Claudette Colvin, who helped spark civil rights movement by refusing to move bus seats, dies at 86
PBS • • nation
Key Points:
- Claudette Colvin, who was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus and helped ignite the civil rights movement, has died at age 86.
- Her death was confirmed by the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation, with Colvin passing away in Texas.
- Colvin's arrest occurred months before Rosa Parks' similar act of defiance, making her one of the earliest figures in challenging bus segregation.
- At 15 years old, Colvin was arrested after refusing to move from her seat, leading her to become a named plaintiff in the landmark case that ended bus segregation in Montgomery.
