"Colvin was detained on March 2, 1955, after a bus driver called the police to complain that two Black girls were sitting near two white women in violation of segregation laws. Colvin refused to move when asked, leading to her arrest. I remained seated because the lady could have sat in the seat opposite me, Colvin told reporters in Paris in April 2023. She refused because a white person wasn't supposed to sit close to a negro, Colvin said."
"The following year, she became one of four Black female plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit challenging segregated bus seating in Montgomery. The case was successful, impacting public transportation throughout the US, including trains, aeroplanes and taxis. Colvin's arrest occurred at a time of growing frustration over how Black people were being treated on Montgomery's bus system. The arrest of Parks in December 1955 triggered the start of the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott."
"The boycott propelled the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr into the national limelight and is considered the start of the modern civil rights movement. She leaves behind a legacy of courage that helped change the course of American history, the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation said in a statement."
Claudette Colvin was 15 when she was arrested on March 2, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus under segregation laws. She was briefly imprisoned for disturbing public order. Nine months later Rosa Parks' similar refusal triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Colvin became one of four Black female plaintiffs in a successful lawsuit challenging segregated bus seating, which affected public transportation nationwide. The boycott propelled Martin Luther King Jr. into national prominence and helped launch the modern civil rights movement. Colvin died of natural causes in Texas at age 86.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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