Claudette Colvin, arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up bus seat, dies : NPR
NPR • • nation
Key Points:
- Claudette Colvin, who at age 15 was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus, died at age 86 of natural causes in Texas, as announced by the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation.
- Colvin's act of defiance occurred nine months before Rosa Parks' more widely known protest and helped spark the modern civil rights movement, including the landmark Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- She was one of four plaintiffs in the lawsuit that ended racial segregation on Montgomery buses, though her contributions were often overshadowed by Parks' prominence.
- Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed highlighted Colvin's overlooked bravery and emphasized her important role in laying the legal and moral groundwork for the civil
