Claudette Colvin played a significant role in the civil rights movement.
Did you know?
Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin) is an unsung shero and pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement.
On March 2, 1955, at age 15, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a very crowded segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The incident occurred nine months before Rosa Park’s legendary protest. Two police officers removed Colvin by force and arrested her. Claudette Colvin, now 81, said “I felt like Soujourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder, and Harriet Tubman was pushing down on the other, saying, “sit down girl! I was glued to my seat.”
In May 2018, Colvin was honored with a Congressional Certificate and an American flag for her lifetime commitment to public service presented by Congressman Joe Crowley D-NY.
We speak your name Claudette Colvin.