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January 14, 2026

Claudette Colvin, Pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 86
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Claudette Colvin, a pioneer in the civil rights movement, has died at
the age of 86. As a 15-year-old, Colvin refused to give up her seat on a
segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks
made history. Colvin was charged with assault and disorderly conduct in
addition to violating segregation law. She later spent her life as a
nurse's aide caring for elderly patients. This is Colvin on Democracy
Now! in 2013 recounting what inspired her to challenge Jim Crow.

Claudette Colvin: "'Why didn't you get up when the bus driver asked you,
and the policemen?' I say, 'I could not move, because history had me
glued to the seat.' And they say, 'How is that?' I say, 'Because it felt
like Sojourner Truth's hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and
Harriet Tubman's hands were pushing me down on another shoulder.'"

See our full interview with Claudette Colvin and our interviews about
her over the years.


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