Who are the first people that come to mind when you think of the Montgomery bus boycotts of the 1950s? Are there any teenagers on your list? If not, set a place at the table for several, and in particular, for Claudette Colvin. And make it a round table so that as many people as possible can share her story.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose is the 2009 National Book Award Winner for Young People’s Literature. It is a masterfully crafted, beautifully rendered account of two pivotal events in Claudette Colvin’s life, much of it told in her own words and accompanied by primary documents, police reports, and signage that transport you right to Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950s.
On March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Colvin refuses to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger almost a year before Rosa Parks did the same. Her action wasn’t planned, though a long trail of experiences led her to that moment, including an unquenchable thirst for learning and critically examining the degrading and at times horrific events surrounding her, and her mounting frustration with adults who would bemoan segregation behind closed doors but fail to act.
Imagine yourself at 15 and in her shoes. Two policemen, both bigger than you, pull you right out of your bus seat, sending your school books flying everywhere. One kicks you as they both drag you off the bus and arrest you. Then they ask you to stick your hands out of the police car so that they can handcuff you for all to see. On the way to the city jail – the adult jail – they call you every imaginable name and try to guess your bra size, and when you arrive at the station, they don’t even allow you to make a phone call.
Many of the adult civil rights leaders had much to lose with their brave actions; the teens who stood up (or remained seated) for their constitutional rights had everything to lose. They did not have established reputations on which to draw. Nor did they necessarily have the family status or attend the “best” churches. Rather, they were immersed in the sometimes murky waters of high school where student opinions shift like the tides; one minute you’re a hero, and the next you’re an outcast and are shunned. Given that, Claudette Colvin’s courage is the rawest, bravest kind. She puts her entire future on the line; she had had dreams of attending law school.
The second momentous action that Claudette Colvin takes, at great risk to herself and her family, involves the Browder vs. Gayle case in which the plaintiffs sue the city of Montgomery. One year after her arrest, Colvin agrees to be a plaintiff in the Browder vs. Gayle case that ended segregation on the buses. Though not widely known, this case changed the relationships of blacks and whites in America and around the world. Another teenager, Mary Louise Smith, was also a plaintiff. Rosa Parks was not.
Author Phillip Hoose first heard of Claudette Colvin in 2000 when he was writing We Were There Too! Young People in U. S. History. When he first contacted her, Ms. Colvin wasn’t ready to tell her story for reasons she talks about in the book. It took four years before she agreed to meet with him.
This 2009 National Book Award Winner is more than deserving of the accolade – it’s a major addition to our understanding of the events that changed the course of history, and the very courageous teens that stepped out onto the front lines to effect that change. Reserve a copy of this book from the library as fast as you can, and then give this book to everyone you know. (Christie, The Loft)
Watch this video of Claudette Colvin and author Phillip Hoose.
Thursday, November 12th, 2009. 4:30 p.m. 
