Today in Black History: 1939 Claudette Colvin, civil rights pioneer, was born. On March 2, 1955 while returning from high school on the bus, Colvin refused to give up her seat to a White person in violation of local law. As a result, she was removed from the bus by two police officers and taken to jail. At the time, Black leaders were looking for a case to litigate in an effort to overturn the law but because of Colvin’s poor background they decided to wait until they had a plaintiff who was more upstanding. Nine months later, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a White person resulting in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:04:28 +0000