Jo Ann Gibson Robinson (April 17, 1912 – August 29, 1992) was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement and educator in Montgomery, Alabama. Early life Born Jo Ann Gibson, near Culloden, Georgia, on April 17, 1912, she was the youngest of twelve children. Her parents were Owen Boston and Dollie Webb Gibson, who had owned a farm. Her father died when Robinson was only 6 years old. After her father's death, Robinson, her mother, and her eleven other siblings moved to Macon, Georgia. Robinson excelled in school and earned valedictorian at her high school in her graduating year. She became the first person in her family to graduate from college, attending Fort Valley State College. Career and college Robinson graduated from Fort Valley State College with her Bachelor's degree in 1934. After college, she became a public school teacher in Macon, where she was married to Wilbur Robinson for a short time. Five years later, she went to Atlanta, where she earned an M.A. in English at Atlanta University. Robinson continued her education even after earning her Masters at New York's Columbia University, and continued to study English. Shortly after, she went to teach at Mary Allen College. After teaching in Texas, she then accepted a position at Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) in Montgomery. Women's Political Council (WPC) It was in Montgomery, Alabama, where Robinson joined the Women's Political Council, which Mary Fair Burks had founded three years earlier. The WPC was an organization dedicated to inspiring African Americans to rise above the level of mediocrity that they had been conditioned to accept, to fight juvenile delinquency, increase voter registration in the African American community, and to improve their status as a group. The WPC was also in the development in women's involvement in civic affairs, worked towards encouraging African Americans to vote, and helping women who were victims of rape. Segregation on Montgomery buses In 1949, Robinson was verbally attacked by a bus driver for sitting in the front “Whites only” section of the bus. The whites-only section was empty say for one person 2 rows infront of her. Out of fear that the incident would escalate and that the driver would go from verbal abuse to physical, Robinson left the bus. Her response to the incident was to attempt to start a protest boycott against bus segregation in Alabama. However, when Robinson approached fellow