Copyright 2016 FamousAfricanAmericans.org, Museum Dedicated to African American History and Culture is Set to Open in 2016, Scholarships for African Americans Black Scholarships, Top 10 Most Famous Black Actors of All Time. How old would Martin Luther King be today? Her biological parents are C.P. Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939)[1][2] is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. African Zion Baptist Church, Malden, West Virginia, (1852- ), COINTELPRO [Counterintelligence Program] (1956-1976), African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. In 2017, the Montgomery Council passed a resolution for a proclamation honoring Colvin. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Then 15 years old, she had been riding home . Answer: Montgomery, Alabama, United States Colvin did not receive the same attention as Parks for a number of reasons: she did not have 'good hair', she was not fair-skinned, she was a teenager, she got pregnant. 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. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her dad made money mowing lawns, and her mother was a handmaid. "Claudette gave all of us moral courage. Some of the struggles that she has overcome would be discrimination and the death of her oldest son at a fairly young age. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Colvin is a civil rights activist and pioneer of the 1950s U.S. civil rights movement. 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. She was born on September 5, 1939. js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; 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. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, . She was born on September 5, 1939. The Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) looked into her case and initially raised money to appeal her conviction. [11][12], Two days before Colvin's 13th birthday, Delphine died of polio. "So I told him I was not going to get up either. (function(d, s, id) { She was born on September 9, 1939. This occurred some nine months before the more widely known incident in whichRosa Parks, secretary of the local chapter of theNAACP, helped spark the 1955Montgomery bus boycott. NPR's Margot Adler has said that black organizations believed that Rosa Parks would be a better figure for a test case for integration because she was an adult, had a job, and had a middle-class appearance. window.fbAsyncInit = function() { It was March 2, 1955 and fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin was taking the bus in order to get home after her day of attending classes. Three of the women moved but another woman, by the name of Ruth Hamilton, got up and sat next to Colvin. So he said, 'If you are not going to get up, I will get a policeman.'" 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. Colvin did so, but received a slap and a severe reprimand from her mother, saying that she was not allowed to touch white people. Colvins arrest record and adjudication of delinquency were finally expunged. Although Colvins actions were a predecessor to the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement of 1955, she rarely told her story. March 2 was named Claudette Colvin Day in Montgomery. Taylor Branch. Tue, 09.05.1939 Claudette Colvin, Activist born Claudette Colvin *Claudette Colvin was born this date in 1939. Claudette . Colvin was asked by the driver to give up her seat on the crowded bus for a white passenger who had just boarded; she refused. They'd call her a bad girl, and her case wouldn't have a chance."[6][8]. Daryl Bailey, the District Attorney for the county, supported her motion, stating: "Her actions back in March of 1955 were conscientious, not criminal; inspired, not illegal; they should have led to praise and not prosecution". . In the 2010s, Larkin arranged for a street to be named after Colvin. He lives in . But she rarely told her story after moving to New York City. He contacted Montgomery Councilmen Charles Jinright and Tracy Larkin, and in 2017, the Council passed a resolution for a proclamation honoring Colvin. On March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin boarded a bus home from school. . Colvin is nothing short of a civil rights hero and will always be remembered for her bravery and contribution to the cause. Claudette Colvin, a fifteen-year-old student, was arrested for . She worked there for 35 years, retiring in 2004. [2][10] When Colvin was eight years old, the Colvins moved to King Hill, a poor black neighborhood in Montgomery where she spent the rest of her childhood. [36], Colvin and her family have been fighting for recognition for her action. New York, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 02:28. Austin and Mary Jane Gadson-Austin. On June 5, 1956, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama issued a ruling declaring the state of Alabama and Montgomery's laws mandating public bus segregation as unconstitutional. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; "It resonates just as . This then also influenced the Montgomery bus boycott, which was called off after the Supreme Courts ruling to end bus segregation in Alabama. Survey data is powered by Wisevoter and Scholaroo,