Ode to the Unsung Hero -- She Didn't Fit The Image
(Uh oh!)
Do a little research and it's pretty easy to find lists of African American "icons" and "heroes" that include women like Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks. Dig a little deeper and you can learn that Rosa Parks is considered the "Mother of the Civil Rights movement." In fact, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks has earned her place in U.S. history for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey a bus driver's demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man. Her arrest and trial triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott and -- according to history books -- "launched" Martin Luther King, Jr. to the forefront of the civil rights movement. Wikipedia says that Rosa's "role in American history earned her an iconic status... and her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world."
Now, before I go on, let me say that I am NOT knocking Rosa Parks and what she did. Shoot - I, CERTAINLY, appreciate every single man, woman and child who played any part in the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, I stand on their shoulders everyday. But...
What about the Women Who Refused to Get Up Before Rosa?
With that question in mind, the second installment of my tribute to Black History's unsung heroes highlights CLAUDETTE COLVIN WHO -- ON MARCH 2, 1955 -- AT THE AGE OF 15 REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT ON A MONTGOMERY BUS TO A WHITE PERSON, in violation of local law. Her arrest preceded Rosa Parks' refusal to get up (on December 1, 1955) by nine months.
Colvin, a student at Booker T. Washington High School and active member of the NAACP's Youth Council, was going home from school when she got on a Capital Heights bus downtown -- the same place Parks boarded another bus months later. Colvin was sitting about two seats from the emergency exit when four whites boarded and the driver ordered her, along with three other black passengers, to get up. She refused and was removed from the bus by two police officers who took her to jail as she screamed that her constitutional rights were being violated. The police accused the teenager of spewing curse words, which Colvin denied. She was later convicted of violating the segregation law and assault (although witnesses said no assault was involved in the incident).
According to Wikipedia, E.D. Nixon, then a leader of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, had been waiting for a test case to challenge bus segregation and vowed to help Colvin after her father posted bail. But then came the second-guessing: Colvin’s father mowed lawns; her mother was a maid. They were "church-going" people, but they lived in the poorest section of Montgomery and the original "freedom rider" was pregnant. Apparently, little Claudette didn't fit the image the NAACP was looking for... consequently, "giving up her seat" in the History books to a "more suitable" Rosa Parks.
Talk about PR strategy...
Do a little research and it's pretty easy to find lists of African American "icons" and "heroes" that include women like Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks. Dig a little deeper and you can learn that Rosa Parks is considered the "Mother of the Civil Rights movement." In fact, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks has earned her place in U.S. history for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey a bus driver's demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man. Her arrest and trial triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott and -- according to history books -- "launched" Martin Luther King, Jr. to the forefront of the civil rights movement. Wikipedia says that Rosa's "role in American history earned her an iconic status... and her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world."
Now, before I go on, let me say that I am NOT knocking Rosa Parks and what she did. Shoot - I, CERTAINLY, appreciate every single man, woman and child who played any part in the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, I stand on their shoulders everyday. But...
What about the Women Who Refused to Get Up Before Rosa?
With that question in mind, the second installment of my tribute to Black History's unsung heroes highlights CLAUDETTE COLVIN WHO -- ON MARCH 2, 1955 -- AT THE AGE OF 15 REFUSED TO GIVE UP HER SEAT ON A MONTGOMERY BUS TO A WHITE PERSON, in violation of local law. Her arrest preceded Rosa Parks' refusal to get up (on December 1, 1955) by nine months.
Colvin, a student at Booker T. Washington High School and active member of the NAACP's Youth Council, was going home from school when she got on a Capital Heights bus downtown -- the same place Parks boarded another bus months later. Colvin was sitting about two seats from the emergency exit when four whites boarded and the driver ordered her, along with three other black passengers, to get up. She refused and was removed from the bus by two police officers who took her to jail as she screamed that her constitutional rights were being violated. The police accused the teenager of spewing curse words, which Colvin denied. She was later convicted of violating the segregation law and assault (although witnesses said no assault was involved in the incident).
According to Wikipedia, E.D. Nixon, then a leader of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, had been waiting for a test case to challenge bus segregation and vowed to help Colvin after her father posted bail. But then came the second-guessing: Colvin’s father mowed lawns; her mother was a maid. They were "church-going" people, but they lived in the poorest section of Montgomery and the original "freedom rider" was pregnant. Apparently, little Claudette didn't fit the image the NAACP was looking for... consequently, "giving up her seat" in the History books to a "more suitable" Rosa Parks.
Talk about PR strategy...
For more information on Claudette Colvin, check out Wikipedia and I definitely encourage you to read this article when you have the time -- knowledge is power.
This has been today's little known nugget of Black History (part two) -- uh oh!
Be enlightened. Be proud. Be blessed.
Be enlightened. Be proud. Be blessed.
2 comments:
Like Ced the Entertainer said, Rosa aint do nothing but sit her behind down!!!!! LOL. Nah, i didn't know about Sis. Colvin. Thank my Boo in N.J. for giving you that information. LOL.
BP
what in the world are you doing quoting ceddie?? lol! i'm glad i could school on on claudette. and, for your information, your boo in nj did NOT put me on to that piece of our history, BOO-BOO. :-)
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