CLAUDETTE COLVIN HOUSE

Claudette Colvin was born on September 5, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. Growing up in one of Montgomery's poorer neighborhoods, Colvin studied hard at school. She earned mostly A’s in her classes and even aspired to become president one day. On March 2, 1955, in Alabama, Colvin was riding home on a city bus after school when a bus driver told her to give up her seat to a white passenger. The fifteen year old refused, saying, "It's my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady. I paid my fare, it's my constitutional right." Colvin felt compelled to stand her ground. "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,” She also served as a plaintiff in the landmark legal case Browder v. Gayle, which helped end the practice.