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Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin Dies At 86
January 14, 2026
Claudette Colvin was just 15 years old in 1955 when she boarded a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was told to move to the back of the bus. When she refused to give up her seat, she was arrested. Colvin became one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging racial segregation on Montgomery's buses. Her arrest came several months before Rosa Parks was also arrested for the same thing. Colvin's family announced her death on Tuesday.














































































