Lonnie G. Bunch III, museum director, historian, lecturer, and author, is proud to present a page from Our American Story, a regular online series for Museum supporters. It showcases individuals and events in the African American experience, placing these stories in the context of a larger story—our American story. Jo Ann Robinson: A heroine of the Montgomery Bus Boycott March is Women’s History Month. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is celebrating the lives of remarkable African American women, both the well-known and those whose stories have been largely forgotten—including Jo Ann Robinson, an unsung civil rights heroine who played a key role in the historic 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. Born on April 17, 1912, in Culloden, Georgia, Robinson distinguished herself early as the valedictorian of her high school class, went on to become the first person in her family to graduate from college, and then fulfilled her dream of becoming a teacher. She taught in the Macon, Georgia, public schools for five years while earning a master’s degree from Atlanta University. She also pursued English studies at Columbia University in New York City. She moved to Montgomery in 1949 to teach at Alabama State College. In Montgomery, she became active in the Women’s Political Council (WPC), a local civic organization for African American professional women that was dedicated to fostering women’s involvement in civic affairs, increasing voter registration in the city’s black community, and aiding women who were victims of rape or assault. Dress sewn by Rosa Parks. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane. Soon after arriving in Montgomery, Robinson was verbally attacked by a public bus driver for sitting in the “whites only” section of the bus. When she became the WPC’s president the following year, she made desegregating the city’s buses one of the organization’s top priorities. The WPC repeatedly complained to Montgomery city leaders about unfair seating practices and abusive driver conduct. But the group’s concerns were dismissed, leading Robinson to begin laying plans for a bus boycott by the city’s African American community. Following Rosa Parks’ arrest in December 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person, Robinson and a few associates jumped into action. They copied tens of thousands of leaflets and distributed them across the city, calling for a one-day boycott. Following the overwhelming success of the one-day boycott, Montgomery’s black citizens decided to continue the campaign, establishing the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to organize the effort and electing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the MIA’s president. Robinson chose not to accept an official MIA position for fear of jeopardizing her job at Alabama State, but she worked behind the scenes as a member of the MIA’s executive board, wrote and edited the MIA weekly newsletter, and volunteered in the carpool system that helped African Americans get to and from work. In his memoir of the boycott, Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. King said of Robinson,“Apparently indefatigable, she, perhaps more than any other person, was active on every level of the protest.” Despite Robinson’s efforts to stay out of the limelight, she was among a group of boycott leaders arrested but never tried. She was also targeted with several acts of intimidation. One local police officer threw a stone through her window, and another poured acid on her car. Eventually, Alabama’s governor ordered the state police to guard the homes of Robinson and other boycott leaders. The boycott continued until December 20, 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregated seating on buses unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the first successful protests of segregation in the Deep South, inspiring other nonviolent civil rights protests. It also established Dr. King as a prominent national figure. Robinson was especially proud of the role that women played in the boycott’s success, saying: “Women’s leadership was no less important to the development of the Montgomery Bus Boycott than was the male and minister-dominated leadership.” —Jo Ann Robinson In a 1976 interview, Robinson pointed out, “That boycott was not supported by a few people; it was supported by 52,000 people.” Walking by Charles Henry Alston. Walking recalls the bus boycotts in the 1950s and anticipated the civil rights marches of the 1960s. The work not only depicts the spirit and conviction of the civil rights protests, it also references the significant role of women and youth in the movement. National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gift of Sydney Smith Gordon, © Charles Alston Estate. After the boycott victory, Robinson continued to teach at Alabama State until 1960, when she and other faculty supporters of student sit-ins at the college resigned. She went on to teach at Grambling College in Louisiana, then moved to Los Angeles, where she taught in the public school system until her retirement in 1976. Her memoir, The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It, was published in 1987. In it, she expressed her great pride in the boycott’s success. She remained actively involved in her community and in local politics until her death in Los Angeles on August 29, 1992. With the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, courageous African American women like Jo Ann Robinson are finally receiving the recognition they so richly deserve. As a supporter, I hope you take pride in helping bring the forgotten stories of unheralded African American heroes into the spotlight, elevating the African American experience to its rightful place at the center of our nation’s history! All the best, Lonnie G. Bunch III Founding Director P.S. Our nation has been shaped by many brave African American women visionaries and leaders—including those whose stories have not been told until now. Their stories remind us that history never stands still, but keeps marching forward. Thank you for your support. I hope you will consider joining as a Member or making a donation today. Share this American Story Mug shot of Jo Ann Robinson in the wake of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Montgomery County Archives. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ralph Abernathy, Ebenezer Baptist Church During Bus Boycott 1955; printed 1987. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, © Charles Moore.

The first day of spring (March equinox or vernal equinox) is when the sun shines directly on the celestial equator passing from south to north and the length of day and night are almost the same. This is referred to as astronomical spring or the March equinox or vernal equinox.

Astronomical spring starts at different times around the planet because of the different time zones as related to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC, same as Greenwich Mean Time based on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London [1]). For countries located west of UTC your spring will start earlier than countries located east of UTC.

Women queuing up to cast their votes for the first time in the general election, December 1918. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On 14 December 1918, women, providing they were over 30 and they or their husbands were an occupier of property, were able to vote in a general election for the first time. This had been called by prime minister David Lloyd George immediately after the armistice which ended the first world war. Eight and a half million women were eligible to vote following the extension of the franchise in the Representation of the People Act 1918.

For more: theguardian.com

1571 – Spanish troops occupied Manila.

1628 – The Massachusetts colony was founded by Englishmen.

1644 – 200 members of the Peking imperial family/court committed suicide.

1687 – French explorer La Salle was murdered by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico.

1702 – Upon the death of William III of Orange, Anne Stuart, the sister of Mary, succeeds to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1748 – The English Naturalization Act passed granting Jews right to colonize in the U.S.

1775 – Poland & Prussia signed a trade agreement.

1822 – The city of Boston, MA, was incorporated.

1831 – The first bank robbery in America was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000 in the robbery.

1865 – The Battle of Bentonville took place. The Confederates retreated from Greenville, NC.

1866 – The immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sank in Liverpool killing 738.

1879 – Jim Currie opened fire on the actors Maurice Barrymore and Ben Porter near Marshall, TX. The shots wounded Barrymore and killed Porter.

1895 – The Los Angeles Railway was established to provide streetcar service.

1900 – U.S. President McKinley asserted that there was a need for free trade with Puerto Rico.

1900 – Archeologist Arthur John Evans began the excavation of Knossos Palace in Greece.

1903 – The U.S. Senate ratified the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda.

1905 – French explorer S. de Segonzac was taken prisoner by Moroccans.

1906 – Reports from Berlin estimated the cost of the German war in S.W. Africa at $150 million.

1908 – The state of Maryland barred Christian Scientists from practicing without medical diplomas.

1915 – Pluto was photographed for the first time. However, it was not known at the time.

1917 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Adamson Act that made the eight-hour workday for railroads constitutional.

1918 – The U.S. Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time.

1918 – A German seaplane was shot down for the first time by an American pilot.

1920 – The U.S. Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty for the second time maintaining an isolation policy.

1924 – U.S. troops were rushed to Tegucigalpa as rebel forces took the Honduran capital.

1931 – The state of Nevada legalized gambling.

1940 – The French government of Daladier fell.

1942 – The Thoroughbred Racing Association was formed in Chicago.

1944 – Tippett’s oratorium “Child of Our Time,” premiered in London.

1945 – About 800 people were killed as Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan.

1945 – Adolf Hitler issued his “Nero Decree” which ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands as German forces were retreating.

1947 – Chiang Kai-Shek’s government forces took control of Yenan, the former headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party.

1948 – Lee Savold knocked out Gino Buonvino in 54 seconds of the first round of their prize fight at Madison Square Gardens.

1949 – The Soviet People’s Council signed the constitution of the German Democratic Republic, and declared that the North Atlantic Treaty was merely a war weapon.

1953 – The Academy Awards aired on television for the first time.

1953 – Tennessee Williams’ “Camino Real” premiered in New York City.

1954 – Viewers saw the first televised prize fight shown in color when Joey Giardello knocked out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1954 – The first rocket-driven sled that ran on rails was tested in Alamogordo, NM.

1963 – In Costa Rica, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and six Latin American presidents pledged to fight Communism.

1964 – Sean Connery began shooting his role in “Goldfinger.”

1965 – Indonesia nationalized all foreign oil companies.

1965 – Rembrandt’s “Titus” sold for $7,770,000.

1968 – Students at Howard University students seized an administration building.

1969 – British invaded Anguilla.

1972 – India and Bangladesh signed a friendship treaty.

1976 – Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage.

1977 – Congo President Marien Ngouabi was killed by a suicide commando.

1977 – France performed a nuclear test at Muruora Island.

1977 – The last episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” aired.

1979 – The U.S. House of Representatives began broadcasting its daily business on TV.

1981 – During a test of the space shuttle Columbia two workers were injured and one was killed.

1981 – The Buffalo Sabres set an NHL record when they scored 9 goals in one period against Toronto.

1984 – The TV show “Kate and Allie” premiered.

1984 – A Mobile oil tanker spilled 200,000 gallons into the Columbia River.

1985 – IBM announced that it was planning to stop making the PCjr consumer-oriented computer.

1985 – The U.S. Senate voted to authorize production of the MX missile.

1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned from the PTL due to a scandal involving Jessica Hahn.

1988 – Two British soldiers were killed by mourners at a funeral in Belfast, North Ireland. The soldiers were shot to death after being dragged from a car and beaten.

1990 – Latvia’s political opposition claimed victory in the republic’s first free elections in 50 years.

1990 – The first world ice hockey tournament for women was held in Ottawa.

1991 – Brett Hull, of the St. Louis Blues, became the third National Hockey League (NHL) player to score 80 goals in a season.

1994 – The largest omelet in history was made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama, Japan.

1998 – The World Health Organization warned of tuberculosis epidemic that could kill 70 million people in next two decades.

1999 – 53 people were killed and dozens were injured when a bomb exploded in a market place in southern Russia.

2000 – Vector Data Systems conducted a simulation of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege in Waco, TX. The simulation showed that the government had not fired first.

2001 – California officials declared a power alert and ordered the first of two days of rolling blackouts.

2002 – Operation Anaconda, the largest U.S.-led ground offensive since the Gulf War, ended in eastern Afghanistan. During the operation, which began on March 2, it was reported that at least 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were killed. Eleven allied troops were killed during the same operation.

2002 – Actor Ben Kingsley was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

2003 – U.S. President George W. Bush announced that U.S. forces had launched a strike against “targets of military opportunity” in Iraq. The attack, using cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs, were aimed at Iraqi leaders thought to be near Baghdad.

2015 – Apple replaced AT&T in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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