The Montgomery bus boycott nearly collapsed from internal strain before officials folded.

Evidence

I also learned something not taught about the boycott. According to my mom and uncle Renty “Willie,” the Black people of Montgomery had grown weary, and walking had become overly burdensome. Fights were erupting as people were threatening to get back on the buses. Renty “Willie” described a scene where mayhem broke out and no one could separate the two opposing sides. My uncle said that from out of nowhere, Martin Luther King Jr. stepped out and shouted, “Y’all go home! Go home.” … Both my mom and uncle were certain that had the bus boycott gone on for much longer, the Black people would have abandoned the campaign and returned to riding the bus. Fortunately, the Montgomery officials folded first. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1079

Categorization

• QUESTION: The standard civil-rights narrative presents the boycott as unified and resolute; this oral testimony that it nearly fractured is worth verifying against historical accounts.
• XREF: Contrasts the triumphalist Montgomery narrative with grassroots friction — echoes of how Lanier everywhere pits family memory against the authoritative record.