CLAUDETTE COLVIN

"History had me glued to that seat."

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In March 1955, months before Rosa Parks, Colvin, just 15 years old at the time, was arrested for violating an ordinance in Montgomery, Alabama, that required segregation on city buses. She refused, saying, "I paid my fare, it's my constitutional right to sit here as much as that lady " Colvin felt compelled to stand her ground. "I felt like Sojourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman was pushing down on the other—saying, 'Sit down girl!” Colvin went to jail without a chance to call her family. The once-quiet student was branded a troublemaker by some, and she had to drop out of college. Her reputation also made it impossible for her to find a job. Yet, her knowledge and perseverance led her to become a successful nurse, who also wrote book, including “Still I Rise” as an activist against racism.