When discussing the civil rights movement and the fight against segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks is often the name that comes to mind.
However, nine months before Parks refused to give up her bus seat, a 15-year-old named Claudette Colvin made a similar, courageous stand—one that deserves its place in history.
In March 1955, Claudette Colvin was riding a segregated bus in Montgomery when the driver ordered her to vacate her seat for a white passenger. Fueled by a sense of justice and inspiration from historical icons like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, Colvin resisted.
“That day, I felt like hands were holding me down—Harriet Tubman on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth on the other. I was glued to that seat,” Colvin later recalled in a documentary. As white passengers demanded she move, she stood firm, shouting, “It’s my constitutional right! I’m not going to move.”
Colvin’s act of defiance led to her arrest.
“I still vividly remember the sound of the keys turning as they locked me in jail,” she shared. “I was terrified but also angry. I prayed, hoping someone would let my parents know where I was.”
Though her actions predated Rosa Parks’ iconic protest, Colvin’s story did not receive the same recognition. At the time, civil rights leaders believed her age and circumstances—Colvin later became pregnant—might detract from the movement’s message. Yet, Colvin’s bravery was instrumental in the fight to challenge segregation laws, including her role as a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that deemed bus segregation unconstitutional.
Reflecting on her bold decision, Colvin humbly stated, “I didn’t think I was chosen by God. I just thought it was my right. I wanted people to unify and fight against segregation.”
Claudette Colvin’s story inspires courage and determination and a reminder that change often begins with a single act of defiance.
