Before Rosa Parks, a Teenager Said No: Claudette Colvin Dies at 86

Claudette Colvin, a civil rights pioneer who was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white woman in 1955, has died. She was 86. Her act of defiance happened in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous protest. Colvin was only 15 years old at the time. For decades, Colvin remained a largely unsung figure. However, her arrest helped inspire Parks and others in the movement. It also provided a key case for the landmark federal lawsuit that ended racial segregation on U.S. public transportation.