organizing a boycott. King, at only 26, was elected their spokesman.
             Out of this meeting came the Montgomery Improvement Association. King had 20 minutes to prepare an address to be given to about 5,000 people. His speech had two major thrusts: democracy and overthrowing oppression. He urged blacks to stand up for themselves and also appealed to their self-discipline. The bus company and the city refused to agree to their demands, so the MIA organized a car pool, which the police harassed, arresting black drivers, including King. On 1 February the MIA's lawyer challenged the Alabama segregation laws in a federal court. At the end of February a grand jury charged the MIAs leadership with breaking a 1921 anti-boycott law Rather than wait to be arrested, all 89 leaders presented themselves at the courthouse in front of a cheering crowd.
             The boycott ran for 381 days, attracting national and international interest. The Supreme Court banned segregation, serving an order on Montgomery's white officials on 20 December 1956. King received worldwide acclaim - and the approval of white liberal America.
             Soon after, King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, nonviolent movement aiming to banisl~ segregation. In 1957, the SCLC turned its attention to voter registration. King believed in democratic change and that it was vital for blacks to use the right to vote The 1957 Civil Rights Act redressed the fact that they did not have the vote ii many states, but the response to
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