Claudette Colvin Age, Family, Education, Biography, Facts, Accomplishments, Son, Quotes

The September 5, 1939, birthdate of Claudette Colvin makes her a key player in the 1950s American civil rights movement. She made history at the young age of 15 by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white woman. Prior to Rosa Parks becoming well-known for performing the same thing, this act of resistance had place a few months earlier.

Claudette Colvin Biography

Colvin was one of four plaintiffs in the federal court lawsuit Browder v. Gayle, which sought to end Montgomery’s bus segregation. On behalf of Colvin and three other women, civil rights lawyer Fred Gray brought the action in February 1956.

Later, Colvin gave a deposition in a federal district court, where she spoke out against the regional and state regulations that imposed bus segregation in Alabama.

The laws were deemed illegal by the three-judge panel on June 13, 1956, and the ruling was confirmed by the US Supreme Court on November 13 of the same year. As a result, Montgomery and the state of Alabama were instructed to stop bus segregation, putting an end to the lengthy Montgomery bus boycott.

Colvin’s tale was not generally known for a long time despite the fact that she made a substantial contribution to the civil rights struggle. Her status as an unmarried, pregnant teen at the time of her arrest contributed to this in part.

Yet, Colvin’s story finally received attention for her valor and contribution to the struggle for racial equality. With the help of the district attorney for the county where the charges were first filed, the district court helped her have her arrest and adjudication of delinquent records erased in 2021. This was a long-delayed acknowledgment of her contribution to the civil rights movement’s history.

Claudette Colvin Family

C.P. Colvin and Mary Anne Colvin welcomed Claudette Colvin into the world at King Hill, Montgomery, Alabama. She was, however, brought up by Mary Ann and Q.P. Colvin, her great-aunt and great-uncle.

It is also mentioned that the oldest of Mary Jane Gadson and C.P. Austin’s two children, Claudette Austin, commonly mistaken for Claudette Colvin, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She apparently lost her father when she was a very young child.

In light of this, it may be said that Claudette Colvin was raised by her great-aunt and great-uncle, Mary Ann and Q.P. Colvin, whereas Claudette Austin was reared by her mother, Mary Jane Gadson, and her father, C.P. Austin, who left the family when she was a young child.

Claudette Colvin Education

Her high school was Booker T. Washington. Colvin also participated in the neighborhood NAACP Youth Council, where she became good friends with her mentor: R. Lee Parks

Claudette Colvin Facts

1. Born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 5, 1939, Claudette Colvin is an important figure in the American civil rights movement.
2. Claudette Colvin’s biological parents are C.P. Austin and Mary Jane Gadson.
3. Q.P. Colvin and Mary Ann Colvin adopted Claudette Colvin.
4. Raised in a black neighborhood, Claudette Colvin experienced the challenges of living in poverty.
5. Claudette Colvin attended Booker T. Washington High School, a school in Montgomery that was segregated based on race.
6. Known for her academic excellence, Claudette Colvin earned straight A’s during her time at school.
7. Claudette Colvin was an active member of the Youth Council of the NAACP, a national organization that worked towards the advancement of colored people.

Claudette Colvin Accomplishments

• Challenged segregation laws: Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on March 2, 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks’ infamous refusal to do so on a Montgomery bus. She was arrested as a result of this act of defiance against the laws against segregation that were in force at the time.

 

• Lawsuit against segregation: In the Browder v. Gayle case, which contested the legality of Montgomery’s segregation laws, Colvin was one of four plaintiffs. After winning the case, the Supreme Court declared segregation on buses to be illegal in December 1956.

 

• Continuing her activism: Colvin remained an activist her entire life. In 1965, she joined the NAACP Youth Council and marched from Selma to Montgomery. She also provided childcare, worked as a nurse’s assistant and volunteered at the Rosa Parks Museum.

 

• Awards: In 1999, Colvin received the Rosa Parks Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 as a special guest. She and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2020.

 

• Inspiring younger generations: Many people were inspired by Claudette Colvin’s courageous act of disobedience, including Rosa Parks, a young woman who had been involved in civil rights activism for years before to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks later remarked that Colvin’s bravery and desire to speak up for what was right had inspired her.

Claudette Colvin Son

Claudette Colvin has two sons: Raymond Colvin and Randy Colvin

Claudette Colvin Quotes

Six quotes from Claudette Colvin:

• I always tell young people to hold on to their dreams. And sometimes you have to stand up for what you think is right even if you have to stand alone.
• Back then, as a teenager, I kept thinking, why don’t the adults around here just say something? Say it so they know we don’t accept segregation? I knew then and I know now that, when it comes to justice, there’s no easy way to get it. You can’t sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.’
• I always tell young people to hold on to their dreams. And sometimes you have to stand up for what you think is right even if you have to stand alone.
• Being dragged off that bus was worth it just to see Barack Obama become president, because so many others gave their lives and didn’t get to see it, and I thank God for letting me see it.
• There was segregation everywhere. The churches, buses and schools were all segregated and you couldn’t even go into the same restaurants.
• I sleep when the sleep comes down on me.

Claudette Colvin Age

Colvin is 83 years (born on September 5, 1939)