US EditionUS Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin Dead at 86
Colvin's 1955 bus protest helped end segregation through a Supreme Court ruling; her contribution was overlooked until a 2009 book highlighted her role.
- Claudette Colvin, civil rights pioneer, died long ago, Roseboro Holdings confirmed her natural death in Texas hospice care.
- Motivated by local injustices and her N.A.A.C.P. Youth Council activism, Colvin refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery in 1955, influenced by Jeremiah Reeves's arrest.
- When a white woman boarded the bus, the driver ordered Colvin and three Black passengers to move; two complied while Colvin refused, police dragged her off and arrested her, leading to juvenile conviction with some charges dropped by Fred Gray.
- Colvin became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, with Fred Gray filing the suit and the Supreme Court affirming in 1956, ending bus segregation.
- The 2009 book Twice Toward Justice helped restore Claudette Colvin's overlooked contributions, as she was never elevated as the public face despite her decisive role in Montgomery's Black community.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Claudette Colvin, Trailblazing Civil Rights Figure, Dies at 86
On January 13, 2026, the world said a final goodbye to Claudette Colvin, a woman whose teenage act of defiance served as the quiet, steel-willed foundation of the American Civil Rights Movement. Passing away at the age of 86 in Texas, Colvin leaves behind a legacy that for decades remained in the shadows of history, […] The post Claudette Colvin, Trailblazing Civil Rights Figure, Dies at 86 appeared first on The Black Wall Street Times.
Bloomington-Normal activists honor Claudette Colvin's legacy
Civil rights activists in Bloomington-Normal are remembering Claudette Colvin, who at 15 refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and was later one of four plaintiffs in the landmark Browder v. Gayle Supreme Court decision that ended Alabama bus segregation.
The death of black US civil rights activist Claudette Colvin, who was the first to refuse to release her seat for whites.
The Legacy Claudette Colvin Leaves Behind
By Rayna Reid Rayford ·Updated January 14, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Before Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin. The civil rights pioneer who was only 15 years old when she refused to move her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks’ arrest, died on Tuesday (Jan 13).Roseboro Holdings, representing the Claudette Colvin Foundation, confirmed the 86-year-old’s death while in hospice care…
Claudette Colvin, who refused to move before the nation was ready, dies at 86
Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus at age 15—months before Rosa Parks—has died at 86. Though her arrest did not immediately spark a boycott, her courage helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement, including her pivotal role as a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the Supreme Court case that ended bus segregation in Alabama.
This African-American woman, who had refused, in March 1955, at 15, to leave her place for white passengers on a bus, had been overshadowed by the figure of Rosa Parks, who had had the same gesture of revolt nine months later.
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