Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama, bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement, has died. She was 86.

Colvin was arrested months before Rosa Parks gained international fame before refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.

A bus driver called police on March 2, 1955, to complain that two Black girls were sitting near two White girls in violation of segregation laws. One of the Black girls moved toward the rear when asked, a police report said, but Colvin refused and was arrested. She was 15 at the time.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I know Parks got all the fame while this lady got very little recognition, but it makes me wonder how many other acts of defiance on buses like this that got no attention.