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Claudette Colvin, Early Civil Rights Pioneer, Dies at 86

Her 1955 defiance made her a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle.

Overview

  • Her family and the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation announced her death, and foundation representative Ashley D. Roseboro said she died in Texas.
  • Colvin was arrested at age 15 on March 2, 1955, in Montgomery after refusing to give up her bus seat months before Rosa Parks’ arrest.
  • She became one of four named plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, the federal case that ended segregated seating on Montgomery’s buses and influenced wider U.S. transit policy.
  • Following her 1955 arrest, she was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent, made a ward of the state and placed on indefinite probation.
  • In 2021, a judge expunged her juvenile record, which brought renewed attention to her contributions; memorial arrangements will be announced later by her foundation and Roseboro Holdings.