Claudette Colvin: A Hero Who Should be Remembered

By David Kwao Fianko-Williams, Second Year History

Claudette Colvin was one of the pioneers of the American civil rights movement, and yet her importance has been remarkably underreported since. In this piece, The Bristorian seeks to recover her legacy and ask why her story lacks the attention it deserves. Moreover, we implore readers to diversify their historical scopes, and explore stories beyond the given narrative.

Black history operates in many forms, shapes, and sizes, from our local heroes to our international activists, but the power of narrating the lived experiences of black people who have accomplished so much for our communities is often accursed by the ones we choose to forget. 

Paul Connerton argues that this is caused by “an organized [process of] forgetting” where we select the histories we wish to put to light, excluding others. [1]   For example, bus desegregation, which will be the focus of this article, has become synonymous with Rosa Parks. But there is little mention of the five other women who also played a role, emphasising the process of forgetting taking place. 

In this article I will be exploring the life of one of the said five, Claudette Colvin. I approach such a topic with the hope that this piece can persuade historians to diversify their historical scopes, as there are many black historical figures like Claudette Colvin who deserve greater recognition.

Before we start, we should define collective memory. Collective memory is simply “how groups remember their past”.[2] This can be distorted by the nation, place or the institution’s agenda, often creating a one-dimensional approach to history. 

C. Behan McCullagh states that historians hold power in what they choose to narrate and that the angles and biases they have can obscure the truth.[3] This has great consequences when the book or article is intended for public consumption – leaving impressionable audiences susceptible to histories that are partially untrue or too simplistic.

Thus, we understand why it is vital to broaden our scope while retelling the stories of the past especially surrounding the histories of race. In failing to broaden our scope we induce misconceptions that, as seen in Colvin’s case, overlook the histories of already marginalised groups and figures. In this article I will discuss this concept further, claiming that Colvin is virtually invisible in civil rights history, as well as discussing the fight for her recognition.

It was 1st December 1955 when Rosa Parks, in Montgomery Alabama, refused to give up her seat on the ‘coloured section’ of the bus under the orders of bus driver James F. Blake. This violated the 1900 edict that gave bus conductors the authority to assign seats by race. The refusal not only led to the Montgomery bus boycott but also contributed to the end of bus segregation in America, as well as later developments in the Civil Rights Movement. 

It has often (and wrongly) been assumed within the public sphere that Parks was the only person in Montgomery who refused to give up her seat. There were five other women: Reese, Browder, Colvin, McDonald, and Smith, who bravely did the same. But in this article, we will be focusing specifically on Colvin who, like Rosa Parks, was arrested for her protest. 

On 2nd March 1955, 15-year-old Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white woman. She recalled years later in an interview saying, "history kept me stuck to my seat. I felt the hand of Harriet Tubman pushing down on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth pushing down on the other."[4]

But why has Colvin been overshadowed in the public discourse of civil rights history? Reasons such as colourism and her young age have been touted, but for the sake of brevity, I will discuss the impact of her hair and pregnancy.  

Firstly, Colvin was pregnant and out of wedlock at the time, creating fear that this would displace the narrative of bus desegregation, as people would only be talking about her supposed ‘vices’. Rosa Parks states that, "if the white press got ahold of that information, they would have [had] a field day. They'd call her a bad girl, and her case wouldn't have [had] a chance”.[5] This led to E.D Nixon, the NAACP President of the Montgomery Chapter, rejecting Colvin as a plaintiff.

However, these assumptions made about Colvin should have been highlighted alongside the issues of bus segregation. It is disheartening that Colvin was shunned for her pregnancy, though considering the wider issues women had to deal with, the lack of sexual autonomy being one, it’s sadly unsurprising. 

Civil rights activists ignored Colvin because of her pregnancy, revealing the sexist attitudes within the civil rights movement itself, though also emphasising the movement as one reflecting the social attitudes of its time. As Colvin states, "I knew why they chose Rosa”. It was because "they thought I would be too militant for them … they wanted someone mild and genteel like Rosa”. [6]

The fact that women had to be ‘gentle’ to be accepted by civil rights activists reveals the sexist mentality within the movement – though also further reflects the need for the movement to appeal to the social mores of the 1950s, for it to achieve its goals.  

This structural sexism affected many female civil rights activists, with Parks even recalling Nixon to have told her that “women…need to be nowhere but, in the kitchen”[7]. It also alludes to the relationship between civil rights activism and Christianity since the movement ostracised Colvin because of her pregnancy being unacceptable to the Christian establishment.

Another factor is that it was believed that she did not have ‘good hair’, which many leaders felt made her not a worthwhile lead advocate. This highlights that the civil rights leaders themselves failed to fully comprehend wider, more implicitly racist issues such European beauty standards. Brenda Randle discusses hair and race in I Am Not My Hair, stating that “thick, kinky and curly [hair]” was referred to as ‘bad hair’[8], especially within professional environments. 

Claudette Colvin, 15, alongside newspaper clippings covering the story. No copyright infringement intended.

This led to many black women straightening their natural curls to adhere to the beauty standards of the time. What makes this even more perplexing is leaders like Marcus Garvey, prior to the Civil Rights Movement, argued against Eurocentric beauty standards, stating that it made black people develop a hatred towards their own race and identity.[9] Therefore it is strange how her hair was an excuse to shun Colvin, when it could have been a political statement.

Colvin did play a role in Browder V. Gayle in 1956 as one of five plaintiffs for the case, yet her role was still underplayed and is not fully appreciated within wider public discourse.  All that is sadly remembered, as Colvin puts it, is that “Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation”[10]. 

However, there have been many who have recently fought for her contributions to be recognised. For instance, Phillip Hoose in his book Twice Toward Justice [11], criticises campaigners for failing to recognise Colvin, stating that “I [hope] that Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice … changes the way we talk about the Montgomery bus protest”[12]. 

Colvin’s family have also fought for her recognition, challenging the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016 for not dedicating a section on Colvin.[13] Colvin was recognised somewhat in 2017 when Montgomery named March 2nd ‘Claudette Colvin Day’, claiming that “she was an early foot soldier in our civil rights”[14]

What is the ‘take away’ message, then? Considering that it is Black History month, that we must diversify the historical scope and unearth forgotten figures unknown to the public. In doing so should establish such an approach as a universal trend, not just for one month a year.  Whether they are contemporary figures, or one of the many black historical figures of the past, who, just like Colvin, were incredible agents of change for the world and our communities.

Footnotes

[1] Paul Connerton, ‘How Societies Remember’ (Cambridge University Press, 1989), p.14 

[2] Henry L. Roediger; Andrew DeSoto, ‘The Power of Collective Memory’ <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-power-of-collective-memory/> [accessed 2 October 2021]

[3] C. Behan McCullagh, ‘The Truth of Historical Narratives’, History and Theory Vol. 26, No. 4, Beiheft 26: The Representation of Historical Events (1987), p.46

[4] ‘March 2, 1955: Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Bus Seat’, Zinn Education Project <https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/claudette-colvin/> [accessed on 2 October 2021]

[5] ‘She would not be moved’, Guardian, 16 December 2000 <https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/dec/16/weekend7.weekend12>[accessed on 2 October 2021]

[6] ‘Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation On An Alabama Bus’, NPR: Code Switch March 2 2015

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/27/389563788/before-rosa-parks-a-teenager-defied-segregation-on-an-alabama-bus [accessed 2 October 2021]

[7] Lynne Olson, ‘Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830-1970’, (Scribner, 2002), p.97

[8] Brenda A. Randle, ‘I Am Not My Hair’, Race, Gender & Class Vol. 22, No. 1-2, (2015), pp.115-116

[9] Marcus Garvey, ‘Selected Writings and Speeches of Marvin Garvey’ (Dover Publications), p.103

[10] Brooks Barnes, ‘From Footnote to Fame in Civil Rights History’, The New York Times, 25 November 2009 <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/books/26colvin.html?_r=1&hp> [accessed 2 October 2021]

[11] Phillip Hoose, ‘Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice’ (Farrar, Stratus and Gioux (BYR), 2009)

[12]  Phillip Hoose, ‘Why did I write about Claudette Colvin?’ <http://www.philliphoose.com/why-did-i-write-about-claudette-colvin/> [accessed on 2 October 2021]

[13] Larry Mullins, ‘Claudette Colvin Seeks Greater Recognition For Role In Making Civil Rights History’ CBS New York, 30 November 2016 <https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/11/30/claudette-colvin-civil-rights-movement-smithsonian/> [ accessed on 2 October 2021]

[14] Andrew J. Yawn, ‘Claudette Colvin honored by Montgomery council’, Montgomery Advertiser, 3 November 2017<https://eu.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/02/21/claudette-colvin-honored-city-council-tonight/98197322/> [accessed 2 October 2021]

Further Reading 

‘March 2, 1955: Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Bus Seat’, Zinn Education Project <https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/claudette-colvin/>[accessed on 2 October 2021]

‘Alabama unveils statute of civil rights icon Rosa Parks’ ,  Richmond Free Press  <http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2019/dec/06/alabama-unveils-statue-civil-rights-icon-rosa-park/>[accessed 2 October 2021]

‘She would not be moved’, Guardian, 16 December 2000 <https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/dec/16/weekend7.weekend12 [accessed on 2 October 2021]

‘Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation On An Alabama Bus’, NPR: Code Switch  March 2 2015 https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/27/389563788/before-rosa-parks-a-teenager-defied-segregation-on-an-alabama-bus [accessed 2 October 2021] 

Ford, Kaushay; Ford, Spencer, The Little-Known Heroes: Claudette Colvin (Colford Industries, 2021)

Dove, F. Rita, ‘Claudette Colvin Goes To Work’ in On the Bus with Rosa Parks Poems (Norton, 1999) p. 79

Ott, Tim ‘Claudette Colvin Refused to Give Up Her Bus Seat Nine Months Before Rosa Parks’, Biography, 22 January 2021 <https://www.biography.com/news/claudette-colvin-rosa-parks-bus-boycott> [accessed 2 October 2021]

Spratling, Cassandra, ‘2 other bus boycott heroes praise Parks' acclaim’, Chicago Tribune, 16 November 2005 <https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-11-16-0511160360-story.html> [accessed on 2 October 2021]

Wardlaw, Andreia , ‘Reflecting on the Women of Browder v. Gayle’, New-York Historical Society: Women at the Center, 23 August 2018 <https://womenatthecenter.nyhistory.org/reflecting-on-the-women-of-browder-v-gayle/> [accessed 2 October 2021]

Waxman, B. Olivia 'I Was Not Going to Stand.' Rosa Parks Predecessors Recall Their History-Making Acts of Resistance’, Times Magazine March 2 2020 <https://time.com/5786220/claudette-colvin-mary-louise-smith/>  

‘Browder v. Gayle, 352 U.S. 903,’ Stanford University: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute<https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/browder-v-gayle-352-us-903> [accessed 2 October 2021]

Bibliography

Barnes, Brooks, ‘From Footnote to Fame in Civil Rights History’, The New York Times, 25 November 2009 <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/books/26colvin.html?_r=1&hp> [accessed 2 October 2021]

Connerton, Paul, ‘How Societies Remember’ (Cambridge University Press, 1989), p.14 

Garvey, Marcus, ‘Selected Writings and Speeches of Marvin Garvey’ (Dover Publications), p.103

Hoose, Phillip, ‘Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice’ (Farrar, Stratus and Gioux (BYR), 2009)

Hoose, Phillip, ‘Why did I write about Claudette Colvin?’ <http://www.philliphoose.com/why-did-i-write-about-claudette-colvin/> [accessed on 2 October 2021]

McCullagh, C. Behan, ‘The Truth of Historical Narratives’ History and Theory Vol. 26, No. 4, Beiheft 26: The Representation of Historical Events (1987), p.46

Mullins, Larry, ‘Claudette Colvin Seeks Greater Recognition For Role In Making Civil Rights History’ CBS New York, 30 November 2016 <https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/11/30/claudette-colvin-civil-rights-movement-smithsonian/> [ accessed on 2 October 2021]

Olson, Lynne ,‘Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830-1970’, (Scribner, 2002), p.97

Randle, Brenda A., ‘I Am Not My Hair’, Race, Gender & Class Vol. 22, No. 1-2, (2015), pp.115-116

Roediger, Henry L.; DeSoto, Andrew, ‘The Power of Collective Memory’

Yawn, Andrew J., ‘Claudette Colvin honored by Montgomery council’, Montgomery Advertiser, 3 November 2017

<https://eu.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/02/21/claudette-colvin-honored-city-council-tonight/98197322/> [accessed 2 October 2021]