Who Is Claudette Colvin?

Claudette Colvin

(Photograph - The Visibility Project)

Claudette Colvin was born on September 5th, 1939 in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up with her great aunt and great uncle, Mary Ann and Q.P. Colvin (Hoose, p. 11). Claudette Colvin was a vastly influential figure in the civil rights movement, yet she is largely forgotten. Despite the common misconception that Rosa Parks was the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat on a bus, that honor actually belongs to Claudette Colvin. When she was just 15 years old Claudette was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white woman (Hoose, p. 32). Colvin was arrested on March 2, 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955. Colvin was actually the inspiration for Rosa Park's famous refusal and subsequent arrest. As Colvin's attorney Fred Gray said "if there had not been a Claudette Colvin, there may very well have never been a Mrs. Rosa Parks as we know her today" (Jet, p. 2). Colvin's arrest also led to the Supreme Court Case Browder versus Gayle. This case is what actually ended bus segregation, not the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Abdulaleem, p. 1).

Works Cited
Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. 1st ed. Douglas & McIntyre, 2009. Print.
Abdulaleem, Maryam. "Before There Was Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin." The New York Amsterdam News 2009. Print.
"Claudette Colvin: An Unsung Hero in the Montgomery Bus Boycott." Jet Magazine 28 Feb. 2005. Print.
"Never Forget #020: Claudette Colvin Refused to Give Up Her Seat Long Before Rosa Parks." The Visibility Project. 8 July 2015. Web. <http://www.thevisibilityproject.com/2015/07/08/never-forget-020-claudette-colvin-refused-to-give-up-her-seat-long-before-rosa-parks/>.

The Bus Incident

On March 2, 1955 Claudette Colvin became the first African American person to be arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. On this Spring day Colvin and three of her female classmates boarded a public bus on their way home from Booker T. Washington High School. Colvin was only 15 years old at this time. Colvin and her friends were seated in a section of the bus where black people were allowed to sit, but only if white people had an adequate amount of seating in the front of the bus. If a white person needed a seat on the bus, black people were expected to vacate the entire row so that the white person would not be sitting in the same row as a black person (Younge, p. 1). When a white woman demanded that Claudette and her friends leave their seats, Claudette's friends all left, but Claudette remained unmoved. When Colvin refused to leave her seat the bus driver called the police, who then dragged Colvin from the bus (Abdulaleem, p. 1). Colvin is quoted as saying "it is my constitutional right" as she was being dragged from the bus. Colvin also argued that because she had paid her bus fare and she was not sitting in the white section of the bus, she had not broken any laws (Abdulaleem, p. 1).

Works Cited
Younge, Gary. "She Would Not Be Moved." The Guardian 16 Dec. 2000. Print.
 Abdulaleem, Maryam. "Before There Was Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin." The New York Amsterdam News 2009. Print.

Rosa Parks and the Response of the NAACP

 (Photograph - Mother Jones "Rosa Parks Didn't Act Alone: Meet Claudette Colvin)

Following the arrest of Claudette Colvin, the NAACP wanted to organize a bus boycott. However, the NAACP was skeptical about having a teenager as the face of the movement (Abdulaleem, p. 2). Shortly after her arrest, Colvin became pregnant and the NAACP knew that a pregnant teenager would never earn the respect that they needed for their movement. It is also thought that because Colvin had dark skin it would be harder for white people to sympathize with her (Abdulaleem, p. 2). The NAACP decided that Rosa Parks would be seen as a respectable black woman if she were to be the poster child for desegregating buses. In December 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. The NAACP was able to rally support for Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott followed (Younge, p. 1).

Works Cited
Younge, Gary. "She Would Not Be Moved." The Guardian 16 Dec. 2000. Print.
 Abdulaleem, Maryam. "Before There Was Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin." The New York Amsterdam News 2009. Print.
 Mechanic, Michael. "Rosa Parks Didn't Act Alone: Meet Claudette Colvin." Mother Jones. 20 Jan. 2009. Web. <http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/01/rosa-parks-didnt-act-alone-meet-claudette-colvin>.

Browder versus Gayle

With the Montgomery Bus Boycott in full swing, in February of 1956, 100 black citizens were arrested for boycotting without "just or legal cause". Among those arrested were Martin Luther King Jr and Rose Parks. The anti-segregation movement was eager to end the boycott with a clear victory and they saw the Browder versus Gayle case as an opportunity to do just that. The case was named after Aurelia Browder (the plaintiff whose name came first alphabetically) and W.A. Gayle, the mayor of Montgomery (Hoose, p. 82). On February 1, 1956 Claudette Colvin served as one of four plaintiffs in the case (Jet, p. 2). Attorney Fred Gray, who had represented Colvin in the days following her arrest, represented the plaintiffs in this case (Jet, p. 1). Gray argued that bus segregation violated the equal rights provision of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Colvin testified about her personal experience of being arrested for refusing to give up her seat. After the trial concluded in June of 1956 the three judges who heard the case deliberated. In a 2-1 decision the judges found that state-imposed segregation on public facilities violates the Constitution (Hoose, p. 91). The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the court's ruling in December of 1956, ending bus segregation in the United States (Abdulaleem, p. 1).

Works Cited
Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. 1st ed. Douglas & McIntyre, 2009. Print.
 Abdulaleem, Maryam. "Before There Was Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin." The New York Amsterdam News 2009. Print.
"Claudette Colvin: An Unsung Hero in the Montgomery Bus Boycott." Jet Magazine 28 Feb. 2005. Print.

Short Video Biography

This video provides a brief overview of the life and accomplishments of Claudette Colvin.


Works Cited
Ms. Deis. "Claudette Colvin." Youtube.com. 12 Mar. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3UEYGxYEGQ>.

Democracy Now!

In this video Claudette Colvin herself recalls her experience of refusing to give up her seat to a white woman. Colvin expresses how her knowledge of history and oppression strongly influenced her not to give up her seat. She states "I could not move because history had me glued to the seat...it felt like Sojourner Truth's hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman's hands were pushing me down on another shoulder" (Democracy Now!).

Works Cited
Democracy Now! "The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus." Youtube.com. 29 Mar. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW80tV31eL0>.

Continued Reading

If you're interested in learning more about Claudette Colvin, you can check out all the sources that I have used in this blog including:

• "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
• "Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin" by Maryam Abdulaleem
• "Claudette Colvin: An Unsung Hero in the Montgomery Bus Boycott" published in Jet Magazine
• "She Would Not Be Moved" by Gary Younge

If you would like to branch out even more and continue your reading about Claudette Colvin you can check out the following sources:

• "Claudette Colvin Goes to Work" by Rita Dove
• "The Girl Who Got Arrested" by Mack Lewis
• "Claudette Colvin Biography" - biography.com -  http://www.biography.com/people/claudette-colvin-11378
• "Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation on an Alabama Bus" - NPR - http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/27/389563788/before-rosa-parks-a-teenager-defied-segregation-on-an-alabama-bus
• "Claudette Colvin" - The Montgomery Bus Boycott - http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/claudette-colvin/

Drunk History: Claudette Colvin

Warning: The following video contains explicit language (although it has been bleeped out). This video is part of a comedy series called "Drunk History" which airs on Comedy Central. In this series storytellers discuss famous incidents in history while they are drunk and then the stories they tell are reenacted. Keep in mind that this video is not meant to be a credible source; it is just a funny way of looking at a serious part of history. This episode of Drunk History was actually the way that I first learned about Claudette Colvin so I felt the need to include it in my blog dedicated to her. After doing my research about Claudette Colvin's life, I have found this video to be surprisingly accurate.

Works Cited
Comedy Central. "Drunk History - Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks." Youtube.com. 1 July 2014. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Occ7XSgQc>.