The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was a key organization in the Civil Rights Movement led by African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. The MIA was founded in December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus.

The MIA was instrumental in organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest against segregated seating on city buses. The boycott, which began on December 5, 1955, was a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and was ultimately successful in desegregating the bus system in Montgomery. The MIA was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who emerged as a key leader in the movement.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the work of the MIA played a significant role in shaping the tactics and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring similar acts of nonviolent resistance in other cities across the United States. The MIA's success in Montgomery demonstrated the power of organized, nonviolent protest in combating racial segregation and discrimination.