Alabama was the site of several crucial moments in the American civil rights movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott started in 1955 result of Rosa Parks' anti-segregation position on a public bus, and the violence against the Freedom Riders in the early 1960s brought racial hatred in Alabama to the attention of the whole country. The Civil Rights Act 

passed in 1965 as a result of demonstrations led by Rev. Martin Luther King, the Birmingham bombings, and the crucial march from Selma to Montgomery, which is home to the Alabama Civil Rights Memorial, which is regarded as the nation's first of its type of The memorial honors both the achievements and the struggles of the civil rights movement A list of persons who have endorsed the cause is also Included on the monument The episode sickened many, including President John F.