Her brave action came nine months before Rosa Parks also refused to give up her seat. Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. if( ! The WPC, however, did not choose her to be that test case. Her story followed Joseph Campbell's proposed idea of The Hero's Journey. Claudette Colvin : biography 05 September 1939 - Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939) is a pioneer of the African-American civil rights movement. New York, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 02:28. "[22] Colvin was handcuffed, arrested, and forcibly removed from the bus. [44], Former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove memorialized Colvin in her poem "Claudette Colvin Goes To Work",[45] published in her 1999 book On the Bus with Rosa Parks; folk singer John McCutcheon turned this poem into a song, which was first publicly performed in Charlottesville, Virginia's Paramount Theater in 2006. [2] Colvin and her sister referred to the Colvins as their parents and took their last name. Claudette Colvin was a pioneering civil rights activist in Alabama during the 1950s. Colvin helps overturn bus segregation laws in Alabama. Born in 1913, Rosa Parks was an iconic figure in the Civil Rights . Last October, the 82-year-old civil rights pioneer made the life-changing move to file for the expungement of her decades-old arrest record. Claudette Colvin is an important civil rights activist who made a notable impact on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Claudette Colvin biography timelines. Claudette was a dreamer - she wanted to be President someday! On March 2, 1955, at the age of 15, she was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, preceding the more publicized Rosa Parks incident by nine months. https://www.biography.com/activist/claudette-colvin. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 6, 1955, Colvins case was moved to the Montgomery Circuit Court, where two of the three charges against her were dropped, but the charge of assaulting the arresting police officers remained. A group of black civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr., was organized to discuss Colvin's arrest with the police commissioner. She was born to Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. "It resonates just as . Claudette Colvin was an important figure in the civil rights movement. "I do feel like what I did was a spark and it caught on. How old would Martin Luther King be today? 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. The district courts decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the original ruling. Claudette Colvin won a National Book Award and was dubbed a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009. She was raised in a poor neighborhood where she realized the separation of whites and blacks. He was educated at Indiana University and the Yale School of Forestry. However, her story is often silenced. [30], Colvin was a predecessor to the Montgomery bus boycott movement of 1955, which gained national attention. Claudette Colvin was an important figure in the civil rights movement. She went to Booker T Washington high school. Because of her protest on the bus, Colvin was arrested when she was just 15 years old. [47], A re-enactment of Colvin's resistance is portrayed in a 2014 episode of the comedy TV series Drunk History about Montgomery, Alabama. . The Supreme Court summarily affirmed the District Court decision on November 13, 1956. As of 2022, she is 82 years old. "So I told him I was not going to get up either. Angela Davis is an activist, scholar and writer who advocates for the oppressed. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. "There was no assault", Price said. In 2021, she decided to clear her name and made a life-changing move to file for the expungement of her decades-old arrest record. Colvin. Colvin is a civil rights activist and pioneer of the 1950s U.S. civil rights movement. if (d.getElementById(id)) return; She relied on the city's buses to get to and from school because her family did not own a car. "Claudette Colvin's story is a timeless profile in courage," says Montgomery's mayor, Steven Reed, who was elected in 2019, becoming the city's first Black mayor. Let the people know Rosa Parks was the right person for the boycott. My mom named me after Claudette Colbert, a movie star back then, supposedly because we both had high cheekbones. The case, organized and filed in federal court by civil rights attorney Fred Gray, challenged city bus segregation in Montgomery as unconstitutional. How much did the average black person make compared to the average white person on the same job? Colvin and Mary Anne Colvin. Austin, but she was raised by her great-aunt and great-uncle, Mary Ann and Q.P. She withdrew from college, and struggled in the local environment. [2][14] Despite being a good student, Colvin had difficulty connecting with her peers in school due to grief. This was partially a product of the outward face the NAACP was trying to broadcast and partially a product of the women fearing losing their jobs, which were often in the public school system. The once-quiet student was branded a troublemaker by some, and she had to drop out of college. Austin. Colvin is nothing short of a civil rights hero and will always be remembered for her bravery and contribution to the cause. Mine was the first cry for justice, and a loud one. She was pregnant and she kept saying that she didnt feel like standing, and as she had paid her fare, she had as much right to the seat as the white woman. Although she defended her innocence on the three charges, she was found guilty. She is a wondrous person for what she did. Months before Rosa Parks, Colvin stood up against segregation in Alabama in 1955, when she was only 15 years old. js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; 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. [23] She was bailed out by her minister, who told her that she had brought the revolution to Montgomery. Colvin was born September 5,. The case went to theUnited States Supreme Courton appeal by the state, and it upheld the district court's ruling on December 17, 1956. Claudette Colvin and her guardians relocated to Montgomery when she was eight. Claudette Colvin: "Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn't the case at all." Colvin was born September 5, 1939, and was adopted by C. P. Colvin . On March 2, 1955, she was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, preceding the more publicized Rosa Parks incident by nine months. Claudette Colvin is a pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. She was an unmarried teenager at the time and was reportedly raped by a married man soon after the incident, from which she became pregnant. Claudette Colvin was born in 1930s. Colvin studied at Booker T. Washington High School, a segregated school for African Americans. Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. Facts reveal that Claudette grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her seven siblings . xfbml : true, At the age of four, she was shopping for groceries with her mother, when a group of white children came into the store. } ); [24] She was convicted on all three charges in juvenile court. On March 2nd, 1955, Colvin was arrested as a teenager for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white woman who was left standing. Colvin has said, "Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn't the case at all. My biological father's name is C. P. Austin, and my birth mother's name is Mary Jane Gadson. Her parents are C.P. 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. Fifteen years old, the tiny Colvin attended Booker T. Washington High School. Jeanetta Reese later resigned from the case. Buses were segregated at the time, so Colvin sat in the black section of the bus at the back. Colvin was also a member of the localNAACPYouth Council, where she formed a close relationship with her overseer:Rosa Parks. The daily routine of life was a challenge for most. Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to integrate an all-white public elementary school in the South. In the south, male ministers made up the overwhelming majority of leaders. Her political inclination was fueled in part by an incident with her schoolmate, Jeremiah Reeves; his case was the first time that she had witnessed the work of the NAACP. In 1960, she gave birth to her second son, Randy. toyourinbox. Colvins arrest record and adjudication of delinquency were finally expunged. She was raised in a poor neighborhood where she realized the separation of whites and blacks. The driver looked at the women in his mirror. Some have tried to change that. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939. On June 13, 1956, it was determined that the state and local laws requiring bus segregation in Alabama were unconstitutional. Born Lily Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. Such was the case on that day, when Colvin was returning home. She was arrested and became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that Montgomery's segregated bus system was unconstitutional. Rosa Parks was a black woman who also refused to give up her seat on a public bus, but this incident took place nine months later. cookie : true, Her biography, titled Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice was published in 2009. "Had it not been for Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith, there may not have been a Thurgood Marshall, a Martin Luther King or a Rosa Parks. I think that history only has room enough for certainyou know, how many icons can you choose? It was Parks's action that sparked the U.S. civil rights movement . Colvin grew up in a poor black neighborhood ofMontgomery, Alabama.