At this point, the black people of Montgomery had been marching for 13 weeks, facing threats and harassment with very little sign of progress. King worried that these masks arrests were going to break the movement and so he wanted to return as quickly as possible to rally their spirits. First he flies to Atlanta to collect his wife and daughter who had been staying with his parents while he traveled to Nashville. When his parents retrieved him from the airport, he was distressed to see the toll that the strain of events and the worry over their son had been taking on them. They seemed to have aged even since the last time he saw them. He was visible in how they walked and in the expressions they carried on their faces. His mother had been committed to bed rest by a doctor after the bombing of King's home and his father was suffering emotional breakdowns. A long time fighter for the cause, a strong tough guy, his father could now hardly speak of the boycotts without tears. King's father urged him not to return to Montgomery. He pointed out that the prosecutions were not in good faith and that he was under no obligation to treat them as if they were. He said, Martin, you might be thrown in prison and once you're there, who knows? What might happen? King listened and later recalled, I was profoundly concerned about my parents. I was worried about their worry. I knew that if I continued the struggle, I would be plagued by the pain that I was inflicting upon them. But if I eased out now, I would be plagued by my own conscience reminding me that I lack the moral courage to stand by a cause to the end. No one can understand who has not looked into the eyes of those he loves knowing he has no alternative but to take a dangerous stand that leaves them tormented. His father couldn't break Martin's resolve to return to Montgomery. So he asked his son to at least stay around long enough to discuss the issue with some friends and out of respect, Martin agreed. So his father calls on friends and these are black business leaders from Atlanta, the president of Morehouse College, other venerable men from the Atlanta black community. And once they were assembled, his father laid out his case, laid out the reasons for his case that his son should stay in Atlanta and protest the treatment of the Montgomery prisoners from there. And Dr. King remembered, quote, there were murmurs of agreement in the room and I listened as sympathetically and objectively as I could while two of them gave their reasons for concurring with my father. These were my elders, leaders among my people. Their words commanded respect. But soon I could not restrain myself any longer. I must go back to Montgomery I protested. My friends and associates are being arrested. It would be the height of cowardice for me to stay away. I would rather be in jail for 10 years than to desert my people now. I have begun the struggle and I can't turn back. I have reached the point of no return, end quote. His intentions, his intentions made clear. His father wept but the assembly of friends moved by Dr. King's resolve. They swung, they changed their positions and swung their support to Dr. King returning to Montgomery and they did their best to put his father at ease. Back in Montgomery Dr. King's greeted by Ralph Abernathy who had been jailed earlier but was out on bail. Driving Dr. King to the jail to turn himself in Abernathy told him of how on the morning of the arrests the people had gladly rushed to the jail to offer themselves up. Many went to see if they were on the list and went away disappointed when they weren't. They had not been broken by the arrest quite the opposite. Martin Luther King Jr. was photographed and fingerprinted before being released on bond to return for trial on March 19th. And on the day of the trial the whole world is present. Ministers and community leaders from across the US, over 500 black supporters lining the halls of the courthouse. You've got press from Europe, India around the world waiting to report on the outcome. For four days the state attempts to prove that King's role in organizing the Montgomery bus boycott was a violation of the law. The defense for its part brought 28 witnesses in an attempt to demonstrate that the boycott was predicated on the just cause. These witnesses were ordinary black bus riders telling stories of their experiences with the Montgomery bus system. Mrs. Stella Brooks told the court of how her husband having climbed aboard a bus and paid his toll was told to get off and re-board the bus by the back door. Looking back and seeing all the back seats were taken he said that he would just get off the bus and walk to his destination just give him back his 10 cents. The driver refused and Brooks insisted and so the driver calls the police.