A recent interview on the YouTube channel “Comedy Hype” reveals information about civil rights icon Rosa Parks that many know, but many others may not know. Rosa Parks was not the first person to protest segregated bussing in Montgomery, Alabama. Another person did the exact same thing that she did months before. Her name is Claudette Colvin. She was not given the same amount of attention as Rosa Parks. This is not just by happenstance. The NAACP deemed Rosa Parks as the better choice to bring forth court action and eventually overturn bus segregation. This was not an organic action from Mrs. Parks. It was a planned and organized protest by the NAACP.
Claudette Colvin was fifteen years old at the time and allegedly pregnant by a white pastor. Some say she was not chosen for the “job” of ending bus segregation because of her age or dark skin complexion. The colorism allegation was part of the Comedy Hype interview. That part could be true, but the bigger issue was the fact that she was fifteen and allegedly pregnant by a white pastor. The civil rights movement could not have such a person represent them in the courtroom, on television, in the newspapers, or anywhere else. Rosa Parks was chosen for a variety of reasons. And Mrs. Parks’s nearly decade-long experience with high-profile NAACP protests also helped.
SOURCES:
Margaret Burch: Rosa Parks Snatched The Spotlight From My Friend, Claudette Colvin – YouTube
Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin gets record cleared after 66 years – YouTube
Black Millionaires ® on Twitter: “A 91 yr old Black woman from Montgomery, AL claims her friend Claudette was the first person to refuse to give up her seat on the bus. “The NAACP picked Rosa Parks to lead the movement because she was light skin & Claudette was dark.” https://t.co/X4BVIplqJo” / Twitter
