Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 5, 1939. Colvin is known for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. It was March 2, 1955 and fifteen-year-old Colvin caught the bus home from school. The young girl was asked to give up her seat to a white passenger. Colvin refused stating it was her constitutional right to sit there. Claudette was then arrested for violating the segregation laws in place and was later placed on probation.

The NAACP decided not to use her case to challenge the segregation laws in place due to her age. She had also become pregnant later that year. The NAACP felt an unwed mother would attract too much negative attention to the fight against segregation.

Claudette was also one of five plaintiffs in Browder vs Gayle, a federal civil rights case. Fred Gray and Charles Langford filed the case on behalf of four African American women who were mistreated on the bus. The case made its way to the Supreme Court and later included Rosa Parks in the case filed. On June 5, 1956, it was ruled the actions taken were unconstitutional.

Colvin would continue life as usual. She had difficulties moving on from her actions. She suffered ridicule from the public. The smart, quiet student was later labeled as trouble maker and dropped out of college. The label also made it very difficult for Colvin to find a job. A couple of years later, she moved to Manhattan and became a nurse’s aide.

Claudette Colvin may have been young but her actions shed light on the issue of segregation in the south prior Rosa Parks. She helped to begin the Civil Rights movement that gave African Americans the civil liberties they were entitled too. The moral of the story is no matter how old you are, you can make a difference. Don’t let your age stop your fight. Anyone can begin change.