Claudette Colvin, a civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her seat on bus, has died

Claudette Colvin, a civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 15, has died.

Photo: Civil Rights Teachings

Claudette Colvin, a civil rights pioneer who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 15, has died. She was 86.

“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,” the Claudette Colvin Foundation said in a statement. “She leaves behind a legacy of courage that helped change the course of American history.”

Colvin was arrested on March 2, 1955, after refusing to give up her seat to a white woman, a decision that came several months prior to the more widely publicized act of defiance by Rosa Parks.

“Later I had a child born out of wedlock; I became pregnant when I was 16,” Colvin told NPR in 2015, explaining why civil rights leaders at the time chose to publicize Parks’ act of defiance instead. “And I didn’t fit the image either, of, you know, someone they would want to show off.”

“I knew why they chose Rosa,” she continued. “They thought I would be too militant for them. They wanted someone mild and genteel like Rosa.”

Colvin’s act came at a high cost; she was made a ward of the State and placed on “indefinite probation.” Her court record was only recently cleared in 2021, at age 82.

“Everything changed,” she told NPR. “I lost most of my friends. Their parents had told them to stay away from me, because they said I was crazy, I was an extremist.”

Colvin would later become a plaintiff in the lawsuit that ended racial segregation on Montgomery's public transportation.

“To us, she was more than a historical figure. She was the heart of our family, wise, resilient, and grounded in faith,” the foundation said. “We will remember her laughter, her sharp wit, and her unwavering belief in justice and human dignity.”