Day 14 - Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin is an unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement. She refused to give up her seat on the Montgomery Bus system on March 2, 1955.  Colvin was nine months prior to Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the same bus system. 

The difference between Colvin and Parks was that Colvin challenged the law. In the case, Browder v. Gayle Colvin and four other women plaintiffs were able to successfully overturn the bus segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Claudette did not receive support from the NAACP and other local Black organizations because of her age and her skin color. Eventually, Claudette moved to New York City where no one knew about her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. Colvin was not written in history books but her story must be told today. We need to continue to say her name to recognize women as important changemakers in the Civil Rights movement. We must write our own narrative to recognize the past to move forward to the future. 

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