How a Network of Black Women Educators Secretly Organized a Revolution

Who Were the Women of the WPC? Founded in Montgomery in 1946 by Mary Fair Burks, an English professor at the historically Black Alabama State College

Who Were the Women of the WPC?

Founded in Montgomery in 1946 by Mary Fair Burks, an English professor at the historically Black Alabama State College (now Alabama State University), the WPC was a highly organized civic association.

Unlike mainstream organizations of the time, the WPC was composed almost entirely of Black, middle-class, professional women—educators, public school teachers, and wives of local professionals. At a time when deep institutionalized racism and gender barriers made political organizing incredibly dangerous, these women were uniquely positioned:

They were highly educated and possessed immense organizational talent.
They were deeply embedded in the community, with members stationed in every public school, federal and state office, and neighborhood.
By the mid-1950s, under the leadership of English professor Jo Ann Robinson (who took over as president in 1950), the group had grown to over 300 active members across three chapters.

The Secret Blueprint: Years of Preparation

The WPC didn’t just react to Rosa Parks’ arrest on December 1, 1955; they had been actively planning a bus boycott for years.

In 1949, Jo Ann Robinson had been screamed at and threatened by a white bus driver for sitting in the “white section” of an empty bus—an experience that left her traumatized and fiercely determined. When she became president of the WPC, she pivoted the organization’s entire focus to the abusive, segregated bus system.

                       THE ROAD TO THE BOYCOTT
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[1946] WPC Founded by Mary Fair Burks to promote civic/political power.
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[1949] Jo Ann Robinson suffers humiliation on a bus; joins WPC.
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[1950] Robinson becomes President; refocuses WPC on bus integration.
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[1954] Robinson warns Mayor Gayle that a citywide boycott is planned.
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[May 1955] Claudette Colvin (15) arrested; WPC monitors, waits for ideal test case.
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[Dec 1, 1955] Rosa Parks arrested. The WPC instantly springs into action.

In May 1954, following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Robinson wrote a formal letter to Montgomery’s Mayor, W.A. Gayle, politely but firmly warning him that if the abusive treatment of Black passengers didn’t stop, “twenty-five local organizations” were already planning to boycott the city’s transit system. The city ignored her.

The WPC waited for the perfect legal test case. When 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested in March 1955, the WPC met with city leaders, but legal strategists decided Colvin’s youth made her vulnerable to smear campaigns. When Rosa Parks—a respected, seasoned organizer—was arrested on Thursday, December 1, 1955, the WPC knew the moment had arrived.

The Midnight Mimeograph: Executing the Boycott

While local male leaders and ministers were still debating what to do, Jo Ann Robinson and the WPC executed a logistical marvel.

On Thursday night, December 1, hours after Parks’ arrest, Robinson drafted a simple, direct flyer calling for a citywide, one-day bus strike on Monday, December 5 (the day of Parks’ trial).

1.Access the Mimeograph:Thursday, 11:00 PM.

Robinson called John Cannon, the sympathetic head of Alabama State’s business department, who let her into the college’s administrative office to use the mimeograph machine.

2.Print the Flyers:Friday, 12:00 AM – 4:00 AM.

Working through the night in complete secrecy, Robinson and two trusted male students printed, cut, and bundled 52,500 flyers calling on the Black community to stay off the buses.

3.Mobilize the Network:Friday, 8:00 AM.

Robinson called the WPC roster. Members like Mary Fair Burks, Irene West, and Thelma Glass prepared drop-off routes. Every member knew exactly where to stand to receive a bundle of flyers.

4.Distribute Citywide:Friday, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

Using their cars, Robinson and her students drove across Montgomery. In broad daylight—but acting with absolute, quiet nonchalance to avoid raising police suspicion—they handed off the bundles to WPC contacts.

5.Saturate the Community:Friday, 3:00 PM.

The flyers were distributed through schools, beauty parlors, beer halls, factories, and barber shops. By mid-afternoon, virtually every Black household in Montgomery knew about the boycott.

Handing Over to the Ministers

It wasn’t until Friday afternoon—after the WPC had already printed and distributed 52,500 flyers—that Jo Ann Robinson and community organizer E.D. Nixon presented the completed plan to the city’s Black ministers, including a young Martin Luther King Jr.

The ministers met, realized the community was already mobilized, and agreed to support and formalize the effort. They formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to run the boycott long-term, electing King as its president.

The Invisible Labor:
Because almost all WPC leaders were state employees at the all-Black Alabama State College, they faced immediate firing and blacklisting if their political activities became public.
To protect their livelihoods, safety, and peace, the women purposely stepped out of the spotlight. They let the ministers—who, as church pastors, were funded by the Black community and couldn’t be fired by white employers—become the public face of the movement.

Even while working in the shadows, WPC members filled all the vital staff positions in the MIA, wrote and edited the weekly newsletters, and spent the next 381 days driving the carpools that sustained the boycott to its ultimate, historic victory.

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