Claudette Colvin, a civil rights champion arrested for not giving up her bus seat for a White woman in 1955, died at the age of 86, her family and foundation announced Tuesday.
“It is with profound sadness that the Claudette Colvin Foundation and family announce the passing of Claudette Colvin, a beloved mother, grandmother, and civil rights pioneer,” a statement from the family and foundation reads. ”She leaves behind a legacy of courage that helped change the course of American history.”
The family and foundation said Colvin was “more than a ancient figure.”
Vasha Hunt / AP
“She was the heart of our family, wise, resilient, and grounded in faith,” the statement reads. ”We will remember her laughter, her sharp wit, and her unwavering belief in justice and human dignity.”
In 1955, at the age of 15, Colvin refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa parks’ act of defiance.
She said she was with three classmates at the time, “sitting in the section that was allowed for colored people” when a White woman boarded and moved to the back of the bus, hoping to take a seat. At that time, Colvin explained, a Black person and a White person couldn’t sit in the same row.
“I refused because this wasn’t an elderly White lady. This was a young White lady,” Colvin told “CBS Mornings” in an