Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin died Tuesday of natural causes in Texas. She was 86. The Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation announced her passing. On March 2, 1955, Colvin was 15 years old when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus. She was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks' more widely known act of resistance. When a bus driver ordered her to relinquish her seat to a white passenger, Colvin refused. "My mindset was on freedom," she said in 2021.
Colvin became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark 1956 lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation on Montgomery's buses. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 1957, ordering Montgomery and Alabama to end bus segregation. Despite her early courage, Colvin's contributions were long overshadowed. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed acknowledged her bravery was "too often overlooked."
The city designated March 2 as "Claudette Colvin Day" in 2018. In 2021, a judge granted Colvin's motion to expunge her juvenile arrest record. Born September 5, 1939 in Birmingham, Colvin worked for 30 years as a nursing assistant at a Catholic nursing home. She had two sons. "To us, she was more than a historical figure," the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation said. "She was the heart of our family, wise, resilient, and grounded in faith. We will remember her laughter, her sharp wit, and her unwavering belief in justice and human dignity."
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