Today in history, on November 13, 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that race separation on buses is unconstitutional. They upheld the verdict of Browder v. Gayle, a lawsuit against Alabama and the city of Montgomery. The decision was a massive victory for the Civil Rights Movement.

Browder v. Gayle was the culmination of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which began with Rosa Parks’s infamous arrest on December 1, 1955. The boycott drew national and international attention to the injustice of race separation. The movement’s leaders leveraged the recognition into legal action. Attorney Fred Gray represented four African American women in the lawsuit: Aurelia Browder, Claudette Colvin, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith. The defendants included Montgomery Mayor William A. Gayle, city officials, Montgomery City Lines bus company representatives, and Alabama Public Service Commission members.

A three-judge panel ruled that race separation on public transport violated the Fourteenth Amendment and prohibited Montgomery and Alabama from continuing to run segregated bus lines. The city and state appealed the verdict to the US Supreme Court, arguing that the “separate but equal” doctrine had never been explicitly overturned. The Supreme Court upheld the Browder v. Gayle ruling.

Desegregation was implemented on December 20, 1956, after Mayor Gayle was served an official notice from the federal marshals. The Supreme Court’s ruling was a monumental step forward for Black rights. While the fight was far from over, it helped move the law in the right direction.