Final answer:
Rosa Parks inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, leading to her arrest and a widespread boycott that was instrumental in fighting segregation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The individual who inspired a bus boycott by choosing to be arrested rather than giving up her seat was Rosa Parks. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand against racial segregation by not relinquishing her seat on a Montgomery bus to a White man, which led to her arrest. This act of defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Activists within the African American community, particularly the Women's Political Council and the NAACP, used Parks' arrest as a catalyst to organize a widespread boycott of the bus system. Starting on December 5, 1955, approximately 40,000 African American residents refused to use the buses, marking the first day of a boycott that lasted 381 days.
Leaders such as E.D. Nixon, Jo Ann Robinson, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were instrumental in organizing and maintaining the boycott. The collective action of the community endured despite challenges, with many individuals walking or finding alternative transportation for the duration of the boycott. Their persistence and the Supreme Court's ruling in Browder v. Gayle eventually led to the desegregation of the Montgomery buses, signifying a monumental victory for the Civil Rights Movement.