Who Was Claudette Colvin? She was raised in a poor black neighborhood. Trivia (6) Colvin never married but gave birth to two sons, the first was Raymond Colvin (b. December 1955, died 1993). Claudette Colvin was a pioneering civil rights activist in Alabama during the 1950s. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her parents were Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. Raymond Colvin died in 1993 in New York of a heart attack at age 37. [43] The judge ordered that the juvenile record be expunged and destroyed in December 2021, stating that Colvin's refusal had "been recognized as a courageous act on her behalf and on behalf of a community of affected people". King Sr. would later change his and his son's names to Martin Luther after a trip that included a visit to the historic sites of the reformers in 1934. . Growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, a neighborhood famous for drug addicts and segregation, Claudette had first-hand experiences of oppression. As a Black girl growing up in Alabama, she was no stranger to discrimination. Claudette Colvin biography timelines. The leaders in the Civil Rights Movement tried to keep up appearances and make the . Colvins arrest record and adjudication of delinquency were finally expunged. Claudette Colvin was an important figure in the civil rights movement. 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. Claudette Colvin was born on September, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1943, at the age of four, Colvin was at a retail store with her mother when a couple of white boys entered. Civil Rights Leader #10. },100); Claudette Colvin, a nurse's aide and Civil Rights Movement activist, was born on September 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama. Claudette Colvin, formerly Claudette Austin, was born on September 5th, 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama, and remains alive today. This was partially a product of the outward face the NAACP was trying to broadcast and partially a product of the women fearing losing their jobs, which were often in the public school system. "I do feel like what I did was a spark and it caught on. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. On June 13, 1956, the judges determined that the state and local laws requiring bus segregation in Alabama were unconstitutional. Browderv. Gayle more explicitly overturned Plessy v. Ferguson than Brown v. Board had because, like Plessy, it was specifically about transportation. On March 2, 1955, she was on a Capital Heights bus, making her way back home from school. }); Some have tried to change that. Despite the Great Depression, Hollywood and popular film production flourished. [4], "The bus was getting crowded, and I remember the bus driver looking through the rearview mirror asking her [Colvin] to get up for the white woman, which she didn't," said Annie Larkins Price, a classmate of Colvin. Her biological parents are C.P. Colvin is honored by a statue in Alabama that was unveiled in 2019. Decades later, however, she was recognized for her efforts, and she addressed a crowd at the New Jersey Transit Authority, where she was honored for her efforts. Claudette Colvin, a nurses aide and Civil Rights Movement activist, was born on September 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama. [27] During the court case, Colvin described her arrest: "I kept saying, 'He has no civil right this is my constitutional right you have no right to do this.' "[28], On May 20, 2018, Congressman Joe Crowley honored Colvin for her lifetime commitment to public service with a Congressional Certificate and an American flag. First Name Claudette #1. . Colvin attended Booker T. Washington High School. Her biography, titled Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice was published in 2009. She later became a civil rights activist. At birth, she was adopted by C. P. Colvin and Mary Anne Colvin, who lived in a poor neighborhood in Montgomery, Alabama. }; var fbl_interval = window.setInterval(function(){ On March 2, 1955, Colvin sat on a city bus to make her way home from school, when the bus driver asked her to give up her seat for a white passenger. [2] Price testified for Colvin, who was tried in juvenile court. On the hot sunny day in Montgomery Alabama, on September 5th, 1939, a baby girl named Claudette Colvin was born to Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. [28] Colvin stated she was branded a troublemaker by many in her community. She was pregnant and she kept saying that she didnt feel like standing, and as she had paid her fare, she had as much right to the seat as the white woman. Colvin, however, continued to refuse so she was taken into custody. I was glued to my seat," she later told Newsweek. left my mother to look for a job . Most people know about Rosa Parks and the 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. The district courts decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the original ruling. Although Colvins actions were a predecessor to the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement of 1955, she rarely told her story. At the age of four, she was shopping for groceries with her mother, when a group of white children came into the store. Colvin helps overturn bus segregation laws in Alabama. The bus driver, Robert W. Cleere, ordered Colvin and three other women to vacate their seats. She refused to give up her seat on a bus months before Rosa Parks' more famous protest. version : 'v6.0' [51], African-American civil rights activist (born 1939), National Museum of African American History and Culture, "Power Dynamics of a Segregated City: Class, Gender, and Claudette Colvin's Struggle for Equality", "Before Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin Stayed in Her Bus Seat", "From Footnote to Fame in Civil Rights History", "Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation On An Alabama Bus", "Chapter 1 (excerpt): 'Up From Pine Level', "#ThrowbackThursday: The girl who acted before Rosa Parks", "Claudette Colvin: an unsung hero in the Montgomery Bus Boycott", "The Origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott", "A Forgotten Contribution: Before Rosa Parks, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the bus", "Claudette Colvin: First to keep her seat", "Claudette Colvin | Americans Who Tell The Truth", "Claudette Colvin: the woman who refused to give up her bus seat nine months before Rosa Parks", "2 other bus boycott heroes praise Parks' acclaim", "This once-forgotten civil rights hero deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom", "Chairman Crowley Honors Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin", "The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus", "Claudette Colvin Seeks Greater Recognition For Role In Making Civil Rights History", "Weekend: Civil rights heroine Claudette Colvin", "Claudette Colvin honored by Montgomery council", "Alabama unveils statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks", "Rosa Parks statue unveiled in Alabama on anniversary of her refusal to give up seat", "She refused to move bus seats months before Rosa Parks. Claudette Colvin Is A Member Of . In response to Colvins conviction, some local community members initiated a boycott of the local bus system. "[33] "I'm not disappointed. Claudette Colvin : biography 05 September 1939 - Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939) is a pioneer of the African-American civil rights movement. Let the people know Rosa Parks was the right person for the boycott. Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin; September 5, 1939)[1][2] is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide.

Colvin was initially charged with disturbing the peace, violating the segregation laws, and battering and assaulting a police officer. Claudette was born on September 5th 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. cookie : true, Facts reveal that Claudette grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her seven siblings . Claudette Colvin: The 15-year-old who came before Rosa Parks 10 March 2018 Alamy By Taylor-Dior Rumble BBC World Service In March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks defied segregation laws by. [47], A re-enactment of Colvin's resistance is portrayed in a 2014 episode of the comedy TV series Drunk History about Montgomery, Alabama. Colvin has said, "Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn't the case at all. [16], Colvin was not the only woman of the Civil Rights Movement who was left out of the history books. She testified before the three-judge panel that heard the case in aUnited States district court. Claudette Colbert was born in Paris and brought to the United States as a child three years later. Claudette Colvin (born Claudette Austin, September 5, 1939) Montgomery, Alabama, is an American pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement and retired nurse aide. In 2017, the Montgomery Council passed a resolution for a proclamation honoring Colvin. [2][10] When Colvin was eight years old, the Colvins moved to King Hill, a poor black neighborhood in Montgomery where she spent the rest of her childhood. . She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. She retired in 2004. [29], Colvin gave birth to a son, Raymond, in March 1956. Birthday: September 5, 1939 ( Virgo) Born In: Montgomery, Alabama, United States 85 9 Civil Rights Activists #32 Activists #196 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 Despite the light sentence, Colvin could not escape the court of public opinion. [34], Colvin has often said she is not angry that she did not get more recognition; rather, she is disappointed. } catch (e){} Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939. She is a wondrous person for what she did. NPR's Margot Adler has said that black organizations believed that Rosa Parks would be a better figure for a test case for integration because she was an adult, had a job, and had a middle-class appearance. One month later, the Supreme Court declined to reconsider, and on December 20, 1956, the court ordered Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end bus segregation permanently. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. They felt she had the maturity to handle being at the center of potential controversy. Colvin was promptly arrested and taken to the city jail where she was charged with disturbing the peace, violating the citys segregation ordinance, and assaulting policemen. js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; This incident took place just nine months before the famous Rosa Parks sparked the 9055 Montgomery Bus Boycott. Colvin is a civil rights activist and pioneer of the 1950s U.S. civil rights movement. Claudette . 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. Enjoy the best Claudette Colvin Quotes at BrainyQuote. Claudette Colvin was born on 5 September 1939 in Montgomery, Alabama. Colvin and Mary Ann Colvin. Claudette Colvin was born on September 5th, 1939 in Montgomery, AL. [21], She also said in the 2009 book Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice, by Phillip Hoose, that one of the police officers sat in the back seat with her. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. [2] She was also a member of the NAACP Youth Council, where she formed a close relationship with her mentor, Rosa Parks. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. [Mrs. Hamilton] said she was not going to get up and that she had paid her fare and that she didn't feel like standing," recalls Colvin. Currently, Claudette Colvin is 83 years, 4 months and 1 days old. Claudette: I was born Claudette Austin, September 5, 1939, in Birmingham. Phillip Hoose also wrote about her in the young adult biography Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. The police arrived and convinced a black man sitting behind the two women to move so that Mrs. Hamilton could move back, but Colvin still refused to move. window.fbl_started = true; She worked there for 35 years until her retirement in 2004. When Austin abandoned the family, Gadson was unable to financially support her children. Because of her involvement in the federal case, Colvin had to move to another state to find work. 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. Months before Rosa Parks, Colvin stood up against segregation in Alabama in 1955, when she was only 15 years old. Answer: Montgomery, Alabama, United States Colvin did not receive the same attention as Parks for a number of reasons: she did not have 'good hair', she was not fair-skinned, she was a teenager, she got pregnant. The majority of customers on the bus system were African American, but they were discriminated against by its custom of segregated seating. [39] Later, Rev.