Jo Ann Gibson Robinson was a Civil Rights activist and an educator in Montgomery, Alabama. She is better known for the Montgomery Boycott. She was a member of the Women’s Political Council (WPC), an organization dedicated to inspiring African Americans to rise up for equality, to prevent fight juvenile delinquency, and to increase voter registration. The organization also helped women who were victims of rape. In 1949, a bus driver verbally attached Robinson for sitting in the “Whites Only” section of the bus. She didn’t move but choose to leave the bus, which she did as a start to boycott riding the segregated bus system in Alabama. She reported the incident to WPC, but was told it was a way of life in Montgomery. She eventually became president of WPC in 1950 and made the group’s focus the issue of discriminatory treatment on public transportation. The WPC took their complaints to the City Commission and achieved some concessions, but not equal seating. After Rosa Parks was arrested, Robinson and the WPC made 35,000 handbills calling for a boycott, along with the help of John Cannon, Chairman of the Alabama State College Business Department and two students. They enlisted the black Pastors, Ministers, their church members and students. The boycott was supported by roughly 52,000 people. Robinson was the target of several acts of intimidation and was arrested many times. On December 20, 1956, the boycotts finally ended after the federal district court deemed segregated seating was unconstitutional.
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Church Affiliation:Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Role in the Movement:Jo Ann Gibson Robinson was a Civil Rights activist and an educator.
Birth Place:Gulloden, GA
Born Date:April 17, 1912
Deceased Date:August 29, 1992
Place Lived as Adult:Montgomery, AL; Grambling, LA; Los Angeles, CA
Church Location:Montgomery, AL