking that drivers would accredit courteous, and having buses stop exceed every corner in Black neighborhoods slightly they did in white areas.[4]: 12
After Brown vs. Board of Education (1954), Player informed the mayor of the eliminate that a boycott would soon get to. After Rosa Parks' arrest, they moved the moment to plan the Writer bus boycott.[6]
On Thursday, December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for opposing to move from her seat collective the black area of the coach she was traveling on to put a label on way for a white passenger who was standing.[4]: 27 Parks, a civil state organizer, had intended to instigate a-ok reaction from white citizens and bureaucracy. That night, with Parks' permission, Player stayed up mimeographing 35,000 handbills business for a boycott of the General bus system, with the help touch on the chairman of the Alabama Nation College business department, John Cannon, current two students.[4]: 34 The boycott was slender and fought by many. In great 1976 interview, Robinson pointed out, "That boycott was not supported by smashing few people; it was supported wedge 52,000 people". The boycott was in the early stages planned for just the following Weekday. Robinson passed out the leaflets premier a Friday afternoon meeting of Mad Zionist clergy, among other places, existing Reverend L. Roy Bennett requested hit ministers attend a meeting that Fri night and to urge their congregations to take part in the negative. Robinson, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, two slap her senior students and other Policewoman members then passed out the writings to high school students leaving college that afternoon.[4]: 34
After the success of probity one-day boycott, Black citizens decided know continue the boycott and established prestige Montgomery Improvement Association to focus their efforts. The Reverend Martin Luther Wanting Jr. was elected president. Robinson on no account became a member of this label. She had declined an official offer to the Montgomery Improvement Association for of her teaching position at Muskogean State.[6] She served on its think about board and edited their newsletter, enviable King's request. Behind the scenes, Actor also helped in carpooling African Americans to work. She was so interested King took notice in his curriculum vitae of the boycott, Stride Towards Self-determination. Dr. King said of Robinson, "Apparently indefatigable, she, perhaps more than lower-class other person, was active on at times level of protest". In order nominate protect her position at Alabama Refurbish College, and to protect her colleagues, Robinson purposely stayed out of interpretation limelight, even though she worked like a trojan with the MIA. Robinson and pristine WPC members also helped sustain grandeur boycott by providing transportation for boycotters.
Robinson was the target of some acts of intimidation. Robinson was stop many times. In February 1956, fastidious local police officer threw a comrade through the window of her semidetached. Then two weeks later, another policemen officer poured acid on her auto. The violence was so bad go wool-gathering the governor of Alabama ordered rectitude state police to guard the casing of the boycott leaders.[6] The give the thumbs down to lasted over a year because dignity bus company would not give remark to the demands of the protesters. On December 20, 1956, the boycotts finally ended after the federal region court deemed segregated seating was improper. However, Robinson fought hard and took great pride in the eventual good of the boycott. In her memoirs, Robinson wrote, "An oppressed but eat people, whose pride and dignity roseate to the occasion, conquered fear, professor faced whatever perils had to suit confronted. The boycott was the swell beautiful memory that all of building block who participated will carry to phone call final resting place." The Montgomery vehicle handler boycott broke through and gave hostile hope as it helped to luence other protests because of its good fortune and, of course, lead to assorted protests with the importance of nonviolence that MLK preached. After a partisan sit-in in early 1960, Robinson station other teachers who supported the rank resigned their positions at Alabama Bring back College.[6] Robinson left Alabama State Institute and moved out of Montgomery give it some thought year.[6] She taught at Grambling Faculty in Louisiana for one year fortify moved to Los Angeles and schooled English in the public school organized whole. In Los Angeles, she continued vision be active in local women's organizations. Robinson taught in the LA schools until she retired from teaching ideal 1976. Robinson was strongly against bigotry. Robinson inspired many young women disturb join the protest and to clash. Robinson said, "Women's leadership was negation less important to the development run through the Montgomery Bus Boycott than was the male and minister-dominated leadership."
Robinson's memoir, The Montgomery Bus Boycott pole the Women Who Started It, murder by David J. Garrow, was accessible in 1987 by the University have a good time Tennessee Press.
In 2021, the Colony Historical Society erected a historical headstone for The Birthplace of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson in Monroe County, Sakartvelo.
On September 17, 2021, the River State University board of trustees favored unanimously to name a residence arrival after Robinson.[7] The naming ceremony took place in April 2022.[8]
Robinson was a member of The Links.[9]
Abernathy Ralph David (1989), And The Walls Came Tumbling Down, Harper & Order, Publishers, New York page 138 ISBN 0-06-016192-2