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In March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks defied segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did exactly 1. Similarities: Acts of Defiance: Both Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks refused to surrender their seats on segregated buses, challenging the oppressive racial norms of the time. Early Activism: Both women were engaged in civil rights activism from a young age. Claudette joined the NAACP Youth Council, and Parks was a secretary for the NAACP. Her name was Claudette Colvin. But the world was not yet ready to hear her name. Claudette’s story has long been overshadowed by the more famous act of defiance performed by Rosa Parks later that year. Parks, with her carefully curated image as a quiet, respectable, middle-aged woman, became the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. "The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus." Democracy Now, March 29, 2013. Adler, Margot. "Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin." National Public Radio, March 15, 2009. Kitchen, Sebastian. "Claudette Colvin." The Montgomery Bus Boycott. Mechanic, Michael. History remembers the bold.Alexander the Great, Marie Curie and Neil Armstrong are all remembered for their audacity, discoveries and exploration. But sometimes, a figure slips through the cracks.While Rosa Parks is celebrated for her refusal to give up her bus seat, Claudette Colvin’s identical act of defiance in the same city nine months earlier has been all but forgotten. Parks made Colvin secretary of the council, trying to nurture the young woman’s spirit and budding leadership. Claudette Colvin recalled that she only went to Youth Council meetings “if I could get a ride” and sometimes she would “stay overnight at Rosa’s — she lived in the projects across the street.” Nine months after Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat, Rosa Parks became the “right person” on 1 December. On the night of Parks’ arrest, the Women’s Political Council (WPC), a group of Black women working for civil rights, began circulating flyers calling for a boycott of the bus system. Most people know about Rosa Parks and the 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. Nine months earlier, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the same bus system. In the chronicles of the Civil Rights Movement, one name remains regrettably shrouded by the obscurity of history – Claudette Colvin. Aged just 15, this fiery teenager, imbued with the spirit of resistance, defied the oppressive conventions of a racially segregated Montgomery, Alabama, a full nine months before the more famous act of defiance by Rosa Parks. On March 2, 1955, Claudette stood For many years, Rosa Parks was the name associated with the bus boycott, but gradually, Claudette Colvin’s role in the actions and lawsuit that ended bus segregation became known. This book explores the many issues surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott, such as the age, gender, and class barriers that factored into decisions and the internal Comparison: Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks Similarities both African-American women both refused to give up seat on a segregated bus both arrested on segregated buses both started a spark that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott both arrested in 1955 Claudette and Rosa Claudette Comparison: Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks Similarities both African-American women both refused to give up seat on a segregated bus both arrested on segregated buses both started a spark that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott both arrested in 1955 Claudette and Rosa Claudette Nine months earlier, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. In October 1955, 18-year-old Mary Louise Smith had been arrested under similar circumstances, but both cases failed to stir Montgomery’s black leadership to help launch a mass protest. What most people don’t know is that nine months before Parks, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the same exact thing. Colvin’s act of heroic defiance would forever change American society, even Claudette Colvin (event September 5, 1939): The First “Rosa Parks” by CORE — Congress of Racial Equality. Claudette Colvin (by, September 5, 1939) is a African American woman from Alabama. In 1955, at the age of 15, she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white person, in violation of local law. Some may argue to have used Colvin as the icon, since she was the first to defy that law in such a way and since she was 15 to show the injustice to younger kids and women. Rosa Parks, however, was the best candidate to start the revolution. To conclude, we may not have been where we are without Claudette Colvin's bravery. Rosa Parks is one of my heroes. Claudette Colvin is too. Update | There’s another part of the Claudette Colvin story that’s worth telling. (I discovered it this morning in Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, and it’s stuck with me.) In November 1952, a black high school student named Jeremiah Reeves was arrested in March 2, 1955. Claudette Colvin, 15, is arrested for allegedly violating Montgomery’s ordinance requiring segregation on the city’s buses. King, Jo Ann Robinson of the Women’s Political Council, Rosa Parks of the Montgomery NAACP, and others later meet with city and bus company officials. The Colvin case, Douglas Brinkley writes in Rosa Parks, “proved a good dress rehearsal for the real drama shortly to come.” The African American community needed a citizen whose character was unimpeachable, a “pillar of the community.” Nine months later, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks—unbeknownst to her—would become that person. Downloadable script about the courageous stories of Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin during the Montgomery Bus Boycott Theme of the Work: Social justice, the power of unity, and faith in action. Duration: 12–15 minutes Pages: 4-5 Actors: 8–10 (Rosa, Claudette, bus driver, passengers, narrators, and Dr. King) Keywords: Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, Montgomery Bus Boycott, church worship
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