Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Independent Staff

US civil rights pioneer dies aged 86

  • Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in 1955, has died at the age of 86.
  • Her act of defiance in Montgomery, Alabama, on 2 March 1955, occurred months before Rosa Parks' more widely recognised stand.
  • Then-15-year-old Colvin was arrested for violating segregation laws and later became a named plaintiff in the landmark lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation on Montgomery’s public transport system.
  • Black leaders initially did not publicise her actions, opting instead to support Rosa Parks as a legal test case.
  • Colvin later moved to New York City, where she worked as a nurse's aide for 35 years, and her arrest record was expunged in 2021.

IN FULL

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.