Claudette Colvin is a civil rights activist who was the first to oppose bus segregation in the 1960s, nine months before Rosa Parks. While Claudette is still alive, she is remembered for fighting for the rights of the Black community.
Her actions elevated her name to new heights of recognition. With her rising popularity, she also wrote a book titled Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice, so Claudette most likely accumulated a sizable net worth through her writing and work.
Claudette Colvin: Facts and Siblings
Claudette Colvin was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 5, 1939. C.P. Austin and Mary Jane Gadson-Austin were her biological parents. Her aunt and uncle, who worked as domestic laborers, later adopted her.
Claudette received her education at the segregated Brooker T. Washington High School in Alabama. Claudette, despite her inability to complete high school, actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement and was a member of the NAACP Youth Council during her time there. The bright and astute young lady aspired to be President one day.
Her rebellious nature was evident from a young age, but she was also a bright, intelligent, and curious young lady. Not surprisingly, Claudette began to notice overt discrimination against the Black community and a lack of respect for their rights.
Her parents couldn’t afford to buy her a car, so she took the bus to school. On the bus one day, the driver directed Claudette and other black women to the back. Claudette remained stationary while the other women moved.
Claudette was arrested by police at the age of 15 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. On February 1, 1956, Claudette appeared before a three-judge panel in the United States District Court as one of five plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle.
After four months, on June 13, 1956, the judges ruled that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring bus segregation were unconstitutional.
The case was later heard by the United States Supreme Court, and Claudette testified as a witness on December 17, 1956. The Supreme Court issued an order three days after the ruling to end bus segregation in Montgomery and the state of Alabama.
After months of high court hearings, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was finally put to an end.
Relationship Status: Single?
After fighting for Black rights at such a young age, the African-American civil rights movement began to honor her as a pioneer. When she found out she was pregnant, her community, which was very conservative, stopped cheering her name.
They believed that an unmarried pregnant woman would not be an icon, so she did not receive the recognition she deserved for many years. She was also expelled from school as her pregnancy became more visible.
She did, however, give birth to her son Raymond in 1956. She struggled to find work after her arrest, so she moved in with her sister in New York in 1958.
She found work as a nurse’s aide in a Manhattan nursing home. Randy, her second son, was born the following year. However, her older son Raymond died of a heart attack in 1993, at the age of 37. Claudette revealed that he died as a result of his drug and alcohol addiction.
According to a Facebook post by Zeta Nu Zetas on February 19, 2015, her younger son Randy lived in Atlanta with his wife and five children.
Claudette is a mother to a son and grandmother to three grandchildren, but she is not a wife. Despite the fact that she is not married, the civil rights activist manages to balance her personal and professional lives.
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