Life After the Boycott
AP Photo/ Julie Jacobson
After Claudette was convicted, life continued to worsen for her. In the
summer of 1955, she became impregnated by a married man. She was kicked out of school and forced to move away. Ultimately, the boycott leaders no longer respected her, not even to check the spelling of her name before printing it incorrectly in thousands of boycott flyers. After her arrest, Claudette was not active in the Civil Rights Movement until she received a phone call one day, asking for her to get involved with the Browder v. Gayle case. The NAACP had run out of other choices and they needed Claudette.
"Local black leaders felt that this moral transgression would not only scandalize the deeply religious black community...they [also] felt that the white press would manipulate Colvin's illegitimate pregnancy as a means of undermining Colvin's victim status..."- Congress of Racial Equality
Ironically, Ms. Parks was not a plaintiff in
the Browder v. Gayle case, while Claudette became the star witness.
After the trial, Claudette moved to New York City and became a nurse at a
Manhattan nursing home. Claudette lived a quiet life in New York, refusing to tell
people of her story for fear of complications with her job. Claudette’s own
mother even avoided talking about her contribution to the movement because she
didn’t want to “take away” from Ms. Parks.
the Browder v. Gayle case, while Claudette became the star witness.
After the trial, Claudette moved to New York City and became a nurse at a
Manhattan nursing home. Claudette lived a quiet life in New York, refusing to tell
people of her story for fear of complications with her job. Claudette’s own
mother even avoided talking about her contribution to the movement because she
didn’t want to “take away” from Ms. Parks.
"I felt left out. I was thinking, Hey, I did that months ago and everybody dropped me."- Claudette Colvin
Common Misconceptions of Ms. Parks