About Claudette Colvin

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By Janice Rodriguez

who was the first person to refuse to give up their seat on a bus?

But who is Claudette Colvin? and why haven’t we heard of her?

About Colvin Born in 1939 in Alabama, Claudette moved around Alabama as her single mother was unable to support her and her younger sister, Delphine, which led to Colvin and Delphine being taken in by her great aunt and uncle, the Colvins, in which she also took their last name. Claudette was a good student at Booker T. Washington High School but she had a hard time dealing with the grief of her younger sister who had died of Polio right before Claudette turned 13. She had actually known and had a close relationship with her mentor Rosa Parks as she took membership of the NAACP Youth Council.

The Event

About nine months before Rosa Parks remarkably refused to give up her seat on a bus in 1995, there was Colvin, who was actually the first African American to do this. Her and another pregnant African american, Ruth Hamilton had argued back to the bus driver who was demanding them to move to the back of the bus as it was getting crowded. After he threatened to get the police to handle the situation, as their doings went against the Jim Crows they still refused to get up.

Police eventually arrived and arrested Cluadette. She was directed by her mother to stay quiet about her bus incident and the arrest. Unfortunately, Colvin was 15 at the time and pregnant, which the “black leaders” had decided would not be a good image to represent an activist of the Civil Rights movement. For these reasons, they “handpicked Rosa Parks to do the same” in order to have an African American activist in remembrance that violated the Jim Crows (Grinevičius, 2020). They felt it would be better for her to do what Claudette did which helped start the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Other reasons that kept her from receiving attention for the bus incident was her not having ‘good hair’ and not being fair-skinned.

“I knew then and I know now that, when it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it.

You can’t sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right. ‘” -Claudette Colvin

Her Monument.

Claudette Colvin’s monument will be of her sitting down on a bus seat with Harriet Tubbman to her left with her hand on Colvin’s shoulder. This monument would be a good representation to show what Claudette did as she does not have a monument of her. Colvin recalls that she had felt Harriet Tubbman’s hand pushing down on her shoulder and Sojourner Truth pushing down on the other during the bus incident. This is why I think her monument should also include Harriet Tubbman as she is one of the most well-known American Abolitionists.

Location One: George Mason University Colvin’s monument should be placed in the middle of the intersection between George Mason’s new building called “Horizon Hall,” the Johnson Center, and the new recently renovated pathway that leads to the Southside dining hall. This intersection is a popular one that many will pass by.

Location Two: Washington D.C.

The second location that will have her monument displayed is in Washington D.C. near the Lincoln Memorial as President Abrham Lincoln was the one who passed the 13th amendment. She should be placed there as Lincoln is responsible for the abolishment of slavery as her doings led to Rosa Parks’ same offense which gained national attention and helped the Civil Rights movement end racial discrimination and segregation in the United States