March 2 was named Claudette Colvin day in Montgomery. Two police officers dragged Colvin off the bus. This was the first time a black woman had publicly stood up against the practice of bus segregation. In December of that year, Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white passenger. Claudette Colvin Family. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/claudette-colvin-5406.php. This incident made Claudette realize how vulnerable blacks were in her city. claudette colvin They responded by roughly yanking the teen off the bus and handcuffing her in the back of a squad car, subjecting her to lewd comments as they made their way to the city jail. It was Parks, a known and respected member of the community, whose arrest ultimately sparked the boycott and who would come to be seen as a catalyst of the movement. You have to take a stand and say, "That is not right." After moving to New York, she worked as a nurses aide in a Manhattan nursing home for 35 years. She grew up in the rural town of Pine Level, Alabama, about 30 miles from Montgomery, on a farm run by her great-aunt and uncle. This occurred some nine months before the more widely known incident in She later lived with her family in Montgomery. Colvin is extremely brave. In 2016, she and her family pushed for more content on her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. A street in Montgomery was named for her and March 2, 2017, was designated Claudette Colvin Day by the city. WebBirthday: September 5, 1939 ( Virgo) Born In: Montgomery, Alabama, United States 90 9 Civil Rights Activists #27 Activists #184 Quick Facts Also Known As: Claudette Austin Age: 83 Years, 83 Year Old Females Family: father: C. P. Colvin mother: Mary Anne Colvin Black Activists Civil Rights Activists U.S. State: Alabama, African-American From Alabama The area also had a bad reputation for being a drug addicts haven. Let them look askance BE NOBODYS DARLING (for Julius Lester) by Alice Walker. Colvin is 83 years old as of September 2022. Then 15 years old, she had been riding home from school when a white woman stepped on the crowded bus. Thank you for helping us improve PBS Video. Born in September 1939, Colvin was raised by her great-aunt and uncle in rural Pine Level, Alabama, before moving to Montgomery at age 8. However, the voice of the blacks was not given any significance during those days and the boy was arrested, charged for being a serial rapist, and sentenced to death. She grew up in one of the citys poorest neighborhoods and focused most of her energy on school studying hard and earning mostly As. This honor then went to Rosa Parks, a middle-aged woman, who nine months after the Colvin incident refused to give up her seat in a bus. For her refusal, Colvin was removed from the bus and arrested. She recognized the inequality for African Americans on public transportation, but was unable to gain support for a large-scale boycott. And as one might expect, Parks loved Colvins story about her bus protest and she would reportedly make her tell it a million times.. Colvin and other community activists felt that this was likely due to her youth, her dark skin, and the fact that she was pregnant at the time by a married man. She spent three hours in the jail before her mother and pastor, Reverend H.H. Photograph: AP. There had been many discussions within the black community about boycotting the buses before, but divisions and fears within it had thus far prevented a boycott from taking place. She was sitting in the middle and was asked to vacate her seat for a white person who was standing. Thus she refused to move, infuriating the bus driver, Robert W. Cleere. Colvin decided to speak about her case only after she retired as a nurses aide in New York City, New York in 2004. While she was in school, a very disturbing incident happened that would remain with her for life. On February 1, 1956, Gray filed the case challenging city and Alabama bus segregation laws. With the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Civil Rights activists turned their attention to the integration of public schools. When I look back now, I think Rosa Parks was the right person to represent that movement at that time. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. She later lived with her family in Montgomery. I paid my fare, its my constitutional right, the teen, who had been studying Jim Crow laws in school, yelled in a squeaky voice. In the end, Rosa Parks became the symbol of the movement. She and three other Black students were told to give up their seats for a white woman. In 1955 at the age of 15, nine months before Rosa Parks, she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery Bus. WebClaudette Colvin was an important figure in the civil rights movement. WebClaudette Austin was born in Birmingham, Jefferson County, to Mary Jane Gadson and C. P. Austin on September 5, 1939. The lock fell into place with a heavy sound. Colvin refuses to give up her seat on a segregated bus. WebSeptember 5, 2023. Claudette Colvin, a nurses aide and Civil Rights Movement activist, was born on September 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama. She later lived with her family in Montgomery. To keep you warm. Ever since Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, shes had a criminal record. Colvin moves to New York and starts working as a nurses aide. In December 2019, Colvin was included on one of four granite historical markers dedicated along with the Rosa Parks statue on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery. Mayor Todd Strange presented the proclamation and, when speaking of Colvin, said, She was an early foot soldier in our civil rights, and we did not want this opportunity to go by without declaring March 2 as Claudette Colvin Day to thank her for her leadership in the modern day civil rights movement. Rembert said, I know people have heard her name before, but I just thought we should have a day to celebrate her. Colvin could not attend the proclamation due to health concerns. Her neighborhood was a very impoverished one where even routine life was a struggle for most. WebClaudette Colvin, Activist born. Wikimedia CommonsClaudette Colvin was just 15 when she made her stand. When the Montgomery Bus Boycott began in December of 1955, the NAACP and MIA filed a lawsuit on behalf of Colvin, and four other women, including Mary Louise Smith, who had been involved in earlier acts of civil disobedience on the Montgomery buses. She knew that in 1955 she would be arrested for protesting segregation laws but she did anyway and helped pave the way for the overturning of segregation laws in Alabama. In July 2014, Claudette Colvin's story was documented in a television episode of Drunk History (Montgomery, AL (Season 2, Episode 1)). The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages. Who Is Trans TikTok Influencer Dylan Mulvaney? In 1955 at the age of 15, nine months before Rosa Parks, she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery Bus. This civil rights activist walked a challenging path so that present and future generations could fly. On March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin boarded a bus at Bibb and Commerce Streets in Montgomery, an ordinary ritual but one that provided daily humiliations for the city's African American population. 2010). So she thought shes been on probation this entire time, Ensler explained. Little by little, I began to form a mission for myself. Colvin left Montgomery for New York soon after her arrest in search of anonymity. She is a retired African American nurse aide and activist who was a pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement. Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman in Montgomery, Ala., in March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks. One of WPCs many jobs was to publicize the boycott. And the judge on Colvins case, Calvin L. Williams, also sees her as someone to admire, not condemn. She and her classmates also talked about the unfairness of segregation (the separation of Black and white people). 707 (1956), was the case heard by the Supreme Court, putting an end to legally enforced segregation on public buses in the American South. The case went to the United States Supreme Court who affirmed the District Courts ruling and Alabama was ordered to end bus segregation in the state on 20 December, 1956. Many of the people most involved in the city's emerging civil rights leadership were middle class and didn't use the buses, and many of the laborers and domestics who did were fearful of losing their jobs if they challenged the system. This was a time of intense racial divide, and Colvin was a victim of it along with the rest. Her father abandoned the family, which included a sister, when she was a small child, and the two girls went to live in Pine Level, Montgomery County, with an aunt and uncle, Mary Anne and Q. P. Colvin. Colvin later moved to New York City. Colvins arrest record and adjudication of delinquency were finally expunged. Early Life Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. The daughter of Mary Jane Gadson and C. P. Trivia (6) Colvin never married but gave birth to two sons, the first was Raymond Colvin (b. December 1955, died 1993). Shes a civil rights hero and will always be remembered for her bravery and contribution to the cause. In 2021, 66 years after the charges were brought to the district court, Colvin's charges were dropped. Three of her classmates got up but Colvin didn't budge, informing the two officers who soon boarded that she knew her constitutional rights. And Claudette is not just black, but has a darker shade of black, and thus discrimination was not alien to her. Rosa Parks became a civil rights icon when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. He opened the door and told me to get inside. Words like mouthy, emotional, and feisty were used to describe her.. WebIn 1955, Claudette Colvin, a high school student in Montgomery, Alabama boarded the city bus. And I did. She was charged for failing to comply with the segregation rules and pleaded not guilty. Britannica does not review the converted text. She learned about Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and other important African Americans in history. On 2 March, 1955, she was riding a Capital Heights bus downtown when some white people got on. When Parks was asked to move to the back, she refused, and like Colvin she was arrested. Improved homework resources designed to support a variety of curriculum subjects and standards. After the boycott, Colvin and her family moved to New York, where she remained for 50 years before moving back to Alabama in 2004. As increasing numbers of white passengers began to board, she and an older African American woman were ordered to give up their seats and move toward the back. She was initially charged with two counts of violating Montgomerys segregation laws and one felony count of assaulting a police officer. Born to Mary Jane Gadson and C. P. Austin, Colvin and her family moved to Montgomery, AL, when she was eight years old. Colvin. But even though Claudette Colvin never reached the same level of fame as Rosa Parks, she held no animosity toward her. Claudette Colvin Husband Married Son I knew then and I know now that, when it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. She had been studying Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman in school and had recently written an essay about the discrimination faced by African American teenagers. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Colvin was also a member of the localNAACPYouth Council, where she formed a close relationship with her overseer:Rosa Parks. She and three other women participated in a legal case that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Copyright 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), all rights reserved. To learn more about cookies and your cookie choices. WebClaudette Colvin, Activist born. Publicity Listings Growing up in one of Montgomery's poorer neighborhoods, Colvin studied hard in school. This occurred some nine months before the more widely known incident in You cant sugarcoat it. The real reality of the movement was often young people and often more than 50 percent women, historian David Garrow told NPR. She sat handcuffed between them, reciting the Lords Prayer and the 23rd Psalm in her head. Now 82, she says that justice from the court system is overdue. Three days later, the Supreme Court affirmed the order to Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end bus segregation the Montgomery bus boycott was then called off. She did not marry. In July 2014, Claudette Colvin's story was documented in a television episode of Drunk History (Montgomery, AL (Season 2, Episode 1)). However, this provision of the local law was usually ignored. She was born on September 5, 1939. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. Colvin got her chance on March 2, 1955, when she boarded a bus in downtown Montgomery. Before long, more than 100 letters of support flooded into Montgomery. She testified before the three-judge panel that heard the case in aUnited States district court. Julie Bennett/Getty ImagesClaudette Colvin with Montgomery Mayor Steve Reed, shortly after she asked for her juvenile arrest record to be expunged. She grew up in the rural town of Pine Level, Alabama, about 30 miles from Montgomery, on a farm run by her great-aunt and uncle. She studied at the Booker T. Washington High School in the city. Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey announced his support of the motion, saying, Her actions back in March of 1955 were conscientious, not criminal; inspired, not illegal; they should have led to praise and not prosecution.. 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. They asked her to touch hands in order to compare their colors. Early Life Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. Nkenge Tour is an activist whose expansive collection of speeches and written works confront issues around reproductive justice, Black feminism, and womens rights. Even though just 15 years old at that time, Claudette knew that it was her right to sit anywhere in the bus as she had bought a ticket. Colvins testimony helped move the case to the United States Supreme Court, which later upheld the district courts decision on November 13, 1956. Austin and Mary Jane Gadson on September 5, 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. Taken to a prison, Claudette was terrifiedwhat would the police do her now? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. This so-called assault, said her lawyer, Phillip Ensler, could be something as small as accidentally stepping on an officers toes. After her arrest, Colvin was placed on indefinite probation and was not notified that her probation ended when she turned 18. The police were called and they dragged a crying Colvin off the bus. They put her in handcuffs and took her to jail. She gave birth to a baby boy in December 1955. She worked in a nursing home for 35 years before retiring. Her parents were Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. Some members of a civil rights group (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) thought that Colvins case could bring attention to the injustice of segregation. WebClaudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939) is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. When Austin abandoned his family, Gadon had to send young Claudette and her sister, Delphine, to live with their great uncle and aunt, Mary Anne and Q.P. But other members thought that Colvin was too immature to represent the struggle for civil rights. She had two sisters, Delphine and Velma. Though the segregation-related charges were dropped, the felony assault count stuck. Eleanor Holmes Norton was the first woman appointed to chair the U.S. Claudette Colvin assumed shed be taken to the juvenile court because of her age, but she was ultimately taken to the adult jail. The U.S. Supreme court day to celebrate her Claudette Colvin was too immature represent!, she worked in a legal case that made it to the integration public. Walked a challenging path so that present and future generations could fly gain support for white. 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