Wave Staff Report
Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus proceeded Rosa Parks by nine months and helped spark the modern civil rights movement, has died. She was 86.
Her death was announced Jan. 13 by the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation. Ashley D. Roseboro of the organization confirmed she died in Texas.
“It is with profound sadness that the Claudette Colvin Foundation and family announce the passing of Claudette Colvin, a beloved mother, grandmother and civil rights pioneer,” said a post on the foundation’s website. “She leaves behind a legacy of courage that helped change the course of American history.
“To us, she was more than a historical figure,” the post continued. “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.
“We are grateful for the love and respect shown to her throughout her life. Details for memorial arrangements will be shared at a later time by the Claudette Colvin Foundation and Roseboro Holdings.”
According to her biography on the foundation’s website, Colvin was born Sept. 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama, the oldest of eight sisters born to C.P. Austin and Mary Jane Austin (Gadson).
During her early childhood, her adopted parents, biological great aunt and uncle Q.P. andMary Ann Colvin, lived in the rural community of Pine Level, Alabama which was the same town where Rosa Parks grew up. Claudette attended Springhill Baptist Elementary School and later moved to Montgomery, Alabama and lived in an area called King Hill. She attended Booker T. Washington School from 1949 to 1956. She did not finish her senior year, but later received her general equivalency degree. She attended the Alabama State Teachers College in Montgomery for one year.
When she was 15, she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus. According to reports, 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.
The incident occurred more than nine months before Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat on a bus.
The following year she was one of four Black female plaintiffs in a lawsuit that challenged Montgomery’s segregated bus seating. A three-judge U.S. District Court panel heard the case and ruled the bus segregation laws were unconstitutional in June 1956. Five months later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that ruling.
In 1958, she moved to New York, where she spent most of the rest of her life. For more than 30 years she worked at a Catholic nursing home as a nursing assistant.
She was the mother of two boys. The oldest, Raymond, died of a heart attack in 1993. The youngest. Randy, earned his doctor of business administration from Georgia State University and is now an assistant professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She is survived by Randy, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
