Claudette Colvin, a courageous figure whose early act of defiance helped ignite the modern American civil rights movement, has passed away at the age of 86.
She became famous when she refused to relinquish her seat to a white passenger on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama, bus. This was a pivotal moment in the long struggle to end racial segregation.
As the trailblazing activist passes away at age 86, here are the key facts to know about her life, legacy, and impact.
1. She was born in 1939
Claudette Colvin was born Claudette Austin on September 5, 1939, in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Montgomery during the height of Jim Crow segregation.
Colvin and her younger sister, Delphine, were taken in by their great aunt and uncle, Mary Anne and Q. P. Colvin, when their father, C. P. Austin, abandoned the family, and their mother, Mary Jane Gadson, was unable to financially support her children. Colvin and her sister referred to the Colvins as their parents and took their last name.
2. She made history at just 15
In March 1955, Colvin was only 15 years old when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. A student at the segregated Booker T. Washington High School at the time, Colvin was a member of the NAACP Youth Council and had been learning about the civil rights movement in school. The incident happened nine months before the NAACP secretary Rosa Parks was arrested for the same offense.
3. She was forcibly arrested
Police officers dragged her off the bus and arrested her for violating segregation laws and disturbing the peace. Her classmate, Annie Larkins Price, testified for Colvin, who was tried in juvenile court. Colvin was initially charged with disturbing the peace, violating the segregation laws, and battering and assaulting a police officer. However, her classmate insisted there was no assault.
4. She stood her ground despite fear
Colvin later said she felt the presence of civil rights icons like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, which gave her the strength to resist. A group of Black civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., was organized to discuss Colvin’s arrest with the police commissioner. She was bailed out by her minister, who told her that she had brought the revolution to Montgomery.
5. She became a key figure in a landmark court case
Colvin was one of the four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle (1956), a case that challenged and legally ended bus segregation in Montgomery.
6. She moved away from the spotlight
After facing discrimination and limited job opportunities, Colvin moved to New York City in 1958, where she worked as a nurse’s aide. Colvin stated she was branded a troublemaker by many in her community. She withdrew from college and struggled in the local environment.
7. Her role was downplayed for decades
Civil rights leaders believed she was not the “right” public symbol at the time, leading to her story being sidelined in favour of Rosa Parks.
ALSO READ: Disposable Diaper, Syringe: Here Are 9 Things You Didn’t Know Were Invented By Women
8. She earned multiple recognitions
Despite being sidelined for years, Colvin earned various recognitions in her lifetime.
- A book published in 2009 and authored by Philip Hoose titled Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
- In 2010, the street Colvin lived on when she was a young girl was named Claudette Colvin Drive in her honor. It is located off Upper Wetumpka Road in Montgomery, Alabama.
- In 2017, the Council passed a resolution for a proclamation honoring Colvin. March 2 was named Claudette Colvin Day in Montgomery.
- On May 20, 2018, Congressman Joe Crowley honored Colvin for her lifetime commitment to public service with a Congressional Certificate and an American flag.
- In 2019, a statue of Rosa Parks was unveiled in Montgomery, Alabama, and four granite markers were also unveiled near the statue on the same day to honor the four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, including Colvin.
- In 2021, a mural honoring Colvin was unveiled along Claudette Colvin Drive in Montgomery, Alabama.
9. Her record was cleared decades later
In 2021, her juvenile arrest record was officially expunged, correcting a historic injustice and clearing her name more than 60 years after her arrest.
10. Her personal life
She had two children, Raymond, born in March 1956, and Randy, born in 1960. Her first son, Raymond Colvin, died in 1993 in New York of a heart attack at age 37. Her second son, Randy, is an accountant in Atlanta and the father of Colvin’s four grandchildren.
11. Her death
Colvin died under hospice care in Texas on January 13, 2026, at the age of 86.
Her passing marks the end of a life defined by bravery, quiet dignity, and a legacy that reshaped U.S. history.