Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin is arrested in Montgomery for refusing to give up her bus seat, nine months before Rosa Parks.
At a Glance
- Date
- 2 March 1955
- Location
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Key people
- Claudette Colvin
- Category
- Civil Rights Movement
- Source
- Browder v. Gayle court records (1956) · Britannica
What It Meant Then
Her case became one of the plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which struck down bus segregation.
What It Means Now
Colvin is increasingly recognized as an overlooked pioneer of the Montgomery struggle.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Seat.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/claudette-colvin-refuses-to-give-up-her-seat/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Seat. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/claudette-colvin-refuses-to-give-up-her-seat/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Seat.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/claudette-colvin-refuses-to-give-up-her-seat/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.