On this day, 5 September 1939, African-American nurse and civil rights activist Claudette Colvin was born in Montgomery, Alabama. When she was 15 she was arrested and convicted for refusing to give up her seat on a bus which she had been ordered to vacate for white passengers, several months before Rosa Parks (content note: sexual violence). However civil rights leaders decided not to make a cause célèbre of her case after she became pregnant from a statutory rape, fearing negative publicity. Some local activists also believe that Colvin’s dark skin was a factor in not choosing to take on her case.
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Colvin’s story is one of hundreds which will be appearing in our forthcoming book: Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance & Rebellion. You can help us get it published by backing our crowdfunder: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/workingclasshistory/working-class-history-the-book https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1520676508117494/?type=3