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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 "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. 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. 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. Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) [1] [2] is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama , for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. Claudette Colvin is an American woman who was arrested as a teenager in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white woman. Her protest was one of several by Black women challenging segregation on buses in the months before Rosa Parks’s more famous act. In "Before Rosa Parks, There was Claudette Colvin," Adler shares the story and facts of Colvin, who also refused to give up her seat on a bus. Find out more. Adopting high-quality instructional materials is the first step to transforming ELA instruction. 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. 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 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. 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 You know the story of David and Goliath, right? Well, America has its own version. Only our hero is 15-year-old African-American, school girl Claudette Colvi 3. PART A: How did Colvin’s actions compare to Parks’ actions? A. Claudette Colvin’s actions were more violent in her refusal to give up her seat than Rosa Parks’ were. B. Claudette Colvin’s actions were a sign of active resistance, while Rosa Parks merely didn’t want to move after a long day. C. Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks both 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. 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. It was actually Claudette Colvin who first took the bus-related stand, inspiring Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed. Imagine it: a fifteen year old girl inspiring an entire wave of the civil rights movement. The NPR piece "Before Rosa Parks There Was Claudette Colvin" sheds light on an often-overlooked chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. The article tells the story of Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old Black girl who, nine months before Rosa Parks' famous act of defiance, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white passenger. CLAUDETTE COLVIN: First one, Rosa Parks; my mother and my father, who supported me; and Mrs. Geraldine Nesbitt and Mrs. Josie Lawrence, my instructors; and historically, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks and white ally Virginia Durr began fundraising for young Colvin’s case, and more than one hundred letters and a stack of donations streamed into Parks’ apartment. Parks was hopeful that the young woman’s arrest would embolden other young people to action and spark interest in the NAACP youth meetings. On March 2, 1955, a full nine months before Rosa Parks took her famous stand, Colvin boarded a city bus with her friends, taking a seat behind the first five rows, which were reserved for whites.
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