Claudette Colvin, US civil rights pioneer, dies at 86
BBC • • nation
Key Points:
- Claudette Colvin, who at age 15 in 1955 refused to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama, has died at 86; her protest preceded Rosa Parks' similar and more widely known act by nine months.
- Colvin's arrest for challenging bus segregation was largely unknown until 2009, despite her being one of the plaintiffs whose testimony helped the 1956 Supreme Court ruling that ended bus segregation.
- The Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation highlighted her courageous role in changing American history, noting her inspiration from anti-slavery figures Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.
- Unlike Rosa Parks, Colvin's story remained relatively obscure for decades, though she was the
