HR96INTRODUCED
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HR96
U99QPGG-1
By Representatives Ensler, Hassell, McClammy, Lawrence, Morris
RFD:
First Read: 27-Feb-25
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6 U99QPGG-1 02/26/2025 evp (L)evp 2025-692
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First Read: 27-Feb-25
HR____ COMMEMORATING MARCH 2, 2025, AS THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY
OF CLAUDETTE COLVIN'S REFUSAL TO GIVE UP HER BUS SEAT.
WHEREAS, with great pleasure and pride, we
commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Claudette Colvin's
refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, on
March 2, 1955, and we find it fitting and proper to recount
the accomplishments and sacrifices of Ms. Claudette Colvin;
and
WHEREAS, Claudette Colvin was born in Birmingham,
Alabama, on September 5, 1939, to C.P. Austin and Mary Jane
Austin (Gadson); she is the oldest of eight sisters; during
her early childhood, her adopted parents, Q.P. and Mary Ann
Colvin, lived in the rural community of Pine Level, Alabama;
Ms. Colvin attended the Springhill Baptist Elementary
School, then located on Ramer Route 1; later, Ms. Colvin
moved to the King Hill community of the state capital,
Montgomery; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Colvin was arrested for a felony at the
age of fifteen, after refusing to give up her seat to a
young, white passenger on March 2, 1955, in Montgomery, nine
months before the arrest of Rosa Parks; and
WHEREAS, her arrest sparked a successful lawsuit led
by famed Civil Rights Attorney, Fred D. Gray; Ms. Colvin,
along with Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise
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along with Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise
Smith, were plaintiffs in what would become the Supreme
Court case, Browder v. Gayle; at the age of 16, she gave
pivotal testimony that led the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Alabama to issue a ruling
declaring the state's laws mandating bus segregation as
unconstitutional; the United States Supreme Court upheld
this ruling and on December 20, 1956, ordered the State of
Alabama and the City of Montgomery to end bus segregation
permanently; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Colvin did not finish her senior year of
high school, partially due to her dedication to the social
justice movement; she worked hard to earn her General
Education Diploma and attended the Alabama State Teachers
College in Montgomery; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Colvin's legacy simmered quietly until,
as early as 1979, her name began surfacing during Negro
History Month; Frank Sikora of the Birmingham News wrote a
feature story on her in 1980; in 1990, New York Governor,
Mario M. Cuomo, awarded her with the MLK, Jr. Medal of
Freedom, New York State's highest honor of recognition for
outstanding accomplishments in civil and human rights; the
Selma Times-Journal featured her in 1991; the National
Voting Rights Museum and Institute added a picture display
dedicated to Ms. Colvin in 1994; Lifetime Television
featured her story in 1995; she was featured in the cover
stories of USA Today, the Montgomery Advertiser, and the
Washington Post; she has been mentioned in several books,
including "Freedom's Children" by Ellen Levine, "Parting the
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including "Freedom's Children" by Ellen Levine, "Parting the
Waters" by Taylor Branch, and "Bus Ride to Justice" by
Attorney Fred D. Gray; Phillip Hoose's 2009 biography,
Claudette Colvin, Twice Toward Justice" received the
Newberry Honor Book Award; and most recently, she
co-authored the children's book, "Claudette Colvin: I Want
Freedom Now!" with Phillip Hoose and illustrated by Bea
Jackson; and
WHEREAS, despite many considering Ms. Colvin's 1955
act of civil disobedience to be the greatest achievement in
her life, Ms. Colvin always kept her eye on the future,
"paying it forward" to the next generation; by sharing her
story, she has empowered parents, community leaders, and
public officials to become agents of change; she created the
Claudette Colvin Foundation with the mission to inspire and
recognize youth and young adults for their service in
significantly improving life in communities across America;
her giving spirit is also shown by the success of her
descendants; she is the mother of two boys, the eldest of
whom sadly passed at her home in 1993; her youngest son
earned his Doctorate in Business Administration from
Kennesaw State University and is now an Assistant Professor
at Texas A&M University - Kingsville; she has several
grandchildren and great-grandchildren and often says she
"reaps the fruits of her labors" through her growing family
and those others whom she inspired; and
WHEREAS, because of her arrest, Ms. Colvin lost her
civil rights and liberties, including the right to vote; in
2021, she petitioned the juvenile court in Montgomery to
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2021, she petitioned the juvenile court in Montgomery to
expunge her record; 66 years after her arrest, her record
was expunged by Judge Calvin Williams who lauded her actions
as courageous; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, That Claudette Colvin is commended
for her courage and bravery, which resulted in an organized
bus boycott and the Supreme Court ruling that segregation in
public transportation is unconstitutional, and March 2,
2025, is hereby commemorated as the 70th Anniversary of her
historic action to protest injustice.
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