Many people think that Rosa Parks was the first to refuse to give up her seat on a segregated bus, but it was actually 15-year-old Claudette Colvin. She ended up being arrested for this act of defiance and the public opinion ruined her reputation. (according to this archived article)
Because the Civil Rights Movement at the time did not want to stand behind Claudette, even though she had an injustice done to her, her case was not fought. It’s a common misconception that this was because Colvin was pregnant at the time of her injustice, but she actually wasn’t, and only found out she was pregnant months after the incident. (according to this article)
Colvin still ended up helping Browder v. Gayle make it to the Supreme Court as one of the four plaintiffs, and it was ruled that Montgomery’s bus segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
Because of these things, despite the fact that the Civil Rights Movement did not initially stand behind her, she is now considered an American pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement.
Her involvement within the Civil Rights Movement will never be forgotten. According to Biography, when she was thinking back to the moment, she stated, “I felt like Sojourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman was pushing down on the other saying, “Sit down girl!” I was glued to my seat” (Biography).
