Marther Luther King Jr. was a leader of the Civil Rights movement that helped African Americans gain the same rights as whites in the U.S. Rosa Parks was an icon that inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was part of the Civil Rights movement. No, I don’t believe it was difficult because a majority of people who road the buses were African American, there were many other ways to travel, and the cause that they were supporting by not riding the bus was worth being part of.