The Arrest & Trial
Courtesy of North Star News.
On March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin was arrested at the
age of 15. Claudette and another woman were asked to move seats in order for a white person to have the whole row to herself. Claudette refused, while the other woman reluctantly gave away her seat. Claudette refused 3 times to move before being arrested. She says that history had her “glued to that seat” and that she felt Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth were driving her to remain firm. Claudette has been quoted as saying, “It’s my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady. I paid my fare, it’s my constitutional right”. Police reported that Claudette scratched and kicked them. Other witnesses hold this account in dispute and claim that Claudette was harassed profusely before being taken to the precinct.
age of 15. Claudette and another woman were asked to move seats in order for a white person to have the whole row to herself. Claudette refused, while the other woman reluctantly gave away her seat. Claudette refused 3 times to move before being arrested. She says that history had her “glued to that seat” and that she felt Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth were driving her to remain firm. Claudette has been quoted as saying, “It’s my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady. I paid my fare, it’s my constitutional right”. Police reported that Claudette scratched and kicked them. Other witnesses hold this account in dispute and claim that Claudette was harassed profusely before being taken to the precinct.
Claudette Colvin Interview Excerpt. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
"Some felt [Claudette] was too young to be the trigger that precipitated the Movement."- Jo Ann Robinson, leader of the Montgomery Women's Political Council
March 18, 1955, Claudette was found guilty of violating segregation law, disturbing the peace, and assaulting a police officer. She was ridiculed and shunned by her community. The NAACP felt they didn't have "somebody [they] could win with". But Claudette's old friend Rosa still treated Claudette with respect. Claudette was not the first to be arrested for that specific crime, but she was the first to plead guilty, providing the NAACP with a case that they could challenge Jim Crow with.