Claudette Colvin dies at 86; months before Rosa Parks, civil rights activist refused to move seats on segregated bus

WASHINGTON (AP) — Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement, has died. She was 86.

Her death was announced Tuesday by the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation. Ashley D. Roseboro of the organization confirmed she died in Texas.

Colvin was arrested months before Rosa Parks gained international fame before refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.

A bus driver called police on March 2, 1955, to complain that two Black girls were sitting near two white girls in violation of segregation laws. One of the Black girls moved toward the rear when asked, a police report said, but Colvin refused and was arrested. She was 15 at the time.

Colvin became a named plaintiff in the landmark lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation on Montgomery’s buses.