Aurelia Shines Browder Coleman (January 29, 1919 – February 4, 1971) was an African-American
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
activist in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
. In April 1955, almost eight months before the arrest of
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...
and a month after the arrest of
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up ...
, she was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white rider.
Biography
Early life and family
Aurelia Browder was born on January 29, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, where she resided her whole life.
She was the sole economic support of her six children after she was widowed. She had several different careers throughout her life including working as a
seamstress
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.
Not ...
,
nurse midwife
A nurse midwife is both a nurse (usually a registered nurse) and a midwife, having completed nursing and midwifery education leading to practice as a nurse midwife and sometimes credentialed in the specialty. Nurse midwives provide care of women ...
and teacher
She was a strong, smart woman, one who
Jo Ann Gibson Robinson
Jo Ann Gibson Robinson (April 17, 1912 – August 29, 1992) was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and educator in Montgomery, Alabama.
Early life
Born Jo Ann Gibson, near Culloden, Georgia, on April 17, 1912,
she was the youngest of ...
described in her memoir as "well-read, highly intelligent, fearless."
Education
Browder completed high school in her thirties and eventually earned a bachelor's degree in science from
Alabama State University
Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
History
Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the ...
. She graduated with honors and was in the National
Alpha Kappa Mu
The Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society () is an American collegiate honor society recognizing academic excellence in all areas of study.
History
Alpha Kappa Mu was founded on at Tennessee A&I State College. Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society grew ...
Honor Society there.
While at Alabama State University, Browder met
Jo Ann Gibson Robinson
Jo Ann Gibson Robinson (April 17, 1912 – August 29, 1992) was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and educator in Montgomery, Alabama.
Early life
Born Jo Ann Gibson, near Culloden, Georgia, on April 17, 1912,
she was the youngest of ...
, a professor in the English Department, fellow Civil Rights activist, and member of the
Women's Political Council The Women's Political Council (WPC), founded in Montgomery, Alabama, was an organization that formed in 1946 that was an early force active in the civil rights movement that was formed to address the racial issues in the city. Members included Mary ...
. Robinson inspired Browder to get involved and tackle the injustices in the transportation system, encouraging her to participate in the lawsuit proposed by the
Montgomery Improvement Association The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed on December 5, 1955 by black ministers and community leaders in Montgomery, Alabama. Under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon, the MIA was instrumental ...
(MIA).
Involvement in civil rights
Prior to her involvement in the
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...
, Browder was active in the voter registration campaigns of the 1950s. She spent time tutoring African Americans who wanted to take the voter registration exam, worked to eliminate poll taxes, and provided transportation to the courthouse for those who wanted to register.
Aurelia Browder became associated with several Civil Rights groups during her time including the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
(NAACP), the
Montgomery Improvement Association The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed on December 5, 1955 by black ministers and community leaders in Montgomery, Alabama. Under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon, the MIA was instrumental ...
(MIA) and the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civ ...
(SCLC).
''Browder v. Gayle''
Arrest and filing of case
Aurelia Browder was arrested on April 19, 1955, almost eight months before the arrest of
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...
and a month after the arrest of
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up ...
, for sitting in the white section of a public city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was convicted and fined for her alleged crime. On February 1, 1956,
Fred Gray, the attorney for the Montgomery Improvement Association, and filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court on behalf of five black women who had been the victims of discrimination on local buses, joined by
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
and
Robert L. Carter of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
["Browder v. Gayle, 352 U.S. 903 , The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute". Kinginstitute.stanford.edu. Retrieved March 18, 2020.]
Plaintiffs and Defendants
''Browder v. Gayle'' was filed listing five plaintiffs—Aurelia Browder,
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up ...
,
Susie McDonald, Jeanetta Reese, and
Mary Louise Smith.
Browder was picked as the lead plaintiff because of her age. Two of the other plaintiffs were teenagers, and the other two were senior citizens. Browder was 37 at the time, putting her in the middle of the other plaintiffs and a good representation of all of them.
Jeanetta Reese withdrew from the case soon after it was filed because of intimidation from the white community.
William A. Gayle, the Mayor of Montgomery, was the namesake defendant
[Garrow, David J. (1989). The Walking City. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Publishing Inc. pp. 607–609, 261–278.] along with Montgomery's chief of police, Montgomery's Board of Commissioners representatives, Montgomery City Lines, Inc., two bus drivers, and Alabama Public Service Commission representatives.
Ruling and aftermath
On June 5, the judges released their decision: segregated buses violated the equal protection and due process guarantees of the
Fourteenth Amendment and were therefore unconstitutional. The City of Montgomery could not enforce any law "which may require plaintiffs or any other Negroes similarly situated to submit to segregation in the use of bus transportation facilities in the City of Montgomery."
Both the city and the state appealed this decision. On December 17, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, issuing a court order to the state of Alabama to desegregate its buses. While the Montgomery bus boycott, sparked by Rosa Parks, gained lasting national attention, it was Browder's court case that resulted in segregation laws being declared unconstitutional.
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was not a spontaneous event; various organizations in Montgomery – including the NAACP, MIA, and Women's political council (WPC) — had been waiting for the right moment to begin protest. After several women, including the plaintiffs of Browder v. Gayle, refused to give up their seats on the bus, the spark for the boycott was ignited when Rosa Parks was arrested. The boycott, primarily led by Jo Ann Gibson Robinson, began on December 3, 1955, two days after Rosa Parks' arrest.
The boycott lasted a little over a year and served as the face of the movement, gaining national attention and applying pressure on the courts to rule in favor of ending segregation. The less public side of the protest was Browder v. Gayle. The Montgomery Improvement Association filed Browder's case instead of Parks’ because it would be able to skip being heard in the local courts. Rosa Parks' case would have had to go through local courts first, where the case might have stayed pending for years. By filing directly with the District Courts, they would also be able to achieve an injunction against the segregation law at the same time.
The boycott ending with Browder v. Gayle's ruling, a fact often overlooked by history. While the Montgomery bus boycott gained lasting national attention, it was Browder's court case that resulted in segregation laws being declared unconstitutional.
Later life
Browder continued to be an activist and involved with the NAACP, MIA and SCLC after her case was settled. She spent some time teaching veterans at the
Loveless School
Loveless Academic Magnet Program High school, known as LAMP High School, is a magnet high school in Montgomery, Alabama. It was housed in the former Loveless School. It has a student body of around 490. LAMP was originally part of Sidney Lanier H ...
and established her own business later in life. Browder's son, Butler Browder, still lives in Montgomery. He feels that his mother's legacy has been overshadowed. In a 2005 article in the ''Montgomery Advertiser'' Butler wrote, “The truth is ''Browder vs. Gayle'' changed the laws that mandated bus segregation. If it weren't for that case and continued efforts to end segregation in this country, we might still be marching.”
Commemoration
In 2019 a statue of
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...
was unveiled in Montgomery, Alabama, and four granite markers were also unveiled near the statue on the same day to honor four plaintiffs in ''
Browder v. Gayle
''Browder v. Gayle'', 142 F. Supp. 707 (1956),[''Browder v. Gayle''](_blank)
14 ...
'', including Aurelia Browder.
See also
*''
Browder v. Gayle
''Browder v. Gayle'', 142 F. Supp. 707 (1956),[''Browder v. Gayle''](_blank)
14 ...
''
*
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up ...
*
Susie McDonald
*
Edgar Nixon
Edgar Daniel Nixon (July 12, 1899 – February 25, 1987), known as E. D. Nixon, was an American civil rights leader and union organizer in Alabama who played a crucial role in organizing the landmark Montgomery bus boycott there in 1955. The bo ...
*
Mary Louise Smith
*
Viola White
Viola White (1911–1954) was an African-American woman who lived in Montgomery, Alabama and is best known for her resistance to segregated bus laws. At 35 years old, in 1944, White was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. White's arrest occ ...
References
"Aurelia Browder Profile" Rivers of Change
Montgomery Boycott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browder, Aurelia
Activists for African-American civil rights
Activists from Montgomery, Alabama
1919 births
1971 deaths
Alabama State University alumni
African-American businesspeople
American women activists
African-American activists
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
Women civil rights activists
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people